Savage leaving no stone unturned for second crack

Featured image: MJB Photography

It's easy to forget that Kye Savage is still so young because he started his career so early but he continues to focus on broadening his game to not only help the Northern Force to NBL1 South success, but to earn another NBL opportunity.

Savage was always one of the country's brightest young talents as a teenager which included being a regular on Tasmanian and Australian underage teams, and then spending a couple of years at the Centre of Excellence.

He also first played with the North West Tasmania Thunder in the NBL1 South back in 2022 when still aged just 16 and then after being the NBL1 East's Youth Player of the Year in 2024, that led into his first NBL opportunity with the Brisbane Bullets under his national coach Justin Schueller.

It was originally a three-year deal that was supposed to see Savage be a development player for the first two seasons and then graduate to a full roster spot, but after one season and making his NBL debut the club and player parted ways.

Savage has only used that as added motivation to earn another opportunity. Still yet to turn 21, time is still well and truly on his side and he's shining so far this NBL1 South season with the Northern Force.

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Savage isn’t afraid to admit that his goal is to earn another opportunity while thankful for the chance he had at the Bullets to play eight NBL25 games even if things ended prematurely.

The fact is when he is still yet to turn 21, he has plenty of time for a big future and hopefully turning 21 in July is the kickstart to what's next.

"I was just grateful for the opportunity really, at the end of the day they gave me my first taste of professional basketball, but unfortunately didn’t go to plan," Savage said.

"Definitely that's my main goal right now I’m just locked in on that and doing everything I can do get back to where I want to be, and that’s the NBL.

"Sometimes I forget how young I am and I’m probably too hard on myself and because of it, but no nothing special planned, honestly hopefully packing my bags to wherever the next opportunity might take me!"

Continuing to grow game in all areas

The 20-year-old has continued to play with his home club even with the transformation from the North West Tasmania Thunder into the Northern Force, and after making it a focus in the off-season to improve on a number of fronts, he is seeing it pay off.

Savage knew he had to keep getting better and he did make it a focus to be more efficient on the offensive end and with his shot selection while also working on his playmaking, and also trying to focus on getting on the glass more.

It's all working with him averaging 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals. But over the last four matches, that's skyrocketed to 29.8 points including 36 against the Bendigo Braves and 28 in a win last Saturday against the Knox Raiders.

"I’m feeling pretty confident right now, that’s something that I struggled with in the first few games," Savage said.

"I’m just trusting the work I’ve put in and letting the game come to me instead of forcing shots. That’s something I’ve been able to fix pretty quickly and so far it’s paying off.

"I'm definitely trying to grow my game, I set a goal for this season to hunt more boards and show that I can get my teammates involved.

"So far I’ve been happy with how that’s been going. So always looking for what I can improve and add into my game."

High hopes for second half of 2026

As for the team, the Force might currently be sitting on a 2-7 record this NBL1 South season but having lost their first two games by a combined 56 points, they have worked their way into things nicely.

That has included wins on the road to the Keilor Thunder and Knox Raiders so one thing they do need to tick off is getting a first win at home as the newly branded Force.

They get two chances for that this weekend starting on Friday night against the Diamond Valley Eagles and then on Saturday against the Dandenong Rangers.

Savage is happy with how the group is now coming together and is looking forward to what the second half of the season could hold for them.

"Yeah we’re definitely starting to find our groove, we’ve built some nice chemistry together on and off the floor," Savage said.

"We’re a tight group which is what you want at any club but definitely helps being a new one,

"To get that win over Knox has told us that we can beat anyone on any given night, so that was a massive confidence boost for the rest of the season."

Playing for home club

As for the club, while the Thunder and Launceston Tornadoes have both rebranded to be playing out of the north of the state under the Force banner, Savage hasn’t noticed a whole heap of difference but is just happy to get to continue to play at home at NBL1 level.

"Honestly I haven’t really noticed much change, obviously being our first season there was gonna be little differences but I’m just focused on doing whatever I can for this club to win," Savage said.

"I'm loving being back home and being able to play in front of friends and family, it just makes it more special, and for them to see me do what I love at a high level, it’s pretty cool."

Tasmanian showcase at MyState Bank Arena

There was another massive moment that Savage was part of for Tasmanian basketball back on April 18 when the Force and the Hobart Chargers women's and men's teams both put on a showcase for the state at MyState Bank Arena.

Even though the end result was two narrow losses for the Force against the Chargers, Savage enjoyed being part of it and you never, he might get used to that venue should that next opportunity come courtesy of his home state NBL club.

"The MyState game was great, you know being able to play in that arena itself was pretty cool experience," Savage said.

"Even with it being the first row you can see how the home advantage plays a big role for the JackJumpers."