GPS First V basketball’s best new faces highlighted here ahead of exciting round four matchups
The most impressive new faces contesting the GPS First V basketball premiership includes a Year 10 student from Churchie so athletically gifted he was previously selected in an AFL Academy. Read more here.
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The GPS First V basketball competition resumes this Saturday with four cracking games in store.
Brisbane State High host Ipswich grammar with both teams hunting their first win and Nudgee College host a Brisbane Grammar side looking to mount momentum following a 111-74 win over Terrace.
Meanwhile, two unbeaten teams, Toowoomba Grammar and Churchie, will battle it out up on the range and BBC will host a hungry The Southport School outfit looking to bounce back into the winners circle.
Ahead of round four, enjoy this story recognising some of the best new faces in the competition this year who have impressed in the first three rounds of competition.
Churchie point guard Noah Kirk was one of them, an impressive new squad member who last year was terror in the 9As competition.
Now, in his first season under coach Drew Summerfield, Kirk is thriving to be an integral piece of the puzzle for premiership contenders Churchie.
But that would come as a surprise to no one.
The Southern Districts Spartans ace earlier this year represented Queensland South at the National Championships and is so athletically gifted that in 2022 the Cairns Hawks junior made the Gold Coast Suns Academy Under-15s squad.
“He would have made the firsts (last year) if he was allowed to trial,” concluded Churchie coach Drew Summerfield.
The stocky Year 10 boarder is the all around point guard with speed, vision and range and is often assigned to the opposition’s best attacking player.
“He is an elite defender and I think he will get better as he gets more used to it,” said Summerfield.
“He has a really good feel for the game. A natural kind of player.”
GPS BASKETBALL’S BEST NEW FACES
Luca Anderson (Gregory Terrace)
Anderson did suit up for First V hoops once last year as a Year 9 student but has cemented a starting spot this year and is one of Terrace’s prime movers each Saturday.
A 15-year-old relishing a significant role on the team, Anderson has used his explosiveness attacking the rim and prowess from behind the arc to be a threat on all levels.
Against Churchie in round two, Anderson showed out, the young gun posting 28 points and seven assists.
Jasper Jones and Oliver Johnson (BSHS)
While BSHS are being spearheaded by seniors CJ Amos and Jasraj Gill, young guns Jasper Jones and Oliver Johnson were also making an impact in a team chasing win No.1 this Saturday against IGS.
Jones, a Year 11 student, and Johnson, a Year 9 prospect, have been doing the little things right and putting pressure on the starting players with their efforts at training.
Riley Oberman (TSS)
What a ride it has been for TSS’s first round match winner Riley Oberman.
Years of hard work on and off the floor has seen the TSS home grown hooper improve significantly to be an integral member at a school which has snared the last two premierships.
Indeed the TSS forward has hit the ground running after a confidence boosting pre-season.
“With the loss of some of our main rotation players, it’s been great to see a boy come all the way through the school to find success,” said coach Anthony Petrie.
Noah Kirk (Churchie)
Softly spoken Cairns product Kirk leads by his actions not words, and in three games this season has made a winning impact for Churchie.
At the weekend he got six steals and could have had even more had he not been guarding some of Nudgee’s most deadly offensive weapons.
“He happily takes a backward step for anyone in the team,” said coach Summerfield.
“He’s a nice kid to be around for the team.
“He is not a boisterous leader. But he is by style of play.”
Angus Kearney (BGS)
Speaking of a winning impact, Angus Kearney has been a great addition to Brisbane Grammar’s First V squad this season.
A newcomer to the GPS competition, the high IQ mid-range or three point assassin gives BGS another potent attacking threat alongside Lennon Bann, Lebron Brooks, Max Balthes, Rohan Barlow and others.
A “very coachable” player according to coach Dan George, Kearney can create shots for himself and get others open as well.
Cooper Wilson (BBC)
Jersey No.7 has been a bench terror for BBC in two games this season, guard Cooper Wilson offering great energy and hustle when coming on.
A great offensive rebounder, Wilson has carved out a crucial role for himself in a team gunning for the title and he has been impressive in keeping the foot on the gas when some of BBC’s main men like Emerson Juhasz are getting a rest.
Elijah Girdler (TGS)
Toowoomba Grammar have a splash of new faces this year to compliment a core group of players like Tawana Ngorima, Sam Geu and Tyler Saul who have been in the First V for over three years.
Hardworking Rockhampton talent Elijah Girdler adds to the depth of the side, the back up centre a physical type with good footwork, an improving three point stroke and leadership qualities.
A straight A student in the classroom, Girdler at times seems one step ahead when he comes in to replace interior wrecking ball Keahn Tuakura.
Zaiden Montanez (IGS)
There were green shoots at Ipswich Grammar with Year 10 student Zaiden Montanez showing glimpses of magic in the opening three rounds.
Despite being one of the babies of the side, Montanez, the son of former Brisbane Bullets fan favourite Lamar Patterson, has been fearless on both ends of the floor.
Max Purcell (Nudgee)
While Nudgee’s First V have not yet had their breakthrough win there were still plenty of positives to have come out of the first three rounds.
Max Purcell has taken massive trades after last year being on the fringes of the side.
Now a force to be reckoned with on the glass, the hardworking Purcell is playing well above his size and improving with each outing.
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