Nothing but net gains: basketball’s popularity proves Aussie kids can jump

Australian schools are having to renovate local stadiums to match demand from aspiring basketball players, opting away from traditional sports.

Kai Hush, 14, left, and Max Tumminello, 15, shoot some hoops at St Luke’s Grammar on Sydney’s northern beaches. Picture: Jane Dempster

Basketball has become so popular in Australia it has overtaken all traditional sports in some schools, with places in junior league competitions filling up months ­before nominations even open.

From Hobart to Darwin, junior basketball leagues are struggling to keep up with demand, and are knocking back teams and infuriating parents and children.

But perhaps the most telling sign of its rising popularity can be found at a prestigious Sydney Catholic school that is known for sports such as cricket and rugby.

This year, St Ignatius’ College Riverview has 22 cricket teams, 35 rugby teams — and 59 basketball teams. Even allowing for the smaller size of basketball teams, that’s a remarkable turnaround that has stunned principal Paul Hine, who has had to substantially expand the school’s court facilities, hire extra coaches and rearrange class schedules to make time to train the teams.

“Historically, basketball training was always held in the afternoons. But given the emerging popularity of basketball, a significant portion of team training is now also conducted in the mornings,” Dr Hine said.

While some schools have been reluctant to embrace the American import, others have introduced elite training programs that have resulted in students winning scholarships to study abroad.

Oliver Lucas, 15, looks to pass his younger opponent Kai Hush, 14, in the mixed grades team. Picture: Jane Dempster

St Luke’s Grammar, in Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches, is one of those schools.

Student and representative player Max Tumminello, 15, trains several times a week, including a session for elite students with ­basketball legend Shane Heal.

Max is looking to follow in the footsteps of former students Kitty Henderson and Elles van der Maas, both of whom were awarded full scholarships to study in the US at Columbia University and Yale, respectively.

“I’m actually midway through my video application at the ­moment,” he told The Weekend Australian. “There’s just such a culture for the sport at school.”

Sport director Craig Baker said the school had just 16 teams when he joined in 2006. This year there are 75. “About 10 years ago things dramatically changed for us,” he said. “Basketball does a lot for making children feel like they’re part of the school and community. They do take a sense of pride in representing the school.

“We don’t have compulsory sport but we still have a 75 per cent participation rate in the program.”

Junior player and captain Nick Church, 17, said “basketball is really just the predominant sport here at St Luke’s”.

“Because there’s less players (in basketball), there’s more involvement than soccer,” he added.

About 10km north of St Luke’s, the Manly Warringah Basketball Association is “busting at the seams”, according to program manager Kirsten De Forest. With the exception of 2020, when the pandemic curtailed attendance, basketball has grown about 10 per cent year on year, MWBA president Owen Evans said.

“By and large we need twice the facilities we have, and so does everybody else. Northern beaches has an enormous lack of facilities, but so does Sydney. We have the largest single facility in NSW out at Narrabeen — and no government support at all,” he said.

The need to expand courts is felt nationwide, according to Basketball Australia. “The demand to play exceeds available court supply, which is something state governing bodies and Basketball Australia are working on,” a BA spokesperson said.