Jessica McDowell-White, daughter of former Brisbane AFL star Darryl White, to play in curtain-raiser to Boomers v Team USA at Marvel Stadium
Her dad Darryl made on the footy field with the Brisbane Lions and brother William is an NBA hopeful, but Jessica McDowell-White’s skill on the court will put her in front of the biggest crowd ever to attend a basketball game in Australia.
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Jessica McDowell-White might be the daughter of a triple premiership AFL legend, but she’s carving out her own name on the basketball court.
Father Darryl White knows what it’s like to play in front of huge crowds at Marvel Stadium across a 268-game career with the Brisbane Lions.
Now Jessica will find out when she steps out for the Australian Indigenous All Stars in front of a crowd expected to be in excess of 50,000 people.
The 18-year old will play in the curtain-raiser to Thursday night’s historic clash between the Australian Boomers and Team USA.
Jessica says her father’s storied AFL career is always a talking point, but she and NBA-hopeful sibling William McDowell-White have followed her mother Bianca McDowell’s path into hoops.
“Mum played basketball all her life and dad did every now and then, but footy was the one for him,” she said.
“We’re all basketball — (brother) Darryl (Jr) plays a bit of footy in the off-season, but no one’s really followed in dad’s footsteps.”
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Jessica has spent the past six weeks battling William after he returned home from a stint with the Houston Rockets in NBA Summer League.
“Every day we’re shooting together and we have some family who own a gym and they’ve allowed us to come in every day and lift,” Jessica said.
“Sometimes shooting drills can get repetitive, so it’s like ‘all right, no, you choose one now’, so there is something different each day, not the same thing, day in, day out.
“We have the same goals — basketball to take us as far as possible.”
Jessica was a member of the Australian Gems basketball squad and, while she did not make the final team that won silver in the FIBA U19 World Cup, she has dreams of representing her country as her game matures and hopes to ply her trade overseas professionally.
The Brisbane-born teen — who will celebrate her 19th birthday on Friday — said many of the Indigenous All Stars were yet to meet but, thanks to a Facebook group and their cultural connection, they already felt like family.
“Straight away it felt like you’d known them for years when I haven’t even met some of them in my life — it’s just that connection straight away is crazy … everyone feels like sisters already,” she said.
***The Indigenous basketball cultural showcase tips off at 5pm on Thursday, August 22, featuring both men’s and women’s teams, before the Boomers face Team USA.
Originally published as Jessica McDowell-White, daughter of former Brisbane AFL star Darryl White, to play in curtain-raiser to Boomers v Team USA at Marvel Stadium
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