Central Districts Basketball Club fields team of teenagers in women’s ABL
CENTRAL Districts Basketball Club is putting its faith in a group of young guns in the women’s ABL, fielding one of the most youthful squads in state league sport.
CENTRAL Districts Basketball Club is putting its faith in a group of young guns in the women’s ABL this season.
The Lions are fielding one of the most youthful squads in top-flight state league sport.
All 15 players were born in the mid-to-late 1990s — after Central coach Kevin Brooks chalked up three NBA seasons with Denver.
Their oldest player is Casey Banwell, at just 19, the youngest is Demi Skinner, 16, and the team’s average age is 17.66 years old.
Brooks, 44, jokes his squad makes him feel old.
TELL US BELOW: Where else are young athletes shining?
“They call me old man from time-to-time,” says Brooks, a star in the Adelaide 36ers’ back-to-back titles in 1998-99.
“We’ve got quite a few girls who are still learning to drive and some of them still can’t drink so we’re extremely young.
“But they’re a good group of girls; they’re fun to coach and they’re eager to learn.”
Central finished bottom of the ladder last season with just one win in Brooks’s first year in charge.
Over summer the Lions lost All-Star Five import Tamika Dukes and veteran Kimberly Porplycia.
Rather than replace them with experienced campaigners, Brooks says the club is intent on building a state league program its juniors will aspire to join.
“Our season will not be defined by wins and losses … we’re going to have to fight to win any games,” he says.
“It’s tough but we feel if we keep the majority of players together they can mature into a very solid team.”
Lions forward/centre Brianna Wedding, 19, says being part of an inexperienced squad is exciting.
“I think everyone underrates us a little bit because we’re the young team … but we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose and there’s so much room for growth,” Wedding says.
Brooks has jokingly dubbed the squad “KB’s angels” but Wedding says the Charlie’s Angels reference is lost on some of her younger teammates.
“Sometimes we’re out of the loop with his lingo,” Wedding says.
“But he’s not too bad with ours because he’s always around the 36ers’ guys.”
TELL US BELOW: Where else are young athletes shining?