GPS basketball: 25+ Players to Watch ahead of the season
The GPS First V basketball premiership is anyone's to win this year and here we reveal 25+ emerging youngsters to Watch from all nine schools. FULL LIST
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Churchie will blood two exciting guard prospects in the fast approaching GPS First V basketball competition which starts on Saturday, July 13 with four bumper games.
GPS FIRST XV RUGBY PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lightning fast Year 9 Rockhampton talent Andrew Watene will initially play in his age group and then dip his toes in the water of First V basketball, while Year 10 point guard Noah Kirk, the Under-18 Queensland South guard from Cairns, will play in the First V from round one.
Watene is arguably the best guard in his age group and is a game changer, an athletic prospect who is already dunking.
Confident Year 10 sharp shooter Kirk, who was the school’s 9As prime mover last year, will step up into the First V this season and handle the ball.
There was another on-the-rise hooper who will feature for Churchie this season, Slovakian Under-17s small forward Maxim Ure.
The Year 11 student, who made the Slovakian Men National Team (U17) last year, shapes as Churchie’s 198cm sixth man.
Back-to-back reigning premiers The Southport School will be without athletic Year 11 Indy Cotton, the highly touted Australian Under-17s selection who was a key player in the school’s premiership winning squads.
RELATED LINKS
GPS BASKETBALL TEAM OF THE SEASON 2023
GPS BASKETBALL TEAM OF THE SEASON 2022
GPS BASKETBALL’S HOME GROWN HEROES
Cotton excelled with Jaylen Pitman, Ben Tweedy, Jack Foley and Jackson McCabe in the last two seasons but is at Centre of Excellence in Canberra.
So, who were the players to watch this season? Read on.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Logan Siolo (Gregory Terrace)
Gregory Terrace will be no pushovers again this season with athletic Year 12 Logan Siolo a potent scoring threat with great defensive ability.
The quick off the mark Siolo was a great foil to the firepower of Hunter and Phoenix Trego last season and this year will have a more prominent role as a guard on the side.
Corey Laffan (Gregory Terrace)
One of the discovery players of last year’s competition, left handed sharp shooter Corey Laffan is back for his final year after coming into his own in 2023.
If you are at Gregory Terrace or watching them play, keep an eye on the curly haired wing who has one of the cleanest strokes in the competition.
Denver Loli (Gregory Terrace)
While Terrace The Brave won’t have the Trego brothers and Paul Papacostas, they will have the athletic, fast moving Denver Loli.
A rim running threat with springs under him, Loli dipped his toes in the water last year coming off the bench but will have plenty more responsibility this season.
Jayden Cecil (Brisbane State High)
Blooded into the First V as a Year 9 youngster last year, emerging point guard Jayden Cecil will embark on his second season in the top team where we expect he will flourish.
With the experience of last year as well as the CBSQ tournaments, the shifty Logan Thunder young gun could really take a step up this season as the leading scorer and of course ball handler of the side.
CJ Amos (Brisbane State High)
Likely Jayden Cecil’s back-court partner in crime, powerful guard CJ Amos is another youngster who has seen the highs of the Brisbane State High program and will be eager to make his mark.
A spark plug in the school’s 2022 First V and then a more prominent player in 2023, 2024 is looking like CJ Amos’ time to shine.
Raj Gill (Brisbane State High)
A Queensland South Under-18s selection, the towering yet athletic big man centre or forward will be a player of note this year.
He will lead the way on the glass and it wouldn’t surprise one bit seeing him rack up double doubles here and there.
Max Balthes (Brisbane Grammar)
Entering his fifth and final season of First V hoops under coach Dan George, Balthes has had a decorated school career first playing in the side as a Year 8 student.
Always one of the smallest but most deadly, Balthes’ fearless attitude, soft touch at the rim and range from behind the arc makes him a threat as well as a fun player to watch on your Saturday.
Lebron Brooks (Brisbane Grammar)
Another exciting Brisbane Grammar senior embarking on his final season was Lebron Brooks, a streaky type who could explode at any time this year.
Almost unstoppable once he gets going, right handed jump shooter Brooks was causing headaches as a Year 10 student back in 2022 and has the mindset and ability to go even bigger in 2024.
Keahn Tuakura (Toowoomba Grammar)
Watch for interior wrecking ball Keahn Tuakura, a former front row or No. 8 in rugby, to be one of the more dominant centres in the competition.
The 120kg Queensland Under-18 select was also a high achieving rugby player, but swapped scrums for free throws three years ago and has not looked back.
Tawana Ngorima (Toowoomba Grammar)
Since joining the First V as a development player in Year 9, Tawana Ngorima has been a key cog in the squad’s premiership ambitions, always bringing energy, hustle and defensive effort.
But Ngorima was also a reliable scorer, a point guard who is quick off the mark and can catch you stuck in the mud as he bursts past towards the hoop.
A smart interior player, watch for the pocket rocket to swing momentum in his team’s favour.
Samuel Geu (Toowoomba Grammar)
A Year 12 with no lack of height, wingspan and hops, Samuel Geu has warmed his engines playing for the Southern Cross Bricklaying Eels in the Toowoomba Basketball League over the off-season.
Ready to rumble, Geu looms as a rebounding giant who can make opposition defences pay in the paint as well as outside, where he has drastically improved his three point stroke.
Ash McGrath (The Southport School)
Another youngster who had on the job training last year and will be better in 2024.
Left handed flamethrower Ash McGrath learned from the best last season and will use it as a springboard into this year’s campaign where he will shine with the more opportunity he gets.
His stellar efforts at last year’s CBSQ tournament gave spectators a glimpse of what he is capable of and it is promising.
Jack Tweedy (The Southport School)
While coach Anthony Petrie won’t have prolific scorer Ben to call on, he will have his younger brother Jack, a Queensland North Under-18s selection who has just as much raw talent as Ben.
Jack, the Rockhampton basketball junior, was elite from behind the arc and at the recent National Championships at South Pine Sports Complex, he lit it up from deep.
The kid can play and will likely get better and better each week.
Charlie Mogg (Ipswich Grammar)
Watch out for first year First V player Charlie Mogg, a Year 10 young gun getting his first taste in Queensland’s finest schoolboy basketball competition.
A lights out shooter who creates endless opportunities, Mogg is a great team man who will be out to get the best out of his teammates.
Peja Ahwang (Ipswich Grammar)
The lightning fast guard was blooded as a Year 10 last year and did well. This year, in his second season of First V hoops, Ahwang looms as the next Jaylen Pitman , a pure athlete who is almost uncatchable in transition.
The Year 11 boarder is shifty with a burst of speed. Blink and you might miss him.
Rylan Carlisle (Nudgee)
One of the very best in the competition, Carlisle was like a one man wrecking crew at times last year.
A Year 12, Carlisle has been Nudgee’s prime mover for two seasons where in 2022, the Year 10 kid was excellent.
Last year he took his game up a notch and did the bulk of the scoring and this season expect more of the same from the athletic right hander who we predict will average over 20 points per game.
Isaiah Jorgenson (Nudgee)
Athletic, tall, selfless and a great listener.
Nudgee did not have the best season last year but there were green shoots in the squad with young gun Isaiah Jorgenson having stretches of great basketball.
He will have more responsibility this season and we expect he will rise up to the plate.
Tyson Warren (Nudgee)
Nudgee will have highlight reels waiting to happen with Warren returning for his final year.
An athletic marvel, Warren is an above the rim player who you won’t miss when watching Nudgee play.
The frizzy-haired third year First V player is in his element in transition and down low.
Charlie Winks (Brisbane Boys’ College)
A player you can’t afford to leave open, Winks played in the Queensland South Under-18s side as a bottom aged player earlier this season.
A National Performance Program member, Winks won the Under-18 State Championships with the Brisbane Capitals and will hit the ground running when round one arrives.
Dan Graham (Brisbane Boys’ College)
Match hardened after two campaigns in the GPS First V competition as one of the babies of the squad, Dan Graham returns this season as a senior eager to get some results.
Last year Graham’s season was hindered through injury but he is healthy.
Watch for the classy guard to take things upon himself.
Emerson Juhasz (Brisbane Boys’ College)
If you are watching BBC play, it won’t take long to notice their dominant and versatile leader Emerson Juhasz, a player of considerable potential.
A player good enough to be in Queensland’s Under-18s side, Juhasz knows his game, how to use his size and strength and how to get going.
He can score from all over for BBC and showed that in a thrilling match against Gregory Terrace last season.
Kurt Siwek (Churchie)
The tallest player in the competition, 210cm big man is back for another season and is healthy and ready to rumble in the paint.
BBC powerhouse Zeke Byrne was another young giant contesting this year’s premiership.
Jake Miles-Wrency (Churchie)
Churchie’s multi-tool wing is also back after a resurgent season last year following an extended period on the sidelines with a broken leg.
The tall and athletic forward was just starting to hit his straps at the back end of the 2023 season and at the CBSQ tournament so watch for him,back fit and healthy, to influence games for Churchie.
Oskar Olechnowicz (Churchie)
With Noah Kirk, Andrew Watene, Maxim Ure, shooting guard Nash Harding and power forward Oskar Olechnowicz, Churchie will have no trouble scoring points.
Last year Olechnowicz was one of the best in the competition, an elite interior player whose soft touch saw him rack up 20 point games with ease.
Now a Year 12 student, Olechnowicz has advanced his three point game and will be looking to stuff the stat sheet alongside shooting guard Nash Harding.
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