Jason Spurgin makes history as first Toowoomba Grammar School student to play in the NBL

Jason Spurgin created Toowoomba Grammar history on the weekend when he became the first student to debut in the NBL. However, as a former coach reveals, it was a tough conversation ahead of chasing a college scholarship which sparked his incredible rise. Details inside.

Jason Spurgin attempts a shot for the Sydney Kings on his NBL debut. Picture: Kris Saad

 

Toowoomba’s Jason Spurgin etched his name into Toowoomba Grammar School history on the weekend as he became the first Old Boy to make his NBL debut when he stepped onto the floor for the Sydney Kings against the Cairns Taipans.

From the Garden City to the US collegiate system and the bright lights of the NBL, his former coach Kabe Cicolini has watched on with pride.

“(I am) incredibly proud, not only from a school standpoint but from a personal standpoint,” Cicolini said.

“Once Jason chose basketball as his sport of preference having been a multi-sport athlete before that, we spent a lot of time together working on his game both in a formal setting and then just privately as well.

“To see him take on every challenge he’s come up against and thrived time after time is really pleasing and it’s just the reward that a kid with that work ethic and that kind of drive deserves.

“He was always fundamentally just a good person, he comes from a good family so he was really coachable for us but also was an excellent leader.

“He didn’t necessarily choose to get serious about his basketball until grade 10 and then he was captain of the program in year 11 and year 12.

Toowoomba Grammar School basketball captain Jason Spurgin (left) and Samuel Harmsworth with Kabe Cicolini in 2018.

“So to go from essentially not playing at any serious capacity to being the leader of our program two years in a row just speaks to what person he is on and off the court.”

While Cicolini always knew there was talent and potential for Spurgin to play at a high level, it was a crossroads moment in the later stages of his time at Toowoomba Grammar School which drastically changed the trajectory of his basketball career.

“We obviously knew there was talent there and by the time he was in year 12 and he was six foot nine, you think that he will kind of translate at some point,” he said.

“We still talk about, he and I had a meeting with his dad Steven and talking about the possibility of getting recruited and going to college.

“I said to him at the time that if we continue working the way we’re working, we will probably end up in a D2 school, we probably need to ramp it up to get to a D1 school which then leads to further opportunities down the line.

Jason Spurgin in action for the Bowling Green Falcons in the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal game between the Bowling Green Falcons and Kent State Golden Flashes. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“Jason told us when he came back to talk to our whole program, he didn’t like that answer.

“He used it as fuel and kind of used that as the motivator to secure himself a division 1 scholarship and he’s obviously leveraged that into professional opportunities.

“The talent came along quickly, particularly for somebody of that size but he really just continued to exponentially increase his commitment and his work ethic relative to what he was doing and what his goals were and that what I think has really allowed him to succeed.”

After beginning to take basketball seriously in his final years of schooling, Spurgin became an integral part of the TGS system on the court and was a game-changer every time he played.

“By the time he was in year 12, he was a primary part of both our offence and or defence,” Cicolini said.

“His size and length and his ability to put the ball on the floor as a big guy allowed us to run a lot of our offence through him.

“He never really demanded a huge amount of touches, he was always really good at creating his own shot and working out of our system which has served him well as he’s moved through college.

“But then also having somebody of that size and length on the defensive end, he would very consistently either block or change shots and bail us out of some bad defensive possessions just because of his ability to read the game and his size and length.

“He was pivotal for us in year 11 and year 12 it was on the back of his performances that springboarded our program into higher competitions and higher results, so he was massively central to what we were doing as a program at that time.”

Spurgin’s legacy is still felt today within the Toowoomba Grammar School ranks, with the basketball program stronger than ever.

“I think when I first came back to coach, Jase was only in grade 10 and that was kind of paired up with when he started to take basketball seriously, we spent a lot of time creating culture at that point,” Cicolini said.

Kabe Cicolini. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“It was on the back of guys like Jase that we created what we have from a cultural standpoint today.

“He was fundamental in creating an identity that we still stick with today but then also, he’s gone on and shown kids from regional towns that if you have the work ethic and have the desire and you have the people in your corner, you really can achieve what was a dream for him.

“It’s been a massive game-changer in what is possible for a program like ours which is large by Toowoomba standards but small by GPS standards.

“He continues to come back and coach in the program and run clinics in the programs, he would do 5am workouts with me over his summer break and he would always be there to talk to guys who were coming in for their 6am workouts and stuff like that.

“Just his presence and his ability to perpetuate our culture has been such a massive thing for us over the whole journey so it’s really awesome to see him get what he deserves.”

Spurgin is a trailblazer of TGS basketball and Cicolini said the 23-year-old has inspired several students to pursue their collegiate basketball and NBL dreams.

“Jase going to a school over there (USA) has definitely lit the fire for a lot of our boys to pursue their college dreams,” he said.

TGS Basketball’s Josiah Neal, coach Kabe Cicolini, Will Harmsworth, Joshua Ozegovic, Jason Spurgin, Ngaa Ngorima, Angus Scott, Joshua Allen, Peter Deng, Reid Capp, Greg Spurgin, Peter Geary and assistant coached Krystal Watson and Cameron Weber in 2018.

“We’ve had a fair few over the last couple of years go on to different levels of college so to be the first one to break through into the NBL ranks just shows that boys of similar backgrounds with similar circumstances, it is absolutely accessible for them.

“We’ve got a pretty talented program at the moment with some guys that can follow a similar path, it will just depend on if they have the same type of work ethic and the same type of drive that Jase does.

“We actually have an Old Boy over in the states at the moment Harry Hornery, he’s about to start his fourth year at Southern California and he’s very ready to play NBL once he graduates and comes home I think that’s a pretty strong chance of happening as well.

“So it is really cool to see some of these kids from small towns be able to achieve their dreams.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.