He had spent the previous three years playing for Perth Wildcats, helping the club win two premierships in 2019 and 2020, with the team again making it to the grand final in 2021 but finishing as the championship runner-up after suffering a nine-point loss to Melbourne United.

The Perth Wildcats had made NBL playoffs every year for the previous 35 years, an accomplishment matched by no other professional sporting team in Australia. So, farewelling such an established and successful club to sign for two years with the newly-formed Tasmania JackJumpers franchise was quite a gamble for Steindl.

The 33-year-old admits it wasn’t an easy decision to leave Perth, and there was definitely “fear of the unknown”, but ultimately he felt it was the right decision.

Because the opportunity to be part of shaping a brand new team, in a state that hadn’t had representation in the National Basketball League since the Hobart Devils played their final game in 1996, was simply too enticing.

“It was time for a change,’’ Steindl says.

“And with the idea of being able to help start a franchise from scratch it was, I guess, too good an opportunity to pass up.

“Just knowing this doesn’t come around very often in a lifetime. You get to be part of starting something brand new, you get to put your fingerprint – or footprint – on establishing a new franchise.’’

Steindl was the first of the JackJumpers players signed by head coach Scott Roth to physically land in Tasmania last year and with 237 games under his belt, across eight seasons, he arrived as the JackJumpers’ most experienced NBL player.

Roth described Steindl at the time as the “ultimate professional’’ and could see strong leadership potential. So he was not at all surprised when Steindl’s JackJumpers teammates voted the 200cm forward as the team’s inaugural captain.

Wearing his green #35 jersey, Steindl has slowly but steadily become a crowd favourite at MyState Bank Arena as the season has progressed, with hordes of children and adults in the crowd now proudly sporting replica jerseys in honour of their pointscoring idol.

Steindl has scored as many as 22 points a game for the JackJumpers, nearing his career high of 25 points in a single game which he’s hit three times – twice while playing with the Townsville Crocodiles and once while playing with Perth Wildcats.

But it’s not just his ability to put points on the board that makes Steindl a worthy addition to the JackJumpers’ first-year line-up.

The “quiet”, “mild-mannered” guy from Mackay in North Queensland is also “humble”, “hungry” and is “about all the right things in professional sports’’ according to Roth, who played 160 games in the NBA before forging a successful career as a coach and a talent scout.

Roth was previously lead assistant coach with the Perth Wildcats, helping the team win the 2020 championship, which is where Steindl caught his eye.

“When we started to put this team together, Clint was one of my main targets having spent a year and a half with him in Perth,’’ Roth says of building the JackJumpers.

“I just felt he was ready to take another step, take on another responsibility. When I brought him here, my hope was he would turn into our captain.

And, Roth says, after working closely with Steindl during the inaugural Tassie season he certainly hasn’t been disappointed with his decision to bring him here.

“It turned out that he’s everything I already knew he was – he’s the consummate professional on and off the floor,’’ Roth says of Steindl.

“He’s quiet in general and a little bit mild-mannered but when he speaks, everyone listens. He’s got the right balance of knowing when to speak and the tone that needs to be set and those things are hugely important when you’re trying to build a culture of winning and a culture of accountability.’’

Steindl admits that stepping into the role of captain has pushed him well out of his comfort zone.

He doesn’t consider himself an extrovert or a natural leader but he does pride himself in having a strong work ethic and a desire for his team to succeed.

And he says it has been an “absolute honour” to lead the JackJumpers through the team’s very first – and overwhelmingly successful – season.

“It’s definitely new to me,’’ Steindl says of the top job.

“I’ve never been captain before. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit of pressure that comes with it.

“The biggest thing I take away from it is you gain the respect of your teammates and peers – the guys who voted you into that spot.’’

He says it really is a team effort though, with different JackJumpers teammates taking the opportunity to lead in different situations. Like Josh Magette who will lead the team on the floor and steady the pace coming down the court, or Jack McVeigh who has earned a reputation as being the “energy guy” and pumps up his teammates when they need a boost.

Steindl has drawn on everything he learnt from other captains during his time playing with Cairns Taipans, Townsville Crocodiles and Perth Wildcats, as well as the time he spent playing in Greece and Belgium.

“I’ve spent 10 years playing professionally now and seeing other guys lead teams and looking back on those guys and asking what would those guys do, having learned from them – they are outstanding leaders in very different ways,” Steindl says.

Meanwhile Roth says Steindl has “always been a natural leader”.

“To have the entire group vote him as captain says a lot about his credentials and the respect the group has for him,” he says.

“He sets the standards both on and off the court. He holds himself to high account and he holds others to the same. He knows what it takes to build a championship-winning culture and expect success.”

When Roth was pulling his players together to form the inaugural JackJumpers team, character and commitment were at the forefront of his checklist.

He wanted a group of players who would invest themselves fully into creating something special from the ground up and to do Tasmania proud, and to set up a culture that would stand the test of time.

Before Steindl and the other JackJumpers players had even arrived in the state, Roth publicly shared his lofty ambitions for the franchise – he was determined his Tassie team would be competitive in its first season in the league and he had his sights set on winning the NBL championship.

There were plenty of doubters – those who argued that a brand new team would have little chance of success in the first year.

But Steindl says it has been nice to prove those doubters wrong, with fans regularly on the edge of their seats while watching the underdogs come from behind to rack up a string of impressive wins.

The JackJumpers have won 16 games in their opening season – beating every team in the league at least once – with their final regular season game to be played at MyState Bank Arena on Saturday (April 23) before the hotly-contested playoffs begin.

Steindl says the fact the JackJumpers started at the bottom but quickly managed to become serious championship contenders was a testament to the vision of Roth, and the hard work and dedication of his teammates to build something special for Tasmania.

“A lot of people thought it far-fetched that we’d be where we are now,’’ Steindl says.

“But [Roth] bought guys in that he knew were going to be able to build a culture with him, that were going to trust him. Ever since day one that’s what the guys knew they had to do.

“If you have guys here for the right reasons, who can put ego aside … knowing we’re doing this for something bigger than ourselves, it’s quite easy.’’

While it has been a big year for Steindl on the court, there’s also been a lot happening in his personal life.

Steindl moved to Tasmania last year with his wife Kayla – who is also a basketballer and previously played for Perth Lynx – and their young son Noah.

Since calling Tasmania home, Kayla – who originally hails from the US and met Clint in 2012 – has officially become an Australian citizen.

Noah celebrated his second birthday in Tasmania and the Steindls are now preparing to welcome a new baby to the family – Kayla is 18 weeks pregnant and is due to give birth in mid-September.

Meanwhile Steindl is also studying his Master of Teaching degree – completing his studies with the University of Tasmania online, often during flights to and from the JackJumpers’ away games.

As well as all of this, the Steindls have been busily building friendships and settling into new routines as they adjust to calling Tasmania home.

Kayla has been working as a physical education teacher at Taroona High School, Noah has settled into daycare and Steindl says they’re ‘‘starting to put together little networks outside the basketball community’’.

“So far we’ve really enjoyed it,’’ he says of living at Kingston and taking family walks along the Alum Cliffs track.

One of the biggest highlights so far has been seeing snow on Mt Wellington/kunanyi – an uncommon sight for someone who grew up in North Queensland.

“I get a kick out of seeing the snow in winter,’’ Steindl enthuses.

At a recent JackJumpers family fun day for members at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Steindl got quizzed about his Tasmanian general knowledge and passed the challenge with flying colours. It seems he’s already well-versed on topics like the state’s famous Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), our Tassie-born Crown Princess Mary Of Denmark, the Aboriginal word for Tasmania (lutruwita) – he even knew what a turbo chook was and was also aware that monkeys live in Launceston’s City Park.

As well as getting to know Tasmania, Steindl says he has also enjoyed the chance to get know his teammates in Hobart, away from the basketball court.

The entire team showed up to Noah’s second birthday party, and it was a similar story when Josh Magette’s daughter Joey and Sam McDaniel’s son Malakhi both turned one.

“We show up and hang out,’’ Steindl says.

“And we meet each other’s families.’’

A recent Instagram video shows Steindl lifting Noah high above his head on the basketball court, so the smiling toddler – decked out in a tiny green JackJumpers jersey – can place the ball in the hoop. Steindl’s teammates, including MiKyle McIntosh and Fabijan Krslovic, are there, cheering Noah on.

“This is what it’s all about,’’ Steindl wrote at the time.

“Memories for a lifetime’’.

He says building “friendships and memories” off the court was just as important as working together on the court.

“At the end of the day you can have all the success on the basketball court but a lot of memories from a professional sports career come from off the court,’’ he says.

Once the NBL season wraps up for 2022, Steindl will head to Hamilton Island in Queensland where he and Kayla and Noah will be reunited with their extended family.

Steindl grew up in North Queensland, where his mum and dad both played basketball and were heavily involved in the local basketball community.

“I was one of those annoying kids running around the court,’’ Steindl laughs.

“I was told to sit still on the sidelines but I never did. I was always off running around chasing a basketball with my friends.’’

He played “all sorts of sports’’ as a youngster, including athletics, cricket, soccer and golf.

“You name it, I was probably doing it,’’ he says.

But when he had to choose just one sport to really focus on, he says basketball was the clear standout, especially when he realised the kind of career success and travel opportunities that could be achieved playing the sport at an elite level.

“It was the one I really enjoyed, I enjoyed the team aspect of it,’’ Steindl says of why basketball was his top choice.

After attending the Australian Institute of Sport, Steindl moved to America in 2008 to play basketball for Saint Mary’s College in California and also completed a Bachelor of Science (Business Admin) degree. In 2012, he returned to Australia and joined the Taipans, where he spent two seasons. He then spent two seasons playing for the Crocodiles and won the NBL Most Improved Player in 2016. After stints in Belgium and Greece, Steindl joined the Wildcats in 2017 before coming to Tasmania last year in preparation for the 2021-2022 season with the JackJumpers.

It’s a long way from his childhood in Mackay, but all these years later Steindl says it’s that same team aspect of basketball that he still loves, which seems fitting for the JackJumpers’ leader.

“It’s definitely the team aspect and the challenge of getting a group of people – whether that be in basketball or in business – to be able to buy into one goal and have everyone play a part to achieve that goal,’’ Steindl says.

“That’s the kick I get out of it.

“It’s not just one guy who is going to win you a game or get you a championship or lose a game. It’s the buy-in from everyone to achieve that goal. When you come together and you do that, it creates a feeling like no other. And it’s a great feeling.’’

And he says having the roar of the Tasmanian crowd behind the team at both MyState Bank Arena in Hobart and Launceston’s Silverdome had made their stellar debut season even sweeter.

“The one thing we’ve found is, Tasmanians are extremely passionate about their basketball,’’ Steindl says.

“It’s been quite a while since Tasmania has had a team in the national competition. So from early on, the arena has been packed out. And we’re loving it. We love being out there, performing for fans, corporate sponsors and season members.

Tasmanians have flocked to be part of the so-called Ant Army, with MyState Bank Arena – or The Nest as it is commonly known – buzzing with a sea of green for every home game, as Tasmanians revel in the chance to be part of the national competition once more.

“It’s been a whole lot of fun and I just hope fans can look down on the court when they leave at end of the game and feel that they’re proud to have those guys out there, representing Tasmania,’’ Steindl says.

“That’s been another huge part of why we’ve had some of the success along the way is because we want to go out there and defend the island. We want to make this community proud of this team that they are getting behind.

“It’s coming back to the culture and building a foundation for this club to be successful in 10 or 20 years’ time.’’

With the JackJumpers leading a hard-fought battle towards playoffs in recent weeks, Steindl, who is on a two-year contract, hasn’t really had a chance to think about his next season with the JackJumpers.

But with many of the existing players already contracted to return next year (and further announcements set to be made in coming weeks) Steindl hopes the close-knit team can build on the highs of the 2022 season.

“Given some of the success we’ve had this year, we’ve got some big shoes to fill come year two,’’ Steindl says.

“Because we’ve shown what we can do in year one, year two cannot be a backwards step, it has to continue to gain momentum. But I think we can close this season feeling proud of what we’ve done, knowing that there’s a lot of room to grow but we got things off to a strong start for Tasmania.’’•

Tasmania JackJumpers play their final, regular-season, sold-out home game against Melbourne United at MyState Bank Arena on Saturday April 23 at 5.30pm. The match will screen on ESPN (Kayo and Foxtel) and at Wrest Point. NBL playoffs begin next week. jackjumpers.com.au