Basketball news: Latest NBL off-season talking points
One of the NBL’s greatest names could soon be back on the national stage with Andrew Gaze’s son pushing for an opportunity to emulate his famous father.
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The son of Australia’s greatest domestic basketballer, Mason Gaze, remains determined to fulfil his NBL dream like his father Andrew despite missing selection after trialling with the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Gaze junior was one of 28 players involved in JackJumpers Development trials in Hobart last week.
The rising forward impressed, but didn’t secure a development position on Tasmania’s roster for the 2022/23 NBL season.
Gaze junior, though, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and says the trial has further fuelled his desire to appear in the NBL like his father and grandfather Lindsay, who coached the now defunct Melbourne Tigers for 22 seasons.
He has fond memories of watching his dad coach the Sydney Kings back in 2016, where he was exposed to the professionalism of star players like gun guard Kevin Lisch.
“Now I feel like I’m at a level where I’m only an arm’s reach away from the NBL,” Gaze junior about playing in the NBL, where his father Andrew won two championships with the Melbourne Tigers and collected a record seven MVP awards.
“It motivates me even more because you know how special it is to be a part of the league.
“Even the articles about Larry (Kestelman) wanting the NBL to overtake cricket in the summer, and that isn’t that far off.
“The sport is going in the right direction, so hopefully I can get there while it is still going upwards.”
Gaze junior, 21, praised the JackJumpers franchise for conducting a professional and educational Development trial.
He hopes to use the lessons learnt from his brief time with the JackJumpers to become a more polished player.
“It was a really good experience and probably my first proper tryout,” he said.
“The coaches were really accommodating, which was positive.
“It was a long day with two, two-hour sessions with one break in between.
“It was really good to play against a bunch of guys that I’ve played against, with about half of the players trialling from NBL1 South.
“The coaches spoke about adapting to the different circumstances. I would have loved to get in, but I’ll just prepare for next season’s NBL1 with the Tigers.
“I’ll put in a really good season and whatever comes from that afterwards, whether it be the NBL or overseas somewhere, that is my next goal.”
Gaze junior is coming off an impressive NBL1 season with the Melbourne Tigers, including receiving a Youth Champ Men All-Star five award.
For all his success, he identified adding more muscle as one of his main focuses this off-season.
It’s why Gaze junior has connected with long-time NBL and WNBL strength coach Bruce Gray in an attempt to bulk up his slender frame.
“I’ve got a whole plan ready with Bruce for this off-season,” he said.
“The weight room is the big one for me. Ever since I’ve been to college, and even before that, I’ve been under weight and struggled to put on weight.
“I get bumped around because the way I play is a lot of backdoor cuts and off-ball movement.
“I think when the NBL1 boys started to realise that is where I was getting a lot of my points in offence, they started bumping me and I had to figure out how to avoid it and not just go through it.
“Hopefully, I can put on about five to 10 kilos this off-season, so I can get to the rim a bit more and create contact and finish.”
Gaze Junior has also been leaning heavily on his grandfather Lindsay, the god father of Australian basketball, for career advice about his next move.
“I was talking to grandpa about it recently – I want to be ready when I get my NBL call-up,” he said.
“I know a lot of guys who have been down the NBL Development contract route.
“It’s awesome, but at the same time I want to be where there is a clear timeline of when I can get on to the main roster eventually and not just be a guy who trains with the team and then you’re one and done.
“I don’t really want that because I want to be really ready.”
BASKETBALL TIPPED TO OWN SUMMER SPORT LANDSCAPE
NBL boss Larry Kestelman has thrown down the gauntlet to cricket and the A-League, declaring basketball can become Australia’s No. 1 summer sport.
The Australian competition is surging on the back of record attendances, world-class on-court action, and a genuine link to America’s NBA as a breeding ground for emerging and established players to join the globe’s premier league.
Kestelman believes the NBL possesses all the qualities trump the A League and even bump cricket, Australia’s national sport, from the top of its summer perch.
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“I’ve always wanted to be the No. 1 summer sport, which was my aim when I first took over the league and we won’t stop there,” Kestelman said ahead of the 2022/23 NBL season tipping off on October 1.
“You’ve got mature sports like the AFL and the NRL in the winter that are just absolute behemoths and own that space.
“For me, we have a great opportunity to be the No. 1 sport in summer.
“There are other sports that absolutely deserve a place, like cricket with their version of the shorter game and the A League football.
“However, cricket is an all-day game or five hours, and the A League is a great product, but you are talking about something that is hard to compare to the English Premier League.
“I think the quality of the (A League) product can’t be in the same category as the basketball in this country with where the NBL stands as the second-best league behind the NBA.
“That is no disrespect to them (football) — that is just factual.
“I’m not for one second ever saying we’ll become the NBA, but to have the second-best basketball product in the world is pretty special.
“There is no shortage of competition, but I feel like we as a sport are really well positioned to own that No. 1 mantle in the summer.”
Kestelman’s vision could be viewed as bold, but he genuinely thinks the NBL can dominate the Australian public’s hearts and minds over summer.
He points out that basketball is hugely popular with the youth.
Basketball is also played indoors in a concert-like environment, played over a two-hour window, which is a perfect entertainment package.
“Then we’ve got former and aspiring NBA players in our league,” he said.
“You can follow their stories here backwards and forwards, which is an important link.”
Kestelman also reaffirmed there is genuine global interest to invest in the NBL as partners.
He insists he “won’t stand in the way” of private equity as the competition’s future, although he concedes it most likely won’t come to fruition for at least another 12 to 24 months.
“But I think the NBL has a bigger future than just in Australia,” he said.
“We want the eyes of the world on the NBL, and for that to happen we’ll need global partners who understand the market better than I do.
“Whether that is Asia, Europe, or America, I’d love to see other people involved in the league.
“For me, it has always been about making the NBL the best version of itself and I certainly won’t do anything to hold that back.
“I think letting people into the family who can do a better job at aspects that I can is just part of the process.”
Another Next Star to the NBA 📈
— The NBL (@NBL) August 10, 2022
Makur Maker has reportedly signed with the @WashWizards for the coming season âœï¸
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Kestelman confirmed the NBL is in discussions with Basketball Australia about integrating the Asian market into the Australian league via FIBA, who want to see Asia build a stronger presence on the international stage.
It comes as Boomers coach and former Illawarra Hawks mentor Brian Goorjian, who is now coaching the Bay Area Dragons in the Philippines, announced his desire for the NBL to join forces with Asia in a EuroLeague style international competition.
Kestelman sees merit in Goorjian’s plan to increase the Asian market’s involvement in the NBL.
“That is what we are discussing with FIBA and BA, so it is exhibition games, is it teams coming to play here?,” he said.
“We are definitely starting to lock outside of Australia to make the NBL even more global.
“There has been a huge amount of interest from people to see if they can get involved in the league or teams.
“They can see the growth and potential of what we are building here.
“In the meantime, we’ll put our heads down and our bums up, continue to work hard.
“The NBL is going from strength to strength, but I feel like we are only just starting to understand what the full potential of the sport and this league is.”
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Originally published as Basketball news: Latest NBL off-season talking points
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