Hoops

Aussies in the NCAA 2015/16 Season

Following two highly productive seasons at Utah State, Funda Nakkasoglu has made the decision to transfer to Florida and will commence play in 2017/18.

Nakkasoglu recently made the decision to leave the Aggies, but this announcement confirms that the Victorian will return to college basketball rather than returning to Australia to play.

Funda Nakkasoglu transfers to Florida

The 2015/16 NCAA Division I season was powered by the Aussie big men, led by the projected 2016 number one NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons.

NCAA Men: 2016 All-Australian Awards

Nicole Seekamp headlines the #TeamPnR All-Aussie Award winners and teams.

NCAA Women: 2016 All-Australian Awards

Stanford and Alanna smith into elite 8 after beating favourites Notre dame.

Baylors Kirsty Wallace and Florida states Rachel antoniadou will face off tomorrow morning.

Diamond Valley came into the Big V season full of hope and optimism, which mostly stemmed from University of Miami commit Dejan Vasiljevic. Questiones remained however; would his college commitment be a distraction, and how would he fare playing against men?

Two games into the season and all of these questions have been well and truly been answered.

Dejan Vasiljevic soaring like an Eagle in the Big V

Thon Maker’s recruiting process is moving along, with the five-star Australian setting up dates to officially visit the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Maker will visit the Sun Devils on 18 April, and then moving on to Notre Dame a week later on 25 April.

Thon Maker sets official visits to Arizona State, Notre Dame

ustralian sophomore forward Keely Froling has announced that she will depart Southern Methodist University following the 2015-16 season and return to Australia to continue her basketball career.

Keely Froling departs SMU, heads home to Australia

Saint Mary's find themselves on the bubble after losing the WCC Tournament to Gonzaga. But should they still be going dancing?

Saint Mary’s Deserves an NCAA Tournament Bid

After the season a new thread!

Keanu Pinder has gone through quite the recruitment process, having de-committed from Nebraska in May 2015, announcing his commitment to New Mexico, and it seemed as if the Perth native had finally found a home.

However, Pinder is back on the recruitment trail, announced via Twitter that he has now also de-committed from the Lobos in another turn of events.

Keanu Pinder de-commits from New Mexico

Australian high school sensation Jack White has made his decision and will be at Duke next season – the first Australian male Blue Devil.

Jack White announces verbal commit to Duke

In what has been a fairly slow and quiet recruitment process, business is about to pick up for Australian sensation Thon Maker, as more details are emerging about his official visit dates and which teams are leading the race to secure his commitment.

Jayhawks secure first official visit from Thon Maker

I hope my excitement for March Madness came across! Great time of the year for hoops, especially with so many Aussies involved and doing well.

This week's stock report is also out. Drmic, Naar and Donlan are the risers.

NCAA Men: The Stock Report (3 Mar)

I love March Madness!

In the debut show of the Pick and Pop, topics covered include:

◾ Saint Mary’s chances in the WCC Tournament
◾ Whether Thon Maker is underestimated
◾ Which Aussie in the NBA is the most valuable to their team
◾ Alicia Froling’s rebounding record compared to Venky Jois’ blocks record
◾ Whether fans should be upset if Ben Simmons does not play in the Olympics
◾ Men’s NCAA team of the week

The Pick and Pop: Thon Maker, March Madness and the Aussies in the NBA

The Texas-based Aussies were on song once again, with Kristy Wallace leading Baylor to victory to clinch the outright regular season title for the Lady Bears, whilst Alicia Froling continued the record-breaking season for the Aussies at SMU. Lauren Nicholson sparkled in her return to full playing time, whilst Marena Whittle signed off on her college career with two solid performances.

NCAA Women: Wallace leads Baylor to the Big 12 title

Queenslander Jonathon Janssen is now adjusting to life in Cleveland, Ohio as a sophomore with the Cleveland State Vikings. Janssen, a 6’9 forward, has been able to develop his game to fit the mold of a current day stretch-4. I was lucky enough to talk with Janssen to talk adjusting to college, his journey to America, playing in Cleveland and more.

Jono Janssen on adjusting to college in the USA

Anthony Drmic, Matt Donland and Isaac Humphries have seen their stock rise over the past week.

NCAA Men: The Stock Report (25 Feb)

The Australian forwards continued to lead the charge in NCAA Division I basketball this week, with Ben Simmons, Venky Jois and Xavier Cooks all delivering on the big stage while Anthony Drmic showed signs he may be overcoming his niggling injury.

NCAA Men: Aussie forwards deliver as Drmic finds form

After breaking Alicia Froling’s single-season blocks record at SMU last week, Steph Collins this week set a new single-game blocks record for the Mustangs with 7 in a win over Tulsa. Elsewhere, Claire Ioannidis joined an elite club at North Florida, whilst Nicole Seekamp picked up yet another player of the week award for two excellent performances.

NCAA Women: Collins’ record-breaking form continues

Yet another Australian set a record this week, as Steph Collins broke single season blocks record at SMU, moving two clear of Alicia Froling’s 2014/15 mark of 54, while Froling received conference honours for the 6th time this season. Elsewhere, Marena Whittle returned to form with a pair of double-doubles, whilst Chelsea Roberts’ shooting was instrumental in a pair of victories for Tennessee-Martin.

NCAA Women: Collins and Froling dominating for SMU

The Stock Report for the previous week in college basketball, where we analyse three players whose stock has risen over the week and three whose stock has fallen. Of course, the only players who can be featured are Aussies!

NCAA Men: The stock report (11 Feb)

The usual faces put in excellent shifts this week, with Funda Nakkasoglu, Lauren Nicholson, and Alicia Froling all among the top performers. There were also some great performances from some more unlikely sources, as Kiara Phillips helped Norfolk State break their season duck, whilst Alex Delaney and Yasmin Miller also showcased some scintillating play.

NCAA Women: Phillips leads Norfolk State to first wins

A nice article on Vasiljevic's commitment to Miami U.

Dejan Vasiljevic Shooting For The Stars

“I felt that choosing Miami would provide me with a necessary balance in terms of my athletic and academic developments and allow me to reach my professional goals.”

Senior forward Venky Jois has returned to his devastating best for Eastern Washington, earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honours for the first time this season. Jois, along with fellow big men Ben Simmons and Majok Deng were the standout Aussie performers in NCAA Division I basketball this week.

NCAA Men: Jois soars in the Big Sky

There were several excellent performances by Australians, but this week no doubt belonged to Alicia Froling. The sophomore forward set two school records and also compiled career-high’s in scoring and rebounding on her way to leading SMU to victory against Cincinnati. Elsewhere, the freshmen had a week to remember, with Courtney Woods, Megan McKay, and Rachel Brewster all producing top-notch performances.

NCAA Women: Alicia Froling rewrites the record books

I thought drmic might get a invite to an Nba camp...I'm not so sure now. Having his worst season in college imo.

Alicia froling looking like she might make the wnba if she continues playing so well.
33 points, 22 rebounds, 3 blocks


It's great to see Aussies doing well, but you also need to put it into context.
howcstrong is the team they are in? Are they the best players on that team, then look at the conferences the team plays in, and how they rank nationally.

Using SMU as an example, Simmons is surrounded by strong players, and that's not Taking anything away from his game as he's having a stand out season, Froling on the other hand would be the strongest on that team for sure( also great player) SMU men's sit at the top of their conference and rank 13th nationally, yet their actual conference is not classed as a top one in the NCAA, the SMU women on the other hand, sit mid field, yes they have THE best team in the NCAA in Conneticut for the women , but the rest in their conference don't even rank, SMU themselves come in at 135 , so it all needs to be put into perspective, bit like having a bench player for a state team go play domestic of course they should be raking up the stats, but put them up against a strong opponent and the outcome could be different( though both these would be strong in any game so yes makes my comment look a little crazy but SMU was the best way to point out the differences between comps and standards.)
Some of the standards these kids are playing in and against are not actually that good just because they are ranked as DIV 1......... It's the size of the college that gives the ranking, not the depth.

The Australians were back among the awards, earning some Australia Day Honours of a different type, as Tuesday saw Claire Ioannidis pick up the Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Week, whilst Marena Whittle was awarded the Summit League Player of the Week after two double-doubles boosted her tally to ten for the season.

NCAA Women: Ioannidis and Whittle lead the way

Yeah - Harry Froling committed to SMU this past week, joining Tom Wilson on a nationally ranked program for next season.

Dejan Vasiljevic committed to Miami too.

Jois could get some very good offers in Europe, fringe NBA but is currently unable to stretch defenses as he has not yet demonstrated range to the arc. Europe seems most likely.

Drmic is still battling lower leg never complications from his ankle surgery. This has limited him severely. NBL may be his best bet in the short term.

Plenty of good news beyond Simmons there LC. Venky Jois's numbers look like he would be a good fit as a Vukona or Petrie type in the NBL. What sort of level are we expecting him to play at after college? Will he come to the NBL?

We also seem to have some sharpshooters coming through in Naar, Von Hofe and Donlan too!

Ben Simmons might be drawing all the attention, however there is another Aussie big man who continues to turn heads, that man is Majok Deng

NCAA Men: Simmons the standout, Deng turning heads

The Aussie women in college continued to collect awards this week, with Nicole Seekamp, Alicia Froling and Geraldine McCorkell all receiving recognition for their outstanding play. Meanwhile, Saint Mary’s Australian quartet put together some solid performances of their own to help the Gaels to a win over fellow Australian Emily Simons and Pacific.

NCAA Women: Seekamp’s heroics guide Coyotes home

In a big wrap up of the past two weeks, Jock Landale has continued his emergence at Saint Mary’s while Ben Simmons continues to dominate college basketball, both earning conference accolades this week.

NCAA Men: Landale and Simmons earn conference awards

Nail-biters were the order of the week for the Aussies in NCAA Division I action this week, with a handful of games finishing with margins of fewer than three points, with another going to overtime. Whilst players like Kristy Wallace and Sara Anastasieska came up big in clutch situations, Carly Turner was making the most of increased opportunities for Saint Mary’s, muscling in on weekly honours in the process.

NCAA Women: Gaels’ turning opportunities into success

Ben Simmons was one of just 2 freshman selected to the Wooden Award mid-season watch list of 25 players in contention for the 2015/16 NCAA Division I men’s player of the year award.

NCAA Men: Simmons named to mid-season Wooden Award list

Includes full list of top 25.

So many Australian men are standing out in NCAA Division I hoops this season. With conference play now underway, we now take a look at the first couple of months of the season and rank the top 5 Aussies by performance and impact.

NCAA Men: Simmons headlines mid-season Top 5

The Australian women have been taking NCAA Division I hoops by storm this season! With conference play now underway, we take a look at the first couple of months of the season and rank the top 5 Aussies by performance and impact.

NCAA Women: Mid-season top 5

It was hard to look past Ben Simmons yet again this week, however he was not alone as a number of Australian men continued to impress in NCAA Division I basketball.

NCAA Men: Ben Simmons is not the only Aussie impressing

2016 has started remarkably well for the Australians, with no less than four players picking up weekly awards. It was also another great week for Marena Whittle, who moved into the top 20 in the country for double-doubles with her 7th of the season.

NCAA Women: Aussies earn weekly honours

Once again it was the Aussie big men doing most of the damage in NCAA Division I hoops this past week, with Ben Simmons and Gael’s duo Dane Pineau and Jock Landale leading the way.

NCAA Men: Simmons leads the way for Aussie big men

Also, Daniel Mading committed to Arizona State:

Daniel Mading commits to Arizona State

It was a week of few games, but the Aussies still managed to dish up more than their share of good performances. Marena Whittle had two double-doubles for North Dakota State whilst Nicole Seekamp claimed another Summit League Player of the Week award with a stunning all-round performance in a win over Illinois.

NCAA Women: Whittle and Seekamp dominate

A host of Aussie forwards have dominated the college hoops scene this past week, including two Eagles, a Warhawk, a Gael, and one certain LSU Tiger.

NCAA Men: Aussie forwards stand tall

The awards keep coming for the Australians, with Stephanie Collins and Marena Whittle both earning recognition for their performances this week. Elsewhere, Ashley Taia set a second career-high in as many games, while Megan McKay notched the first double-double of her short college career.

NCAA Women: Whittle and Collins gain conference recognition

PS: Keely Froling is also back from injury!

Mangok Mathiang has broken his foot and will miss 6-8 weeks while Deng Adel is set to return from a sprained MCL this week for #19 Louisville.

NCAA Men: Louisville’s Mathiang breaks foot, Adel set to return

PS: Ben Simmons with a near triple-double of 24 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists & 1 steal in LSU's win over Western Kentucky.

Keanu Pinder commits to New Mexico!

VKeanu Pinder follows Chris Harriman to New Mexico

It was a week to remember for many of the Aussie women this week, as no less than four players registered career-high scoring performances, while Virginia Tech’s Hannah Young equaled a record that she now shares with Vanessa Panousis.

NCAA Women: Aussie women run riot

Women's update coming tomorrow morning 9am AEST

The weekly update is back by popular (2) demand!

NCAA Men: Jonah Bolden breaks out for UCLA

After a relatively quiet start to his collegiate career with UCLA, Jonah Bolden played a key role off the bench in helping upset #20 ranked Gonzaga.

Plus big performances from Drmic, Jois, Donlan, Hooley, Simmons and more!

Good question.
I like being spoon-fed my Bianca Dufelmeier updates. Sucks to have to go find them myself.

It was a massive week for the Aussie women in Division I action, with a number earning weekly conference accolades. Arguably none had a greater impact that Virginia Tech’s Vanessa Panousis.

NCAA Women: Panousis picks up ACC and ESPNW awards

Some more college updates...

The Aussie men are helping lead the Saint Mary's resurgence - the Gael's are off to an unbeaten start.

NCAA Men: Naar and Landale ensure Gaels stay unbeaten

Plus some more on Ben Simmons and where his 43 points stacks up amongst the Aussies all-time in the NCAA.

Special? Simmons’ best work is yet to be

This past week Ben Simmons continued to deliver in many different ways, while Venky Jois and George Blagojevic also impressed.

NCAA Men: Simmons delivers in different ways, Jois and Blagojevic impress