Australian Schools Championships: Who are the next generation of talents to watch?

The Australian Schools Championships are approaching and have produced a host of past and current Aussie stars. So who are the next generation coming through for our national teams?

Basketball Australia’s 2022 Schools Championships

Lauren Jackson, Patty Mills, Ben Simmons, Josh Giddey, Ezi Magbegor.

They’re some of the biggest names in basketball and all have come through the Australian Schools Championships (ASC).

And there’s every chance Australian basketball’s next “big thing” will be found on the Gold Coast this week when the ASC tips off on the Gold Coast on Monday.

A host of future US college, NBL, WNBL and potential NBA and WNBA stars from more than 70 schools in Australia and New Zealand will compete in Basketball Australia’s Schools Championships on the Gold Coast Sports from November 28 to December 2.

More than 1500 boys and girls will compete across three age groups (U15, U17 and U20) as well as the elite Championship division.

News Corp Australia’s KommunityTV will exclusively live stream 127 games from the tournament over five days, including every match of the boys and girls championship divisions.

The Australian Basketball Schools Championships has a rich history of nurturing talent for future success in top-tier competitions in Australia and around the world.

Boomer Mills and Opals Jackson and Magbegor all competed for Lake Ginninderra College, the Canberra school attended by most athletes based at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence program at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Jackson (C) recently came out of retirement to lead the Opals to bronze at the World Championships in October in what would be her final game for the Opals. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) /

Many of them arrived at the college from interstate after heading into the excellence programs but all made their mark on the schools competition in a signal of what was to come.

Jackson – a WNBA champion and MVP, Olympic medallist and world champion – would go on to become our greatest women’s player, while Mills is among Australia’s greatest men’s players of all time having led the Boomers to a maiden Olympic medal in Tokyo.

Other Lake Ginninderra College alumni to have come through the ASC pathway include NBA players Dante Exum and Dyson Daniels, Tessa Lavey, a member of the Opals’ team at the Tokyo Olympics as well as a gold medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, and rising WNBA star Magbegor, who helped the Opals to a medal at the World Cup in Sydney earlier this year.

Giddey played for St Kelvin’s College in the U/20 division at the 2018 Australian Schools Championships averaging 15ppg, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a sign of what was to come, with his recent performances in the NBA show he is on the way to becoming another of the Aussie game’s all-time greats.

Ben Simmons, who made his NBA return for the Nets this season, played for Box Hill Senior Secondary College at the tournament.

While Lake Ginninderra will again be among the favourites, they will have their work cut out for them from the likes of West Australian outfit Willetton Senior High School, the college having produced players including Boomers Daniel Johnson and Rhys Vague, Opals Olympic medallist Rohanee Cox, NBL players Cameron Tovey, Jackson Hussey and Luke Travers, who was also drafted by NBA side Cleveland.

The championships are part of the production line generating players for WNBL, NBL1, state leagues and US college scholarships which helps strengthen the game at every level making Australia a global hoops powerhouse.

But they have also become a generational force, with the children of NBL and WNBL players now making their own marks.

Oklahoma City Thunder young gun Josh Giddey played in the Championships as recently as 2018. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Former NBL stalwart Anthony Petrie will coach Gold Coast team Hillcrest College next week but will be keeping a close eye on the Lake Ginninderra girls, with his daughter Jess turning out for the ACT team.

Whether she takes more after her forward father, or mum Sarah (nee Berry), a WNBL championship winner with the Canberra Capitals remains to be seen.

Other next gen talents include Gold Coaster Layla Cameron, the daughter of coach and New Zealand basketball legend Pero Cameron, who is already representing the Kiwis at the U19 level and South Australian Sienna Lehmann, from Emmanuel College, the niece of three-time Olympian and Opals stalwart Rachael Sporn.

The titles have also had international reach, with New Zealand and China players coming through the ranks including World Cup and Olympic representative Jiwei Zhao and 2017 Asia Cup guard Dehao Yu.

TEAM LISTS FOR BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA’S SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Matt Logue

A host of future US college, NBL, WNBL and potential NBA and WNBA stars from more than 70 schools in Australia and even New Zealand will compete in Basketball Australia’s Schools Championships on the Gold Coast Sports from November 28 to December 2.

Over 1500 boys and girls will compete across three age groups (U15, U17 and U20) as well as the elite Championship division.

You can see the complete team lists from every school in every age group and division right here.

News Corp Australia’s KommunityTV will exclusively live stream 127 games from the tournament over five days, including every match of the boys and girls championship divisions. 

The Australian Basketball Schools Championships has a rich history of nurturing talent for future success in top-tier competitions in Australia and around the world.

It’s also a part of the production line generating players for WNBL, NBL1, state leagues and US college scholarships which helps strengthen the game at every level making Australia a global hoops powerhouse.

Originally published as Australian Schools Championships: Who are the next generation of talents to watch?