2024 Basketball Australia Schools Championships boys low down: The Southport School’s secret policy for nationals
‘He’s so excited to be back’. In scary news for rivals at the BA Schools Championships, one of the rising stars of Aussie hoops has been granted an exemption for a final hurrah with his mates.
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Being the reigning champs doesn’t guarantee anything at the Basketball Australia Schools Championships.
Just ask The Southport School.
Beaten by Brisbane Boys College in the Queensland final, TSS were in danger of missing their title defence
Fortunately, a wildcard spot handed them a lifeline – one they don’t intend to waste.
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“It’s sport, so there’s no excuses, every team goes through struggles at some stage and this year was our year,” said coach and 268-game NBL veteran Anthony Petrie.
TSS’ automatic qualification bid was hampered by the loss of their star back-court duo.
Indy Cotton was in Canberra at the Centre of Excellence while Ash McGrath broke down with stress fractures in his back and legs.
But from the ashes of adversity rose a trio whose development was supercharged, and with Cotton back in the fold and McGrath fit and firing, TSS promises to be a formidable force.
“It was really good for the growth of certain players, Jack Tweedy, Ty Lockwood and Riley Oberman, those players really grew this season and developed a lot,” Petrie said.
“When you take out Indy Cotton and Ash McGrath, the starting back-court for Queensland, it throws a lot on those guys.
“They got thrown a big curveball they didn’t think they were going to have, and they developed immensely, which was great to see.
“Now they’ve grown and then you bring those two back in, hopefully that will allow us to have some success.”
Petrie, who is also the coach of NBL1 North side Gold Coast Rollers, is in his sixth year at the helm of the TSS basketball program.
Only once before Petrie’s tenure had The Southport School reached the national schools championship division, and that was in 2012 with an outfit spearheaded by Olympic Boomer Jack McVeigh.
Now they are back for a third successive crack at national glory, and the coach revealed a ‘good bloke policy’ is paramount to what the school has built.
“When you’ve got kids that can play, that helps, but we’ve got a good bloke policy like most people do,” Petrie said.
“They’re just great kids that turn up and train really hard. They listen, they learn, they implement and we just try and get better as a group. We make it a really enjoyable space, that’s the part you have to remember, it’s still schoolboy sport.
“It’s an old saying but being good at basketball lasts 10-15 years and being a good bloke lasts a lifetime, we’re huge on that.”
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Cotton is widely touted as one of the best young prospects in Australian basketball, and was granted an exemption by Basketball Australia to return for one last hurrah with TSS after leaving for the COE at the end of term two.
He arrived on the Gold Coast on Saturday with eight days to prepare alongside his teammates.
“He’s so excited to come back and play because he’s playing with his schoolmates. He really loved his time down at TSS,” Petrie said.
“He’s one of the most competitive kids that I’ve come across, it doesn’t matter what drill it is, what time of training whether it’s the start of the end, he’s all in 100 per cent of the time and he wants to win everything.
“He’s just got one of those competitive mindsets that when it’s time to tie your shoelaces and go, he is ready.
“He’s got that refusal to lose, he will try and do anything until they actually say ‘nah, the contest is over and this is the score, you’ve actually lost or won.’ He’s just got no stop in him.
“One of his greatest assets is his toughness, he’s fit … that’s something we might not talk about a lot but all the best athletes are extremely fit. He’s got a high motor which allows him to play better for longer than a lot of other people.”
Petrie also lauded Cotton’s basketball smarts.
“Basketball’s so dynamic, so his ability to read and react in small spaces and make quick decisions is especially high,” he said.
“Then you throw in his skillset that he works really hard at, and he’s also really athletic for his size, he’s actually got all the pieces to succeed.
“It’s just about him now finishing off the puzzle before he starts taking that next step.”
McGrath had the world at his feet earlier in the year, but he came crashing down to earth with the stress fractures that kept him sidelined for the best part of three months.
“He was flying earlier this year before he broke down … he’s had to be really patient and he’s learnt a lot about himself,” Petrie said of his captain.
“He had a tough time, he could hardly do anything because his legs were gone and so was his back. Your back’s your lifeblood, he couldn’t bike, he couldn’t swim, he couldn’t do any off leg stuff.
“The poor kid was just stuck healing and trying to get better, which was a long process.
“He’s still got to be really mindful of it moving forward, we have to manage him properly, but he looks in good shape and I’ve been really happy with how he’s been going.”
Petrie added that McGrath came from a family that loved basketball, which had granted him a deeper understanding of the game.
“He’s a very skilful player and he’s a lefty, lefty’s are different for some reason,” Petrie said.
“He can shoot the heck out of the ball, he’s a good decision-maker and good off the bounce.”
CHAMPIONSHIP LOWDOWN
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL (QLD)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 2nd
Squad: 1 Will Ilsley, 2 Alex Walker, 4 Will Pickett, 6 Jack Tweedy, 7 Ash McGrath
8 Jayden Bibby, 9 Indy Cotton, 10 Sam Loughridge, 12 James Burdett, 13 Ty Lockwood, 14 Nikos Karathanasopoulos, 15 Riley Oberman
Coach: Anthony Petrie
Faltered in the state championships but have been handed a lifeline by Basketball Australia who accepted their wildcard application. They will welcome back game-changing additions in starpower duo Indy Cotton and Ash McGrath to run the back-court, who were both absent from the unsuccessful state titles team. Jack Tweedy is another guard to watch, as is forward and cross-code talent Ty Lockwood – who is also in the Gold Coast Suns academy for his Aussie rules exploits – while Riley Oberman had a fantastic finish to the season at the state championships and was one of the leading scorers. All three developed tenfold in the absence of Cotton and McGrath.
BERWICK COLLEGE (VIC)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 3rd
Squad: 1 Marcus Krasnadamskis, 2 Cedric Rault, 3 Brandon Pele, 12 Jhai Guttenbeil, 13 Seb Rault, 14 Phoenix Windsor, 20 Truman Byrne, 22 Callum McDonald, 39 Heath McPherson, 44 Ryan Baker
Coach: Brent Hobba
The boys from Berwick College secured their spot in the Championship division by toppling arch rivals Rowville Senior College by three points in a thrilling BV Champions Cup final. The Berwick program, which has produced a host of exciting talents in recent years including Syracuse commit Luke Fennell, features some top talents and a balance across the squad led by big man Marcus Krasnadamskis and flashy wing Cedric Rault.
LAKE GINNINDERRA COLLEGE (ACT)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 1st
Squad: 4 Solomon Duggan, 5 Austin Fage, 6 Van Wirth, 7 Oli Dyason, 8 Aleer Chol, 9 Reece Harrigan, 10 Stirling Musgrove, 12 Ryan Gooch, 15 Ben Godwin, 25 Jacob Furphy, 32 Ajak Nyuon
Coach: Jason Denley
The ACT juggernaut was embarrassed in last year’s BA Schools Championships final by The Southport School. They will fire back with plenty of venom, with a side packed full of talent. The Lake Ginny side will rely on BA Centre of Excellence talents Aleer Chol, Ajak Nyuon and newly-minted Aussie Boomer Jacob Furphy. The sheer height and presence of Nyuon in the paint, coupled with Furphy’s ability from range means the ACT school is a danger right across the court.
DON COLLEGE (TAS)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 8th
Squad: 0 Tait O’Neill, 4 Chad McPherson, 6 Ty Withers, 8 Will Sorensen-Miller, 9 Campbell Jones, 10 Seth Hinds, 12 Bailey Sutcliffe, 14 Kalan Harris
Coach: Andrew Johnston
Tassie schools are back in the big time after the Devonport-based college impressed in their state qualification matches. With three state reps leading the way, the Donkeys certainly showed they can pile on points in a hurry, but this is a step up in class. Another potential concern they face is their depth. They won the Tassie title with six players and are only scheduled to take eight on the trip north. Will Sorenson-Miller and Campbell Jones, who were part of the Tassie under-18 team this year, will be expected to shoulder a lot of the scoring burden. Three-point whiz Jones was one of the stars at the nationals in April. Sorenson-Miller scored over 100 points in the schools qualification games and has a solid all-court game. Ty Withers was part of the Tassie U20 side in January that took bronze at the nationals.
ST GREGORY’S COLLEGE (NSW)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 7th
Squad: 4 Ethan Antala, 6 Kai Allie, 7 Aidan Richards, 8 Dylan Sharp, 9 Kyan Wilton, 10 Kingston Tutani, 11 Ethan Matthews, 12 Nile D’Cruz, 13 Deklin Jarrett, 15 Charlie McBeath
Coach: Melissa Giles
NSW representative wing Charlie McBeath will lead the St Gregory’s College efforts while they have plenty of shooting talent on the floor including young gun Kai Allie. St Greg’s beat out NSW Combined High Schools champions Bulli High School and sports schools champions Westfields Sports High to be crowned NSW All Schools champions and earn their spot on the Gold Coast. The Glitter Strip has proved a happy hunting ground for the Campbelltown natives this year after taking out the Marist Schools title earlier this year.
TRINITY COLLEGE (SA)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 4th
Squad: 1 Michael Herjok, 2 Josh Louis, 3 Mach Kuol, 5 Jordan Durant, 6 Shabani Kuyomba, 7 Ezra Wormald, 8 Talon Bomford, 9 Jamieson Shouten, 10 Duot Bul, 12 Sseko Waswani, 13 Deng Manyang
Coach: Chris Clausen
The Adelaide-based school might think they are flying under the radar heading into the BA Schools Championships but it is anything but. Trinity College have a winning culture imbued in the squad with several players coming off a breakthrough national title win at the Under-18 Club Championships. Big man Deng Manyang will lead the Trinity College side on both ends of the floor while exciting point guard Michael Herjok has proven he can be hard to stop when he gets hot. Trinity won the Under-17 Division 1 title at last year’s schools championships with many of that squad making the step up to the Championship division in 2024.
WILLETTON SENIOR HIGH (WA)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 6th
Squad: 4 Cameron Groom, 5 Tyris Brough, 6 Ethan Carroll, 7 Oliver Merks, 8 Austin Crowe-St Jack, 10 Channing Olowoyo, 11 Leon Maguire, 12 Harrison Fitzgerald, 14 Isitolo Ahio, 15 Maxwell Bucknell
Coach: Blair Kearsley
Visitors to this tournament every year since 2016, WA big-hitters Willetton never fail to impress. Last year they even pulled of the upset of the tournament in taking down eventual champions, The Southport School. A couple of young guns from that campaign, as well as two of the most promising guards in the state, headline their challenge this year. Austin Crowe-St Jack underlined his potential on the final day of last year’s tournament when he scored 23 points, while Max Bucknell averaged 6.4 points per game in 2023. Both have taken their games to a higher level in 2024. Channing Olowoyo and Harrison Fitzgerald were two of the stars of the recent U18 Club Championships in Perth when Willetton were beaten in the final by Central Districts Lions. Laid low by a fractured tibia in 2023, Fitzgerald has looked impressive this year and offers an all-round scoring game that will have opponents on edge.
Crowe-St Jack, Bucknell and Fitzgerald are all in the WA side for the upcoming U20s nationals.
BRISBANE BOYS COLLEGE (QLD)
KTV pre-tournament ranking: 5th
Squad: 0 Luke Stafford, 2 Charlie Hinson, 3 Lee van der Westhuizen, 5 Jack Wilcox, 6 Jagger Tune, 7 Cooper Wilson, 8 Emerson Juhasz, 10 Charlie Winks, 11 Daniel Graham, 12 Will Cohn, 13 Zeke Byrne, 15 Andrew Hyun
Coach: Mike Ayanbadejo
The Brisbane Boys College side come into the tournament as the best in the Sunshine State and will have plenty of confidence after taking down Championship rivals The Southport School during their run to the CBSQ Opens title earlier this year. Athletic big man Emerson Juhasz – one of the fastest rising stars in the state – will lead the way for the school coming off the back of a 30-point game in the CBSQ final while the two Charlies – Hinson and Winks – will add plenty of depth on the shooting chart. The BBC side is coached by Believe Basketball’s Mike Ayanbadejo
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