AIC Basketball: Best bucket-getters of round 1 revealed

Our AIC First V Basketball Players of the Week includes a stat king from St Peters, a crafty guard from Ashgrove and a spark plug from statement-makers Iona.

AIC First V Basketball returned with tough and-ones, three-point swishes and dominant victories as Iona College, Villanova College, St Peters Lutheran College and St Patrick’s College came away winners.

Villanova beat Ashgrove 66-55, St Peters beat St Edmund’s 62-34, St Patrick’s beat Padua 75-51 and Iona beat St Laurence’s 87-49.

Each week, The Courier-Mail will shine a light on the top performers so keep an eye out for a story each Wednesday.

This follows on from our AIC rugby league coverage.

So who were the best players in round 1? One of them was St Peter’s Lutheran College’s 213cm giant Cooper Rowlings.

Rowlings, who started at the school in Year 7, recorded a monster double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds, which followed his 31 and 13 hit-out against Villanova in the trial game.

“What stands out aside from his height is he’s got great intelligence, a good nose for the ball and he’s a hard worker,” St Peters head coach Orhan Memedovski said.

“The last few years he’s stepped up as a leader.

“He’s been a positive mentor towards the younger players and he’s just a competitor.

“In the Firsts, but also setting a good example on and off the court for younger students.

“His confidence has flourished after his selection in the AIS program.”

That would be Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence team.

“He has a will to win, a positive attitude and he leads by example. His leadership skills have been great.

“He knows how to motivate.

“A fierce competitor... He wants to get better, he listens to coach feedback, and he’s just a student of the game,” Memedovski said of Rowlings.

BEST ROUND 1 BUCKET-GETTERS

Iona 87 beat St Laurence’s 49

Sam Colley (Iona)

Iona College AIC Basketball talent Sam Colley.

The year 11 guard was instrumental in Iona’s 38 point victory over St. Laurence’s.

His ability to lead the offense as well as being the teams best defender made him a handful to match up against.

Aidan Jackson (Iona)

Jason is a true spark plug. The high energy Year 10 student made an immediate impact the minute he stepped on the court and indeed he was the catalyst behind Iona’s win.

Jackson made a handful of clutch buckets and timely defensive stops when the game was up for grabs.

St Peter’s 62 beat St Edmund’s 34

Phil Ador Deng (St Edmund’s)

On a tough day on the court for St Edmund’s, Deng was impressive off the bench.

To get St Edmund’s back in the game, Deng used his height and length to combat the size of his rivals, stuffing the stat sheet with assists, blocks and rebounds.

The game blew out once he got injured early in the fourth quarter.

Luke Laborte (St Edmund’s)

Laborte made a big impact with his defence and penetration off the bench.

A quick guard, Laborte controlled the pace well and hit a couple of big shots when his side needed scores.

Cooper Rowlings (St Peter’s)

Cooper Rowlings throwing it down. Picture: Anthony Cox.

Coming off a ripping training camp in Atlanta with Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence team, Queensland Under 18s representative Rowlings was at the peak of his powers.

As mentioned above, he was also coming off a strong trial game against Villanova where he racked up 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Rowlings dominated on both ends of the floor with 19 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and five steals, proving his versatility.

What a start it was in his final year representing St Peters.

St Patrick’s 75 beat Padua 51

Mason Keogh (St Patrick’s)

Mason played with great pace and vision, setting both his teammates up and himself.

Bailey Foy (St Patrick’s)

Bailey played with intelligence on the offensive and defensive end, staying out of foul trouble and crashing the boards. forward

Tom Mitchell (Padua)

The baby of the team played with tenacity and courage under trialling circumstances.

He was able to play under pressure and confidently handle the full-court pressed thrown his way.

Lucas Prickett (Padua)

A developing big man who held his own, used excellent footwork and was dynamic in the paint.

Proclett top scored for Padua using a plethora moves.

Villanova 66 beat Ashgrove 55

Matt Gibson (Ashgrove)

The crafty Gibson shot confidently and after a slowish start, he found his rhythm and started to cash in.

He was good on the fast break, plucky on defence and made a couple flashy bounce passes out of tight areas.

He scored the first five points for Ashgrove.

Mason Honeyman (Villa)

Villanova College guard Mason Honeyman.

Like Gibson, the shots that would usually drop for Honeyman weren’t. And again like Gibson, he found his stroke and got hot enough to put away a gutsy Ashgrove.

There is no better ball-handler for Villa than Honeyman. He looked confident.