Australian club basketball organization embracing U.S. trip
The North East Bushrangers flew from Australia to the United States over the weekend, beginning a three-week stay they expect to be equal parts a challenge and a new experience.
The club basketball organization from Wangaratta in the state of Victoria is bringing 31 athletes — 21 boys and 10 girls, all between ages 14 and 17 — who will play seven games in an 11-day span in central and southwest Ohio, then spend the rest of their trip as tourists in New York City and Los Angeles.
“This is all about the experience,” girls coach Tony Kelly said. “Our athletes do not normally get the opportunity to participate at such an advanced level and for them to experience this tour on the other side of the world will be the making of some of these young adults, if not all of them.”
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Showtime Basketball, a company that has provided recruiting and travel opportunities to Australian basketball teams since 2002, began organizing this trip in late 2021.
According to the company’s website, 28 high school club and collegiate teams and more than 2,500 travelers have participated in basketball tours between Australia and the U.S. in the past 20 years. Thirty-seven American collegiate teams, including Wittenberg, have gone to Australia in that same span with Showtime’s assistance.
The most recent Australian team to visit central Ohio was the Ringwood Hawks in 2018.
“It’s cool to see just how other countries play their basketball,” said Thomas Worthington boys coach Sean Luzader, whose team played Ringwood and is including North East’s boys and girls in the Cardinals’ annual Stephen Gussler Invitational on Dec. 27 and 28. “They will play a different style. (International teams) are used to playing faster because of the shot clock. Our kids would always get called for traveling because they call that differently. They call fouls differently. Internationally, it’s eight seconds in the backcourt instead of 10.”
The Bushrangers left Australia on Dec. 18. Their first games are Dec. 20 at West Chester Lakota West, in suburban Cincinnati, before the teams split.
The girls travel to central Ohio on Dec. 22 to play Pickerington North, while the boys face Cincinnati Moeller. They reunite the next day for a doubleheader at Hilliard Davidson, then have four days off from games before the Gussler Invitational.
Both teams play Thomas on the first day. On Dec. 28, the girls face Walnut Ridge and the boys play Painesville Harvey.
The boys return to Cincinnati on Dec. 29 to play Elder, then face a doubleheader the next day at Dublin Coffman. Games wrap up on New Year’s Eve when the girls visit Oxford Talawanda.
“The trip is going to be awesome and a great experience,” said Liz Murphy, a junior forward for North East’s girls team. “Playing with (American) rules will be difficult but by the first game, I think we will know what we need to do. … I have never been overseas and never played (outside Australia) either. I’m very excited.”
North East boys coach Brett Taylor thinks the schedule will not be as grueling on players as it might appear, given that the Bushrangers’ regular season, which takes place during Australia’s winter months, often includes similar stretches.
“Our athletes compete in tournament play during their regular season … (and) they would play up to five games over a two-day period. I don’t think the amount of games will be a concern for them,” Taylor said. “We’ve been training hard and preparing for this tour for almost four months now. The athletes are excited to be given the opportunity and will be ready to perform when the time comes.
“I think the main challenge for these athletes is definitely the time difference (of 16 hours between Ohio and Victoria) and the jetlag factor in the first few days.”
Pickerington North girls coach Rodger Oakes jumped at the chance to be involved in North East’s trip. Like at Thomas, Oakes and his team plan to hold a dinner and a small gift exchange with the Bushrangers.
“We always talk about how the experiences we have as a team are what make high school sports so special,” Oakes said. “You can’t always quantify it in stats and wins or losses. In the end of the day, high school sports give our teams experiences they won’t ever be able to have anywhere else.”
@ThisWeekDave
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