HAWKS young-gun Daniel Grida is famous for doing everything at a million miles an hour but, ironically, it was permission to go slow that brought him back to Wollongong; that and NBL supercoach Brian Goorjian.
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A standout in his rookie campaign two years ago, Grida produced a strong finish to an up and down sophomore season, earning his second call-up to the Boomers.
He was looking to take that momentum into the NZNBL when he felt the dreaded pop in his knee at a scrimmage with his home club Lakeside Lightning in Perth in March.
It left him off-contract and requiring a reconstruction of a torn ACL at a time when the Hawks were headed for liquidation and the country was in the grip of the initial COVID-19 lockdown.
It cast doubt over his immediate NBL future before Goorjian's phone call proved a Godsend.
"Coming into free agency my agent assured me there was interest there, which was a bit of a weight off my shoulders, but for it to be Goorj who called... that was awesome," Grida said.
"It was a big surprise but everything he said resonated so much with me.
"He asked me what type of player do I see myself as and I said I like to come in and bring energy, shoot open threes and get to the hoop.
"I'm that kind of player, I'm not really trying to create and break guys down, I'm more of a run, shoot, get to the hoop and defend with energy type guy.
"He said that's exactly what he sees me doing.
"That's perfect for me, he just wants to see me play as hard as I can again.
"When the best coach ever says that to you, you jump on board, so I got it done as quick as I could."
It came with the added security of a two-year deal, an extra layer of assurance on the comeback trail from serious injury and with doubt over when, or if, the 2020-21 season will begin.
He's not giving too much thought to the latter, but the 22-year-old is confident he'll be given all the time he needs to get back to his best.
"Everything Goorj said was perfect for me, they weren't going to push me to play too soon, they have long-term plans for me," Grida said.
"They're being super cautious with me, they're not going to push me, and it's a really good situation for me coming off an ACL rupture.
"Whether it's into January when start playing, that's completely up to the staff but [the COVID delay's] been good for me.
"I guess it's a silver lining, it's given me a lot more time to get back healthy and it's been good mentally as well."
The other will hopefully be a marked improvement in free-throw percentage given that's about all he can do on the floor at present, that in itself a new experience for a guy with a typically bottomless appetite for hard work.
"It's been a bit of a learning curve for me trying to slow down and hopefully it helps me in the long run, just learning to slow down a bit and be a bit more patient," he said.
"I'm doing pretty well with the knee, I'm a doing a heap of strength and movement with the physios and I'm only shooting free throws at the moment, no jumping stuff.
"I'm getting heap up. It takes some getting used to, I just always feel like I should be doing more, but it's fine, I know what the coaches want from me and what their plans for my future are.
"I'm in no rush at all. I'll just stick at it and I'm sure I'll get there soon enough."