Scouting the Aussies in the 2023/24 college basketball season
The college basketball season is back, and Australians are once again associated with a myriad of capacities.There’s everything from a projected lottery game choice whose stock is just rising, some interesting freshmen at powerhouse schools, and the guys NBL teams are keeping a keen eye on.
https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=ESP2454864820″frameborder= “0”> Obviously, we likewise highlight the programs that have actually continued to lean greatly into the recruitment of Australian talent.Here are the essential players and storylines to keep an eye out for as the college basketball season gets into full swing.Tyrese Proctor-the next Australian lottery choice After Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels
were prepared, Australia had a year off producing an NBA lottery pick.Heading into this college basketball season, Tyrese Proctor looks primed to restart that trend.Proctor, a 6’5 combination guard out of Sydney, enters his sophomore season at Duke as
ESPN’s No. 13 ranked player on the most current Top 100 ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, and there’s reason to believe there’s scope for that to rise.Proctor averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.3 helps per game as a freshman, but did so after reclassifying down-so he was one of the youngest players in college basketball-and really picked up his game as his season advanced. Proctor got in Duke tasks as a top-level shot maker, and revealed remarkable flashes of his creation skillset throughout his very first season with heaven Devils. The 32 %from three-point land he shot as a freshman- on 41 3PA-is low, based on how he was anticipated to shoot, but he went 17/40(42.5% )from downtown over his last 10 games; an indication of his advancement over the season. Australia’s Tyrese Proctor is likely tobe the country’s next NBA lottery game pick Lance King/Getty Images It’ll be intriguing to track Proctor’s production over the start of his sophomore year. Duke’s guard rotation consists of senior guard Jeremy Roach, and numerous top-level border players in Jared McCain and Caleb Foster, so there’ll be a desire for head coach Jon Scheyer to share the load. Proctor is still most likely the very best worth ball carrier- from a dependability and skillset standpoint -but there’s a great chance we see the Australian play an adapter role at times.Proctor has good enough positional size, a high IQ and, presuming the shot continues
to fall, jobs as someone whose skillset can translate to the NBA immediately. If all goes to strategy, this will be his final year in Durham.Australia’s interesting freshmen at powerhouse schools There are a set of inbound Australian freshmen that are particularly exciting and worth tracking as they advance through their very first season with their respective schools.The initially is Johnny Furphy, who seemingly came out of no place throughout July’s NBA Academy Games in Atlanta to reveal himself as a high major prospect.
The 6’9 wing out of Melbourne would eventually commit to Kansas, signing up with a program that many are forecasting will be the No. 1 group in the country.Furphy is a huge wing whose high-level athleticism- he can jump out the fitness center-and capability to shoot the ball might result in him getting opportunities early. He’s only 18, however has the plan to be a trusted and constant backup option on the boundary, most likely behind Kevin McCullar at the three-spot. There’s no real scope for Furphy to be in the photo for the 2024 draft, however it’s realistic to think that a remarkable freshman season in Kansas could see him become a genuine NBA possibility for
2025. The other intriguing first-year player out of Australia is Alex Condon, a big-man out of Perth who’ll play his freshman season with Florida.Now, at 6 ’11 and 230 lbs -and the physicality with which he plays-Condon has the physical profile to be able to make an impact early for the Gators. He’s a fairly proficient big, and there need to be some backup opportunities for Todd Golden’s team.
Micah Handlogten is Florida’s sophomore centre who’ll start at that spot, however there’s real scope for Condon to be a significant part of that frontcourt rotation, particularly if he’s able to shoot it from deep at the level he’s shown to be capable of.Editor’s Picks
1 Related Saint Mary’s and Sacramento State continue Australian-heavy lineups
If you want to discover Australians on a college basketball lineup, there are generally 2 places you’re looking towards: one is Saint Mary’s, and the other is any place David Patrick is coaching.We’ll start with Saint Mary’s, who have 4 Australians on the lineup entering into the 2023-24 season.Once again, Alex Ducas ought to lead the
charge for the Australians on that team. He’s coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 12.5 points per game, shooting above 41.4%from downtown, and enters into his senior year in Moraga with the expectation that he’ll continue as a starter and crucial offending piece. The 6 ‘7 wing had several lineup spot offers in the NBL this previous off-season, however rejected them to return to Saint Mary’s. Perhaps the most intriguing Australian set to play for Randy Bennett’s group is Harry Wessells, the 7’1 big-man out of Boddington, WA who simply invested a bulk of his offseason in camp with the Australian Boomers. He only got area minutes at Saint Mary’s last season, but his role should increase entering into his sophomore year, and a whole offseason taking on nationwide group level bigs will just have actually boosted his game.Saint Mary’s will have 2 Australian freshmen going into this season, in Rory Hawke and Jensen Bradtke. Hawke is someone who could get an opportunity quicker than later, with the NBA Global Academy item having already spent a part of last season around the program. At 6’5, Hawke is a tough-nosed, versatile guard who has the skill level to work his way into the rotation for the Gaels. Alex Ducas is among several Australians on Saint Mary’s team to enjoy this season Patrick Smith/Getty Images Obviously, you can’t discuss Australians in college basketball without discussing Patrick, the Boomers assistant who’s currently the head coach at Sacramento State.Patrick has regularly been the very best recruiter of Australian talent, so it was not a surprise the Hornets brought a couple of in when he ended up being head coach last season.Akol Mawein is the Australian likely to feature heaviest for Sacramento State, with the 6’9 forward coming off a junior season where he averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. A versatile defender and high-level professional athlete
, Mawein should include much more plainly in his senior year at Sacramento State.Patrick’s team will also have a trio of Australian freshmen in the ranks: Bowen Beatty, Alex Kovatchev, and Bailey Nunn.Who NBL groups are eyeing There’s capacity for this class of Australians in college to be a fairly substantial one, from an NBL perspective. Numerous elders task as lineup players in the NBL next season, and there’s even scope for some younger guys to be poached early.We have actually mentioned Ducas
and Mawein, and both will have the interest of NBL groups when their particular senior seasons end. Ducas, in particular, will be hot home on the NBL totally free agent market; likely at a comparable level to the interest Josh Bannan earned this offseason.Keli Leaupepe -a 6’6 forward out of
Melbourne-is coming off a profession year at Loyola Marymount, and will be among the most searched for Australians. There was some level of surprise that he went back to college, offered the nature of some of the deals he was getting from NBL groups, but this does provide Leaupepe to get some high volume associates before turning pro. Leaupepe is a physical specimen -listed at 240 lbs-who, recently, has displayed an actually impressive skill to his game, shooting it at 43.6%from downtown on excellent volume, while flaunting an improving passing game.Tyler Robertson was another player that NBL teams tried to pry out of college, however the 6 ‘6 wing out of Melbourne decided to return to Portland for his senior year. Robertson balanced 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.3 helps per game for the Pilots last season, so it’s not a surprise there was a desire to turn him into a pro faster than later. As a senior, we need to probably anticipate
that similar high level of production from Robertson.Reyne Smith is entering his junior year at Charleston and, every season he’s been with the Cougars, has been among the most excellent and efficient Australians in college basketball. The Tasmanian sharpshooter saw both his production and performance drop from year one to year 2 -12.1 ppg on 37.5 3pt %, to 10.8 ppg on 34.1 3pt% -however his skillset is shown enough that you ‘d bank on him bouncing back as a junior.
If Smith does continue to carry out approximately the level he’s capable of, he shouldn’t be shocked to get some telephone call from NBL groups trying to get him out of college early.The last name is Elijah Pepper, who’s flown under the radar as an Australian-he was born in Shepparton, Victoria before his family relocated to Washington – however need to be the nation’s most efficient player this college basketball season. Pepper is a 6’4 combo guard going into his senior year at UC Davis, and is coming off a season where he averaged 22.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Pepper is the go-to guy for the Aggies, and he is already gathering a good level of NBL interest; as well as some consideration into including him with the Australian Boomers in some capability going forward.