What we can learn from the success of Australian basketball
MANILA, Philippines – Australia’s Under-16 team, the Crocs, won the FIBA Asia Under-16 championships by going 5-0 while averaging a 30-plus point margin of victory.
It looks real nice next to the 2017 FIBA Asia Championship trophy that their men’s team brought home last year.
While speaking to a Chinese coach the previous year, coach Justin Schueller said that the addition of both Australia and New Zealand to continental competition has made it more challenging yet harder for the old powers to win. They sure have.
Not only was Australia the champion in the 2017 men’s category but the Kiwis also finished fourth. In the just-concluded U-16 tournament, it was a gold and bronze finish both for teams, respectively.
Time was when the top dog was the Philippines. Then China, Japan and Korea crowded the podium finishes and later, the West Asian countries — Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon made things more interesting.
Interestingly, basketball is not even the most popular sport in Australia. Rugby, cricket and football rule their sports landscape. But that isn’t to say basketball isn’t popular. According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Australia has the most number of subscribers of NBA League Pass outside the US. That says something.
And what says even more is the number of Aussies playing in the NBA.
They have nine players currently plying their trade in the NBA. They are Matthew Dellavedova and Thon Maker (Milwaukee Bucks), Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs), Joe Ingles and Dante Exum (Utah Jazz), Aron Baynes (Boston Celtics), Andrew Bogut (Los Angeles Lakers), Ben Simmons (Philadelphai 76ers) and Mangkok Mathiang (Charlotte Hornets).
The Land from Down Under would have had a 10th man in a NBA jersey had Jonah Bolden signed with the Sixers after he was drafted 36th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Bolden suited up for Philadelphia in the previous summer league but he signed instead with Israel team, Maccabi Tel Aviv. Who know? He could very well be in the NBA next season?
Australia has gone from having role players or scrubs like Andrew Gaze to global stars like Luc Longley to overall first round picks in Bogut (2005) and Simmons (2016).
More than the NBA, the domestic National Basketball League is doing well in every metric, from sponsorship to league attendance (that is rising) to corporate support. Prior to the start of this NBA season, three Aussie clubs — the Brisbane Bullets, Melbourne United and Sydney Kings -- played against NBA clubs, giving their teams higher profile not only in Australia but also in the United States.
The Bullets took on the Phoenix Suns while Melbourne United battled the Oklahoma City Thunder. And the Kings visited the Utah Jazz.
Speaking of Australian players making it to the NBA, the NBL has also shrewdly selected one and done players such as American Terrance Ferguson, now playing with Oklahoma City, who instead of playing college ball in the US suited up professionally for the Adelaide 36ers. The next season, he jumped straight to the NBA Draft where he was selected 21st overall.
This strategy — whether short term in your opinion or not — has bolstered the appeal of the NBL as producing NBA talent.
However, it isn’t only the Aussie pro league actively promoting Australian basketball. Their own federation, Basketball Australia, is doing novel promotions. In July 2016, the federation flew in 23 coaches from US schools such as Texas Christian University, Oregon State, Southern Methodist University and St. Mary’s College of California to name a few to take a firsthand look at their high school prospects.
Incidentally, Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova both attended St. Mary’s College of California.
And that is putting their home talent on the path not only to the NBA but also international stardom. They are also showing the way in terms of centers for development, sports science and sports psychology. It all works from the ground up all the way to the top.
Asia has taken notice of Australia as a basketball power. Maybe it is time for a deeper look into what they are doing right.
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