Posted on 5 March, 2021

Cobras 200 Game Club member Tim Lang has returned home to Kilsyth for the 2021 NBL1 season.

Lang has enjoyed a stellar career at Kilsyth, amassing over 200 SEABL games with the Cobras and establishing himself as one of the best Australian centres in the SEABL/NBL1 over the past decade. Over the course of his remarkable SEABL/NBL1 career, Lang boast averages of 14.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest, with his ability to stretch the floor and mix it up down low making him a matchup nightmare on the offensive end.

Though he spent the past three seasons with the Dandenong Rangers, Lang has played his best hoops at Kilsyth, highlighted by a pair of SEABL All-Star selections and a top-six finish in the league MVP voting – on the back of a career best 19.8ppg – in 2014. In 2014 Lang helped lead the Cobras to the SEABL South Conference championship game for the second time in four years, and in 2017 he went one step further as he played a key role in the Rangers 2017 conference championship winning team.

It’s all come full circle for Lang, who returns to the place he started his SEABL/NBL1 career under head coach Pete Godfrey, who was an assistant coach during the centre’s first five years in the league. Now back as the Cobras veteran leader, Lang is relishing the opportunity to help guide a young Kilsyth roster and play with some familiar faces, while providing his unique blend of power and finesse on both ends of the floor.

“It’s great to come back to play at Kilsyth with Pete, who was my first assistant coach here when I first suited up in 2009,” Lang said.

“A lot of the guys I know from either playing alongside, or them coming through the VYC program when I was last here, so it’s been a good team environment to be a part of already. Personally, I know what I bring to the table, but helping some of the younger guys take that next step up will be the key to our success. So for me my goal is to work with them to unlock that potential.”

Godfrey has fond memories from his first stint with Lang at Kilsyth, one which saw the pair develop a strong bond – and ultimately helped Lang grow both off the court.

“From 2009 to 2015, Tim and I formed a player-coach bond that has endured away from the court and away from Kilsyth,” Godfrey said.

“Early Friday morning individuals in North Melbourne; career conversations in the CBD; I have watched the boy transition to the man.”

Now back at Kilsyth and nearing the 300 career game milestone, Godfrey believes Lang’s leadership and experience at the collegiate, NBL and NBL1 level is set to give a young Cobras team a huge boost in the 2021 season.

“Add Tim’s SEABL/NBL1 experience to his College, NBL, and Germany experience and he is probably somewhere near the 500 senior game mark. It’s experience that simply can’t be bought,” Godfrey added.

“I knew that we would likely assemble a fairly young group for 2020 – and now 2021 – and Tim was definitely an important part of the overall picture as we re-tool the team. It helps, too, that he is still 6’10 and can stretch the floor.”

Lang and the Cobras tip-off their much-anticipated 2021 season at home against the Waverley Falcons on Saturday April 17.