Full circle: Sturt legend proud to lead in 2025

• Sturt Sabres legend Jason Williams will coach his first senior game when they take on the Forestville Eagles to tip-off the NBL1 Central season
• Williams won two senior state league titles with Sturt, under Scott Ninnis, in 2001 and 2002
• He was also part of three NBL titles with the Adelaide 36ers in 1998, 1998/89 and 2001/02

Nerves, excitement and stress — these are all emotions Sturt Sabres legend Jason Williams will feel this weekend as he takes the reins of the Sturt Sabres men's team for the very first time in the NBL1 Central on Saturday.

But the biggest emotion the man, who won two state league titles with the Sabres in 2001 and 2002 and donned the iconic double blue uniform throughout his junior career, will feel is pride.

The three-time NBL champion with the Adelaide 36ers will coach his first game at the senior level for the Sabres when they take on traditional rivals, the Forestville Eagles, on Saturday after replacing good friend Paul Rigoni in the lead chair.

Having played an instrumental part in the development of Sturt's juniors in recent years, moving into the men's lead role has struck an emotional chord with Williams, who wants nothing more than to give back to the club that gave him everything.

"I owe my life to this club," he said.

"I've had some tough times in my life and (Sturt) has always been here to support me like whether I've been at the top, whether I've been at the bottom and even when I've made mistakes.

"I left to go play for Mt Gambier for a year and I think I left on pretty bad terms. I was in a pretty bad place mentally, my life wasn't going to flash at that time, so I went down there, met my wife, learned a lot and then I came back but not into basketball.

"I worked for around 10 years and then there was an opening at the club because Paul Mesecke left. They gave me a second chance and now we're here and I couldn't be more proud to be in this position with the club that has helped me so much."

But it almost didn't happen. Following the departure of Rigoni, Williams thought he wasn't ready to coach at the senior level before he was convinced to go through the interview process, where he impressed the club's hierarchy.

"I interviewed and I thought I did a pretty good job. Normally with interviews like that you come in with a PowerPoint or you've prepared a booklet but I came in with just a little bit of notes on the notepad and just had an honest conversation and the next morning, I got an email saying I got the job," he said.

"I was surprised. But I've always been a person that needs to be better with self-belief, I always try and make others look good and a lot of the time it's to the detriment of myself. But this time, I said 'I interviewed well and I deserved it'.

"Was I nervous? Yeah, I was crapping my pants because all I've done is juniors, I know how to win there but I didn't know how to translate that to seniors, like I did as player, so it's been a learning curve but in the last month also, I've got my confidence."

He also sees 36ers legend, Scott Ninnis — who was the Sabres coach during the back-to-back championships in the early 200s — as one of his main coaching mentors.

Having played juniors with fellow Sabres legend such as Paul Bauer, Tom James-Martin and many others, Williams said his priority was to make sure they develop a pathway for Sturt juniors to become elite senior players, while also trying to capture their first championship since 2010 when Jacob Holmes and Darren Ng led the double blues.

As the Sabres try and win their first title in 15 years, Williams said it was also important for the current players to understand the history of Sturt, which he emphasised when Holmes visited the club to give a talk and name the co-captains for the 2025 season.

While the task of competing for a championship has been made even tougher after Adelaide 36er Jacob Rigoni suffered a serious knee injury in a pre-season game, Williams said "it's time for people to step up".

And they will need plenty of talents to step up in their season opener, facing an Eagles side stacked with talent and headlined by NBL star Dejan Vasiljevic.

"They've got a target on their back, so it will be a good challenge for us," Williams said.

"While a lot of people are talking about how much talent they've got, I think it's a great thing. The more NBL talent we get here, the better it'll make our conference."

Williams played in the iconic rivalry contests between Sturt and Forestville and when asked what his memories were of those heated battles, apart from beating the Eagles to win the 2002 title. Williams said one name came to mind.

"Jason Dix," he said.

For those who have been a part of Adelaide's basketball scene in recent decades — if you know, you know.