Basketball Australia under 18 national championships: Victorians to watch
Five Victorian sides will battle it out for national basketball glory at the under 18 national championships starting on Sunday. Here are our most exciting talents.
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Victoria is aiming to earn the title of Australia’s best basketball state at the under 18 national championships and Kevin Coombs Cup starting on Sunday.
The nation’s best teenagers will descend on Ballarat this weekend as they aim to take major steps forward in their development on the pathway to potential NBA, WNBA, NBL and WNBL superstardom.
Victoria will have four sides in action in the under 18s competition with a male and female team from the metro and country areas.
Meanwhile, there will be one team battling it out for glory in the wheelchair tournament.
Here are a look at the Victorian players to keep an eye on.
Tabitha Betson, Vic Metro women
Betson’s outstanding leadership has seen her named captain of the Vic Metro side as she returns to the national stage after competing in 2021. Part of the Bulleen Boomers program, the young gun has a strong physical presence on the court — both inside and outside the paint and has a fantastic ability to hit a big shot. Her coach Michael Brookens said she is “very well respected by her peers”.
Ethan Bolton, Vic Metro men
Just one player who could easily have his moment of fame on an extremely talented Vic Metro side. The Casey product was on last year’s Vic Metro team and is capable of playing a variety of positions.
Edie Clarke, Vic Metro women
The Melbourne Tigers basketball program product should be full of confidence heading to Ballarat after recently returning from a national junior training camp in Canberra. She been in fantastic form at club level with three strong games to start the Victorian Championship phase of the Victorian Junior Basketball League. The bottom age star could go big on any given day at the Championships.
Tristan Devers, Vic Metro men
Devers gave basketball fans an insight into his ability in 2021 when he found himself on the Nunawading Spectres NBL1 roster. There, the guard averaged 7.75 points a game in his limited opportunities. Although he did drop 26 against the Melbourne Tigers in 26 minutes of action highlighting the ability he has at the offensive end.
Kristian Ferronato, Vic Metro men
The young guard is an absolute must watch talent for the future given his ability to influence the game at both ends of the floor. He is a tough defender who is relentless in his work. Ferronato was on Eltham’s NBL1 South list season despite not having the opportunity to play any minutes. He was recently in Canberra as part of an Australian camp.
Sienna Harvey, Vic Country women
Harvey is returning to Victoria for the tournament from the Centre of Excellence in Canberra, home to Australia’s brightest young talents. Coach Haydn Kirkwood describes his guard as a “special talent who has a big future ahead of her in the game”. From Geelong United, Harvey has been limited in her training sessions with her teammates but given her class there’s no doubt she will make a major difference to this Country side. She will predominantly play through guard but is versatile enough to play a wing position. Watch out for her incredible shooting.
Corey Hastings, Vic Country men
If you’re looking for a lights out shooter than look no further than the Southern Peninsula guard. Coach Brenton O’Brien described him as one of the best shooters in the country and if he gets going at the Championships it could be a long game for his opponent. He has been limited to just one Big V game so far but could be a player to watch when he does return.
Lucas Impey, Vic Country men
Impey is a versatile who can play one through five depending on the match ups for his team. He is a terrific ball handler while his length and athleticism allows him to get into the defensive passing lanes. He is also capable of highlight plays will could make for some exciting action. He will be playing on his home floor.
Georgia McBean, Vic Metro women
McBean is well regarded in Victorian basketball circles and is expected to play a big role in Ballarat. She makes the step up to the under 18s side having been named in the Vic Metro under 16s team last year. She was recently part of training camps in Canberra to try out for the Australian under 17s team. Kilsyth is her home club.
Alex Molan, Vic Country men
Another Ballarat local who will have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family. He comes from a talented sporting family with his sister, Sophie, an AFLW star with Richmond and older brother, Charlie, on Williamstown’s VFL list. Molan is the only “true” point guard of the Vic Country roster. Some may look at the stat sheet and ask what his role is but he is capable of fulfilling the box score if needed but is often a key organiser for any team he is part of.
Milly Sharp, Vic Country women
Considered one of the “glue” members of the team for the fantastic energy she will bring to the court. Sharp returns to the national championships after representing Vic Country in 2021. She will be determined to put together a fantastic performance in front of her home crowd.
Kyra Webb, Vic Country women
Webb is a product of the Casey and Sale basketball programs and looms as one of the most exciting players at the tournament. Coach Haydn Kirkwood says despite Webb being the tallest player on the team she will play through the wing. She also has a fantastic ability to get into the post and is expected to cause plenty of headaches for opposition defenders.
WHAT THE COACHES SAID
Vic Country men, Brenton O’Brien
“It’s been good to have some real preparation time compared to last year when I was an assistant coach and we only had two weeks. It’s a really exciting chance for our players to show what they’re about. We won’t be successful without everyone buying in their role which the group has done really well so far. We’ve got some size in Martin Steen and Nate Hargrave which we haven’t really had before. I’m excited about what we could possibly achieve but we need to go in with an open mind because there’s been so little basketball in the last two years.”
Vic Country women, Haydn Kirkwood
“The girls have been tracking really well ahead of the tournament and I’m pleased to have a healthy roster which means no one is missing from the squad when it was first announced. We had a recent practice match against Vic Metro which I thought was a really good starting point because we’ve built really well from there. There’s a good mix in our group and hopefully we can make a deep run over the next week.”
Vic Metro men, Trevor Lee
“I was really impressed with how quickly our team clicked as a unit. Everyone has brought into what we’ve been trying to achieve over the last 10 weeks which has us ready to go on Sunday. We had five guys attend the national training camp in March which speaks volumes of how much talent we have but we’re not going to be relying on one player. Of all the players we’ve picked in this team, anyone could get hot and have a major influence on the result of any given game. We’re prepared to try different things depending on the opposition because we’re flexible and have confidence in our system.”
Vic Metro women, Michael Brookens
“We’ve been lucky to avoid any major interruptions to our squad because everyone is healthy and ready to go. I think we’ve got a great group of players where we’re going to be relying on everyone to get as far as we possibly can. It’s a platoon system because everyone has a role to play, that’s how you have tournament success.”
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