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2000 Fall Issue
Player Capsules
The 2000 Australian U18 Championships was played in Penrith, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, just outside of Sydney. The city of Penrith later served as the Olympic Kayaking venue.
A total of 14 teams competed for the 2000 National Championship trophy. Teams from the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales Country, New South Wales Metro, New Zealand, the Northern Territory, Queensland North, Queensland South, South Australia Country, South Australia Metro, Tasmania, Victoria Country, Victoria Metro, Western Australia Country and Western Australia Metro competed for the 2000 age-group National Championship. The assembled players make up a very interesting mix of talent. The Australian system has a blended view of the American and European philosophies of development. This blend of developmental philosophies produces a fairly athletic, highly skilled player. The "typical" high level Australian player is fundamentally sound, but with less emphasis placed on athleticism in comparison to the American game. The Australian system does emphasize athleticism more than the European system, just not as much as the American system.
ISS has provided coverage of this event for several years using coaching contacts in the Australian basketball network. I was very impressed with the assembled talented in my first personal experience at the event. The event is always held in early July and is tightly controlled by the organizational structure of Basketball Australia.
Upcoming Events
2000 Scandinavian Championships Copenhagen, Denmark 12.27-12.30.00
2001 Bahamian Championships Nassau, Bahamas Late February
European Cadet Challenge Round Slovakia, Turkey, Croatia 4.4-4.8.01
General Info
The FIBA calendar indicates that the AST will be played in April 2001, however it was played in April 2000. It has been played on alternating years since it's inception.
Player previews and general information from the 2000 Scandinavian Championships will be available in January. The age group places the athletes 1-2 years away from HS graduation.
The European Cadet Challenge Round is an U16 event and well worth attending if your recruiting is planned that far in advance. The scheduling of the event dates and locations make it extremely difficult to cover more than one group of players during the Challenge round.
Fall 2000 Players
Jacob Holmes. 6-5, 195. 2G. Australia.
He has proven himself to be a deadly perimeter shooter from inside and outside the international arc. At the 2000 Australian U18 event he proved once again that he is the most prolific scorer in the age group. He averaged nearly 29 ppg during the 8 day event. In addition, Jacob also led all players in blocked shots averaging nearly 3 blocks per game. Jacob also ranked second in overall rebounding average with just over 13 rpg.
Ben Tatuilli. 6-1, 170. PG-2G. Australia.
Ben played with the Australian squad at the 2000 Albert Schweitzer Tournament, but struggled from the floor offensively. He was almost unstoppable averaging nearly 28 ppg. from the point/scoring guard spot. He also averaged nearly 45% from outside the international arc while attempting nearly 6 three point shots per game.
Alex Loughton. 6-8, 215. PF. Australia.
Alex played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Western Australia Metro squad. He is the ultimate example of a quiet, unassuming performer who kills you with his game, not his mouth. Alex pulled down a 2000 U18 tournament high of 28 boards in the Championship game. For the eight game event, he averaged over 15 rpg.
Daniel Kickert. 6-10, 225. C. Australia.
Daniel played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Vic Metro squad. He is a true post player who will thrive in the American collegiate system.
Graeme Dann. 6-7, 190. SF. Australia.
Graeme played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the New South Metro squad. Has size, athleticism, BH skills and range on the jumper from the international line.
Cameron Tragardh. 6-7, 200. PF. Australia.
Cameron played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Queensland South squad. He was the most consistent scorer on the South Queensland team, averaging just under 25 ppg.
Luke Hedges. 6-8, 210. PF-C. Australia.
Luke also played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Queensland South squad. His presence in the paint at the defensive end causes lots of shots to be altered.
Rowan Gray. 6-9, 215. C. Australia.
Rowan played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Queensland North squad. He seems to be a relative newcomer to the game of basketball. He's a hard worker on the boards, averaging nearly 11 rpg. for the U18 event.
Mark Worthington. 6-7, 195. SF. Australia.
Mark played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Western Australia Country squad. Mark is a very versatile player as is evidenced by the fact that he plays any of the 1-4 spots. Although he's not a natural at the point guard spot, he doesn't suffer much when he's at the top running the show.
David Barlow. 6-4, 180. 2G. Australia.
David played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Victoria Metro squad. Dave is a deadly shooter from the perimeter and lead all competitors at the 2000 U18 event with an amazing 62% from behind the international arc. Averaged over 60% from the field for the entire U18 event.
Phillip Hickey. 6-7, 185. SF. Australia.
Phillip played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Victoria Country squad. Phillips is not really an undersized post, but he was stuck in the paint for the VIC Country boys. Unfortunately, is job assignment at the U18's prevented him from showing off his range of skills.
Thomas Greer. 6-5, 175. SF. Australia.
Thomas played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Victoria Metro squad. He was very productive at the offensive end of the court in the U18's. He scores consistently from the international arc and with mid-range and short-range jumpers.
Rhys Carter. 6-2,165. PG. Australia.
Rhys played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Victoria Country squad. Rhys also trained in the AIS as well as competing in the 2000 Albert Schweitzer. He was the top assist man in the 2000 U18 event averaging just over 5 apg.
Larry Davidson. 6-9. C. Australia.
Larry played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the New South Wales Country squad. He gave good effort on the boards averaging nearly 9 rpg at the U18 event.
Mitch Selwood. 6-2. 2G. Australia.
Mitch played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the New South Wales Country squad. He shoots the ball well from mid-range and is very consistent. He averaged just over 66% for the 8 game event from the field.
Tim Labka. 6-6. 2G-SF. Australia.
Tim played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the New South Wales Metro squad. He showed the ability to score from inside or outside the three point arc.
Blagoj Janev. 6-7, 220. PF-C. Australia.
Blagoj played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the New South Wales Metro squad. He's best described as a banger inside.
Aaron Bruce. 6-1, 160. 15. PG-2G. Australia.
Aaron played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the Vic Country squad. Lead the Vic Country team in scoring averaging just under 16 ppg at the 8 game event.
Darren NG. 6-0, 145. 2G. Australia.
Darren played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the South Australia Metro squad. He ranked 4th overall in scoring for the eight game event with just over 21 ppg. Darren shot the ball well at the 2000 Championships averaging 61% overall and 54% from behind the international arc.
David Florance. 6-5. PF. Australia.
David played in the 2000 U18 National tournament as a representative of the South Australia Metro squad. He showed good effort on the boards in every game we covered. Scored most of his points around the rim off put-backs and basic post moves.
Michael Fitchett. 6-0, 190. 18. point guard, shooting guard.
Michael was selected for the U18 National Team in 1999 and for the U20 Teams in 2000 and 2001.
Mika Vukona. 6-5, 200. 18. Small Forward.
Mika was selected as a member of the New Zealand U18 National team in 1999 and has already been chosen for the 2001 U20 National Team. He was selected as a member of the 2000 National High School All-Tournament team.
Matthew Gill. 6-5, 185. 2G-SF. 20. England.
Matthew has played with several National league clubs including the Sheffield Sharks and the Toxeth Tigers.
Johnathan Russ. 6-2, 190. 17. Shooting guard. New Zealand.
Johnathan was selected for the New Zealand U18 National team in 1998 and 1999. He has been training with the Nelson Giants in the Men's 1st Division since 1999.
Luke Ruscoe. 6-6, 210. 19. shooting guard, small forward.
Luke was selected for the U18 National Team in 1997, the U20 National Team in 1998 and 1999, as well as the U21 National Team in 2001.
Other players to watch:
*Nicolas Campbell. 6-5. Tasmania.
*Sam Harris 7-0, C. Tasmania.
Both of these young men were suffering from temporary injuries and did not compete in the 2000 U18 Championships. Insider reports that both of them are very interesting prospects. Sam Harris will most likely be in the AIS program.
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