Hoop Dreams Down Under

By Matt Logue

Twenty-five home-grown Aussie superstars who have taken American basketball by storm.

Ever since Luc Longley lit up the court as the first Australian to play in the NBA in 1991, Australians have made an indelible impact on the world's best basketball competition. Longley's journey from Perth to the NBA, alongside Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls, paved the way for a generation of players to follow in his footsteps.

Hoop Dreams Down Under documents the behind-the-scenes stories of twenty Australian men and five women who have played on basketball's greatest stage. From surprise success stories like Matthew Dellavedova to No. 1 Draft picks like Ben Simmons and Andrew Bogut, and indisputable champions like Lauren Jackson, these are compelling success stories of Down Under talent that has made it to the top.

Hoop Dreams Down Under is a must-read for all passionate basketball fans, or anyone with an interest in the power of sport to thrill, inspire and reward.

PRAISE

'Matt Logue's Hoops Dreams Down Under is a fun read, packed with all kinds of things I didn't know, including the scope of the Aussie presence in the NBA - way more than a footprint. It's a movement, and he posts it up with an array of well-told stories' Roland Lazenby, sports writer

'Collating the achievements of 25 Aussie basketballers in one book makes this a treat' - Townsville Bulletin

'The book makes me proud' - three-time NBA champion Luc Longley

'If you haven't bought one yet, go and get one. A great read about Aussie basketball player pathways' - legendary WNBA player turned Phoenix and Australian Opals coach Sandy Brondello

'Humbled to be included in a book with legends of our game' - former NBA player Chris Anstey

'It's an honour to have my little place in Australian basketball history' - Australian women's basketball pioneer Michele Timms

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781460711033

Matt Logue

Matt Logue is an award-winning sports journalist and author who brings more than 20 years' experience to NCA NewsWire. Starting out in regional newspapers in Dubbo and Bathurst, he moved to Sydney in 2006 and spent eight years at Rugby League Week magazine. He has also worked at the Newcastle Knights as a senior reporter under seven-time premiership-winning coach Wayne Bennett, Big League magazine and the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. Matt is passionate about all sports, but has particular loves for rugby league and basketball. Currently he is News Corp's National Basketball Reporter, writing content and producing podcasts and video/mini documentaries via Fox Sports News and Kayo across a national audience.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The 2005 NBA draft has commenced and Madison Square Garden, in the heart of New York City, is the epicentre of world basketball.

Among a mixture of coaches, scouts, general managers and fans stands a man decked out in green and gold. This proud Aussie is in the Big Apple to support his man – Andrew Bogut – the Melbourne-born centre set to be selected No. 1 in the draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. As Bogut’s name is read out, the man stands, cheers and waves his Australian flag.

His passionate approach isn’t well received by the pro-American crowd, especially one outspoken fan who calls out: ‘Sit down!’

This frustrated patron is ignored, so he yells again: ‘Sit down – this is America.’

These taunts do nothing to deter the enthusiastic Australian fan, who cheekily replies: ‘Yeah, and we’re here to take over.’

Bogut’s selection as the No. 1 in the NBA draft was significant for two reasons. Being chosen as the first pick is prestigious in NBA circles because it’s determined from a pool of the best rising basketballers in American college and in leagues across the world. Like in Bogut’s case at Milwaukee, the No. 1 pick is signed by a franchise that failed to make the playoffs. This process, determined by a lottery, gives the weaker teams a chance to sign promising talent. Bogut had not only been tapped as someone to watch in the NBA, he was also the first Australian man to achieve this high honour.

Bogut’s memorable No. 1 draft moment for Aussie men’s hoops came four years after Australian Lauren Jackson had been chosen as the No. 1 draft pick in the women’s league, the WNBA, and just three years after a WNBA game when 11,000 American fans chanted Jackson’s name. It was four years after the retirement of Luc Longley – Australia’s first NBA player – following his stellar decade-long career, including three championships alongside the Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls.

You might have thought the legacies of these star Aussies would be enough to firmly place Australia on America’s basketball map, but the fact that in 2005 some American fans were doubting Bogut’s right to be there highlights that Aussie hoops still had some way to go to earn the US public’s respect.

Thankfully, the admiration Australia was longing for and deserved in the NBA and WNBA wasn’t far away.

Each time another star performance from an Aussie attracted comparisons to some of the greatest basketballers, there was a significant sense of pride among the hoops faithful Down Under. The brilliant careers of the likes of Bogut, Longley, Penny Taylor and Michele Timms helped bring Australia’s basketball profile to life in the United States. Couple this with the global reach of the internet and the NBA’s concerted effort to grow the global game, and a new generation of Australians can now dream of playing in the world’s best basketball competitions.

‘And that’s huge, because it wasn’t always the case,’ Longley says. ‘Guys who played for Australia in the past – like Mark Bradtke, Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal – would have got a bigger look in the NBA today, as people are more accepting of international players and less concerned they can’t get it done. Most teams have international players and that’s a testament to how much the NBA has grown, as well as the talent pool in the rest of the world.’

Today, Australia is a cherished cradle for the NBA and WNBA. Twenty-five Australian men have donned a singlet in the NBA while an impressive 34 women have played in the WNBA ranks. In April 2019, there was a record-high 13 Australian men in the NBA, and ten women entering training camp for the 2019–20 WNBA season.

For Longley, who trailblazed this success, it’s an honour to see the strength of Australian talent in the American competition.

‘I’m really proud of the role I played in opening the door,’ Longley says, beaming. ‘I mean, someone else would have done it, but I was in the right place at the right time. The amount of talent that Australia has developed in this generation is incredible and I’d like to think I had a small part in sticking my foot in the door – and now it is wide open.’

Every year in the NBA, 30 teams from across America battle it out in the Eastern and Western Conferences over a long and hectic 82-game regular season. The eight winning teams from each conference then meet in the playoffs, a best-of-seven elimination tournament, competing for the NBA championship title.

The NBA can be a ruthless, draining and highly competitive world. This is highlighted through the big-dollar business of contracts and trades. Once a player signs with a team, they belong to the franchise. They then become an asset that the owners can trade. This can be a daunting process for the player as they have no say in where they go.

For the most part, the player is also unaware that the trade news is coming. They often find out while watching ESPN on their television at home, prompting them to call their manager to confirm it before starting the exhausting packing process to relocate. Bogut didn’t enjoy this harsh business side of the NBA during his first 13 seasons in the league before he left to join the Sydney Kings in 2018.

‘I got over it,’ Bogut said. ‘You can be settled and in a house and then the next day you get a call and you are gone.’

It might be draining for the players, but audiences can’t get enough of the NBA. Australia is ranked No. 1 per capita for NBA league pass subscriptions outside the US, with thousands of fans paying to stream live games. Merchandise sales have also increased to place Australia at the forefront of basketball fanaticism. You only have to attend an NBL game throughout Australia to see and hear the renewed passion for hoops from the faithful fans.

Australians love the NBA’s athleticism and skill – and when you watch a game live in America, you perfectly understand this passion. The sight of world-class athletes, most of them well over six foot, gracefully running the floor and producing silky skills and raw power is poetry in motion. Watching an NBA game from a courtside vantage point is sports heaven. You can hear everything – from the squeak of the players’ sneakers on the court, to the sledges, to the coach’s instructions during timeouts. This is the beauty of basketball. Compared to Australian domestic sports like the AFL and the NRL, hoops is played in the close confines of a court where you are almost literally on top of the action.

It’s also amazing to see the large and boisterous crowds that pack the arenas throughout America. In April 2018, the NBA announced the league had broken its attendance record for the fourth consecutive season. More than 22 million fans attended NBA games during the 2017–18 season and the average attendance per game was 17,987 spectators. Throw in the global television audience and it’s little wonder the players are earning big dollars.

In the 2018–19 season, Golden State star guard Stephen Curry was taking home US$37 million for a year’s work. Australian Joe Ingles was the highest paid Australian player with a yearly salary worth over US$13 million. The minimum for an unsigned free agent rookie for 2018–19 NBA season was US$838,464. It increases to US$1,349,383 for a player with one year of experience and US$1,512,601 for a player with two years of experience.

Compare these exorbitant salaries to the women’s league. The average WNBA player makes around US$79,000 and the minimum player salary for players with three or more years of service is US$56,375. The maximum salary is capped at $117,500. In 2018, Australian Liz Cambage was considered the WNBA’s best player but her yearly wage was US$113,000. This is why she usually has to top up her wages with highly paid stints in China in the off-season.

It must be noted that WNBA players earn less because the WNBA only generates US$25 million in annual revenue, while the NBA rakes in a whopping US$7.4 billion. The WNBA also receives less money in broadcast rights than the NBA. WNBA teams play 34 games in a season for about four and a half months if they don’t make the playoffs. In comparison, NBA teams play 82 games in the regular season for six months, and the finals can stretch the season by another two months.

The gender wage gap shouldn’t be seen as a reflection of the level of skill in the WNBA. The standard is growing every season and Cambage’s record-breaking feats in America have inspired a whole generation of Australian girls to try to emulate her success.

The boys, meanwhile, are looking up to Ben Simmons, whose historic surge, breaking countless records in a remarkable rookie season with Philadelphia, has particularly captivated the Australian audience. He may be the poster boy for Australia’s success in the NBA but he is well supported by a cast of stars in their own right. The likes of Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Ryan Broekhoff and Matthew Dellavedova are also playing crucial roles for their respective teams.

The current strength of Australian basketball can be credited to a host of factors. Talk to officials and players from across the globe and you’ll find that Australia’s strong standing on the international stage comes largely from the nation’s successful development system.

From the juniors to high school, national championships and the highly respected Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) program, Aussie basketballers are blessed to learn from one of the best hoops educations on the planet. This pathway has been strengthened in recent years with the re-emergence of the national men’s and women’s competitions, which are becoming legitimate pathways to the NBA and WNBA and a destination for players from around the world.

Thanks largely to owner Larry Kestelman, the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) is now globally respected and can attract big names like Andrew Bogut. The veteran centre for the national men’s team, the Boomers, and former NBA champion signed with the Sydney Kings in 2018 and has made a significant impact, on and off the court. Attendances at Sydney Kings games boomed during the 2018–19 season. The number of tickets sold increased by 92 per cent from the previous season, and Sydney Kings memberships saw an increase of 40 per cent compared to the 2017–18 season. Average attendance at Kings home games at Qudos Bank Arena also increased by more than 2500 per game (6320 in the 2017–18 season to 8932 in 2018–19).

Bogut’s successful stint at the Kings might just pave the way for Australia’s other NBA stars like Patty Mills and Joe Ingles to continue their careers on home soil.

Australian hoops has also been blessed by multiculturalism, with talent coming from strong basketball nations like Serbia and Croatia and, more recently, South Sudan through NBA players Thon Maker and Mangok Mathiang. And there’s no doubting the benefit of US-born professional players like Dave Simmons, Bruce Bolden and Cecil Exum settling Down Under and producing their own basketball progeny with, respectively, Ben, Jonah and Dante.

The domestic league is on the up, and with the consistent success of the national women’s team – the Opals – and with the Boomers on track to break their medal hoodoo at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the future for Australian basketball is bright. And as more Aussies make an impact in the American league, NBA and WNBA teams will continue to scout Down Under.

‘Talent breeds talent and that will keep happening,’ respected US scout Tony Ronzone from NBA franchise the Dallas Mavericks says. ‘The bottom line is basketball is growing in Australia and it will be monitored and respected by people in the NBA for years to come.’

ANDREW BOGUT

Playing career: 2005–present

It was the sliding doors moment that almost cost Australian basketball Andrew Bogut. Flash back to the 1970s and Bogut’s Croatian grandparents were fleeing war-torn Yugoslavia for a new life of hope and happiness in Canada.

‘But they couldn’t get in because the refugee visa cut-off age was 31,’ Bogut explains. ‘We had cousins in Australia, so they ended up coming here. My mum and dad met in Melbourne and the rest is history.’

This twist of fate was extremely fortunate for Australian hoops, given the heights Bogut has reached in an exemplary career to date. In 2005, he was the first Australian to be No. 1 pick in the NBA draft; he was named in the All-NBA Third Team in 2010 and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2015; and in 2010 he averaged a career high of 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

On this day in early 2019, we’re sitting in the big man’s private gym in the Melbourne suburb of Carrum Downs, approximately 48 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, reflecting on his remarkable basketball journey, but not realising that his NBA career wasn’t over yet. From the outside, the high-tech training centre looks like an abandoned warehouse in an industrial estate. The only clue of what may be inside is a faded Andrew Bogut basketball sign on the front wall.

But take one step inside Bogut’s court and you’ll discover hoops heaven. Four rings, boxing bags, weights and a recovery room provide Bogut with the perfect venue to hone his skills and fitness. The facility, built during Bogut’s rookie NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005, is also a sanctuary of inspiration for the veteran centre. Spread out on the walls in chronological order are his singlets from the under-12s through to his championship-winning season with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.

‘I wanted my journey to be shown to kids when they come in here,’ he says. ‘A lot of the kids see the local Victorian singlets and it creates a bond. That is kind of why I did it. I’m not a big trophy guy. I’ve got a shitload of trophies, but I couldn’t tell you where they all are. But I’ve always collected every jersey I’ve worn since I was a little kid.’

Reminiscing about junior basketball prompts Bogut to open up about his enjoyable yet challenging childhood in Carrum, a 20-minute drive from his training facility. As a self-confessed ‘goofy kid’, he was regularly taunted about his heritage and appearance.

‘I got bullied a lot,’ he says. ‘I was massive. I was six [foot] six, six [foot] seven, towards the end of high school and weighed 80-odd kilos. A lot of the older kids would have a crack. I’ve received my fair share of beatings and I’ve given my fair share of beatings. That was just the way it was back then. People would try and push your buttons to see how you’d react.’

Kids growing up in Carrum in the 1990s had to have their wits about them. Young Bogut caught public transport to school, sometimes sharing the bus with junkies who had just scored.

‘You’d have people trying to steal from you or you’d get off the bus and a couple of kids might try and jump you to take your school bag. You had to be very observant and know what people to avoid, which bus stops were rough. I was never really in the cool crowd but it was something I learned to live with and it made me tough. But I couldn’t have asked for a better way to grow up. It helped me realise the real world is cruel, plus it taught me to look out for certain things and certain people. I’m really thankful I grew up in that environment because now I can teach my kids.’

To appreciate Bogut’s take on life, you need to understand his family history. His parents, Michael and Anne, are Croatians who both migrated with their families to Australia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia when they were teenagers. The war-torn European environment they were raised in was a world away from the safe and democratic community they would discover Down Under.

Bogut says his parents’ and grandparents’ challenging pasts played a vital role in his regimented upbringing.

‘My grandparents grew up in communist Yugoslavia,’ he explains. ‘They were on the Croatia side, so the bad side of it. Communist Yugoslavia was run from Serbia essentially, so it was tough. You couldn’t say you were Croatian at the time or you’d get thrown in jail. You had to say you were Yugoslavian. It was a very similar situation to the USSR situation back in the day. They had very tough lives and it was difficult on the family. There are still ramifications of it today through the way my grandparents raised my family and how my parents raised me. There are some things that carried over, like how strict they are, and that is just the way it is.

‘But my parents did a lot for me as a young fella. Most parents would do the same in that situation. Now I have two kids, I understand that you have to give up a little bit of what you are doing.’

It’s why you’ll regularly see Bogut dedicating time to daddy duties when he isn’t at basketball. He understands the important role parents can play in their children’s lives because he has seen it in his own life.

His old man was one of Melbourne’s best carburettor specialists for fuel-injection cars. While his dad was fixing cars and Bogut’s mother was driving all over Melbourne delivering the final product, young Bogut would spend hours bouncing a ball against a spare wall at the workshop. He recalls being a ‘bit of a loner’ as a kid.

‘I learned how to entertain myself,’ he says. ‘I was outside 24/7 with a ball of some sort. I’d get dragged along with Dad and I’d try and stay out of his way while he was working. I’d bring a ball and go and find a wall to kick it against.’

Bogut played Aussie Rules, tennis and even got involved in taekwondo as a kid, but his heart was always in hoops. He clearly remembers his first basketball game at Dandenong Stadium while he was in primary school.

‘My first bucket was a free throw,’ he says, smiling. ‘I went two for two, but they didn’t count one because I jumped over the line. I scored one point for the game, but I was just pumped.’

Blessed with natural height, Bogut enjoyed a distinct advantage over his junior rivals during stints at the Dandenong Rangers, the Waverley Falcons and the Sandringham Sabres. His developing frame also frustrated his teammates. Bogut was that boy who begged friends to come over and play, but as he grew they struggled to compete, so they stopped coming.

‘I was very competitive at anything I played and you lose a lot of friends that way,’ he says. ‘I’ve got to keep score of everything otherwise I don’t see a point of playing. Whether it was ping-pong or cards, I’d get pissed off if I lost and most people don’t like that.’

Bogut’s competitive nature created tension on the court. When he lost, he demanded more, while he also called out his teammates if they hogged the ball. This made Bogut angry and bitterly upset, which led to coaches questioning his attitude and ability to succeed in the sport.

This tension reached breaking point when he was cut from the under-15s Victorian state representative team.

‘That is the jersey in the middle up there – No. 14,’ Bogut says, pointing up at the framed singlet in his private gym. ‘I had progressed a lot and I felt like I probably should have made that team. I was on the fringe still, but I felt like I should have made it. But politically I’d always not fit in with the in-crowds within Victorian basketball. I’d always be that kid, where all the other parents were at one end and my parents would be in the opposite corner by themselves. It is what it is.’

In response to this setback and a second snubbing from the selectors for the under-18s state team a year later, Bogut’s parents hired Siniša Marković, a professional basketballer from Yugoslavia, to be their son’s personal coach. Marković devoted four hours a day, six days a week for seven months in a bid to revive Andrew’s basketball career.

‘That was very significant,’ Bogut says. ‘Siniša had a pretty good background, in terms of individual coaching with bigger guys with different skill sets. He would be waiting at school at 3.30 pm, we’d go and find whatever gym was available and I’d train until about 6 pm. I’d then go home and eat and have another training session with [Siniša and] the Sandringham Sabres at 7 pm. It became full-on, but they were the hours I put in and it worked out. It was tough, but I started seeing the results. I also had that chip on my shoulder from not making a few state teams, and I had that mentality of beating the person above me. Whenever I played a person or team that was better than me, I made it a mission to just destroy them.’

Bogut missed out on the 12-man Australian under-18s team but fortunately he received an emergency call-up when a player got injured. This allowed him to train with the team twice a week from February to August in 2001.

‘I was also doing extra sessions with my other coach, so by August when they left for the championships I felt like I was the best player on the team,’ he says.

Bogut then received another twist of luck when he was invited to the under-19s national team camp. This isn’t normal practice as players usually receive a call-up after being scouted from the nationals. But selectors had heard about Bogut’s progress and offered him a wildcard entry.

‘I went to the camp and after the first day of training I got offered a scholarship to the AIS,’ he recalls.

The timing was impeccable. Only months before, Bogut had been expelled from his high school for repeated scuffles. Now, suddenly, he was competing on the international basketball stage, and touring the United States in November 2001 and 2002 with the Australian Institute of Sport. Bogut was fortunate to join a talented team that he believes kickstarted the Australian basketball golden generation we see today.

‘That was probably the most enjoyable time of basketball for us because we were so dominant,’ he says. ‘We ended [up] touring the States and we were beating college teams. Oregon pumped us by 40, but we beat the University of Portland as 16-year-olds – which was pretty impressive. That was really big because no one really knew who we were. A lot of people thought I was American and they didn’t know I was Australian until I spoke. We were just a team of young kids that came out and played well.’

The young players were incredibly competitive, and that made for some fiery times in training. ‘We’d be punching on at practices,’ Bogut remembers. ‘Every day was just a fight because we were so competitive, but that is what made us so good.’

And with the tour came the scouts. The door was opened to the NCAA, the American college basketball league.

‘That’s when a lot of kids got recruited, like Aaron Bruce to Baylor [University, in Texas]. Brad Newley was being recruited heavily by Arizona. Aleks Marić went to Nebraska and I went to Utah. It started an era in America where they started thinking, Maybe the colleges should start looking at Australia? Then all of a sudden, kids like Daniel Kickert and Patty Mills were being put into good college systems and then become NBA players.’

By signing with the University of Utah, Bogut moved a step closer to the NBA. Only problem, he didn’t think it was achievable.

As a kid, Bogut had religiously watched NBA Action, a highlights show, every Saturday and Sunday morning, but he thought the world’s best basketball league was a mystical faraway land.

‘The NBA was a fantasy,’ he says frankly. ‘I never thought at a young age I’d play in the NBA. Even at 15, my goal was just to play professionally in Australia. Back then, not a lot of kids were going to Europe or college in America. Luc Longley was the only guy in the NBA and Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal didn’t play a lot. For an Australian to play in the NBA, you probably had a better chance of winning the lottery at that point. My original goal was to play in the NBL: If I can play professionally and someone is going to pay me to play basketball, then I’m happy.’

In fact, before joining the University of Utah, Bogut had an opportunity to stay in Australia and sign with now defunct NBL franchise the Victoria Titans. He was moments away from putting pen to paper when Titans coach Brian Goorjian intervened. It was another sliding doors moment that changed Bogut’s life forever.

‘Brian said no – you are going off to bigger and better things,’ Bogut recalls. ‘I was like, No, I just want to play here. That’s my job and I just want to stop going to school and play basketball. Thankfully, Brian didn’t let me. That’s when I ended up signing with Utah. I had a bunch of other schools ringing me, but I knocked them back to go to Utah. They were the first ones, way ahead of everyone else, and they took a punt on me before I was known.’

Significantly, Goorjian was also the man who connected Bogut with Utah while he was training with the Victoria Titans during his first year at the AIS.

‘The Titans had a guest coach named Ken Shields who used to work with the Canadian team back when Steve Nash was a young fella,’ Bogut says. ‘He saw me and told his people straight away, You need to recruit this kid now.’

Next moment, Bogut was on a plane to Utah with no idea who he was supposed to be meeting at the airport. Luckily he spotted a guy wearing a Utah jacket, who ended up being the assistant coach.

‘A day later I was in the weights room lifting,’ he says. ‘I arrived at the start of summer pre-season training and it was full-on, but it was great.’

Bogut excelled at Utah. He earned All-Freshman Team honours in his rookie year before going on to star in his sophomore season. He started all 35 games for the Utes, leading them to a record 29 wins for the season. They made the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament, surviving the initial challenges of the 64-team knockout competition, and took home the Mountain West Conference championship. The Aussie big man led the nation with 26 double-doubles, which meant that in all but nine games that season he scored double figures in two of the five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. He scored in double figures in 37 consecutive games.

Despite his record-breaking run, which resulted in his No. 4 jersey being retired in the rafters by Utah, Bogut didn’t think the NBA was a realistic goal until halfway through his sophomore year.

‘Slam magazine and all these people