The college basketball season is upon us, which means a heap of Australian and New Zealand’s best young talent is set to be on show.
This will be a particularly interesting season, from the perspective of those from the Oceania region of the world, because there are so many unknowns.
Those on NBA radars still have so much to show, how some high-profile transfers fare will be fascinating to track, and, of course, there are those that NBL teams have their eyes keenly locked on to.
Here are the key players and storylines to look out for as the new college basketball season gets into full swing.
Can Proctor put it all together?
Tyrese Proctor ideally would have only had one season at Duke. He’s about to enter his third. Such is the dance one does when it comes to one’s draft stock and when NBA teams may be interested in your services, if ever.
The good thing is that the 6’6 combo guard out of Sydney started his career as a Blue Devil early, so he’s still just 20 years old and still firmly on NBA radars going into one of the most anticipated seasons in the program’s history.
All eyes will be on this Duke team that features projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, and the expectation is that Proctor will be the starting point guard who runs the show. He’s coming off a sophomore season where he made incremental improvements – averaging 10.5 points and 3.7 assists per game, and bumping that three-point shooting up to 35.2% – and has come in at No. 28 on ESPN’s most recent top-100 ranking of the best available players for the 2025 NBA Draft.
“He’s in that NBA conversation already,” ESPN’s draft analyst, Jonathan Givony, said.
“To maintain that, he needs to be aggressive. He needs to show that he can be assertive. He’s the old guy on this team now. He’s the only guy in this starting five that has his two years of experience under his belt now. He’s the only one in the starting five who’s played in the NCAA Tournament. He needs to use that experience and have his foot on the gas every time he steps on the court.
“He needs to make shots, and play in the pick and roll, and find guys, and hold his own defensively. He’s never gonna be the strongest, most athletic guy out there, but he has some real size for the point guard spot, so he’s gotta show that he can use that on both ends of the floor, his feel for the game.”
Proctor has always been known as a high-level shot creator – both for himself and others – but has yet to really explode with consistent, substantial production for Jon Scheyer’s team. There have definitely been flashes of it, and the potential is clear, so the next step that will help him in the eyes of NBA teams is to play on the front foot with some level of consistency.
“A lot of games, you watch him and you’re like: is Tyrese Proctor even out there?” Givony said.
“That can’t be the case this year. Jon Scheyer told me. He said, ‘Cooper Flagg is incredible, Kon Knueppel and our freshmen class is amazing, these guys are so talented, but, for us to do what we wanna do this year, it’s all gonna start with our guards’… he’s already talking about Tyrese. He’s talking about Caleb Foster too, but, with Caleb Foster, you don’t have to tell him when to shoot; he’s always going to be aggressive. With Tyrese, it comes and goes, so that’s what we wanna see from him this year.”
What will Alex Condon’s leap look like?
It’s safe to say that Alex Condon is primed for a breakout season.
The big-man out of Perth was a key piece for Florida last season – averaging 7.7 points and 6.4 rebound per game – and his role is only expected to increase going into the 2024-25 campaign.
“The expectation for him is going to go up a lot,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said at SEC Media Day.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for him. We’re building around him and Walter [Clayton] and Alijah [Martin] and Will [Richard]. I expect him to play his tail off every night. That was one of the things that made him so unique last year was how competitive he was as a freshman.”
The buzz around Condon is warranted, and two-fold.
From an NBA perspective, there’s a chance he can work his way into the 2025 draft conversation, with his size and two-way ability of intrigue to teams. He suited up for the Australian Boomers during a pair of exhibition games in June, and would likely enter the conversation for national team basketball for major international tournaments from 2027 and beyond.
Condon is also an elite Australian Rules football player, with Collingwood signing him to a Category B contract in the AFL in case his NBA pathway doesn’t pan out.
“He’s 6’11, super mobile, shown some flashes of being able to shoot the three, which is very interesting when you’re a five who can protect the rim,” Givony said.
“It’s what everyone is looking for: that unicorn guy who can block shots on one end and make threes on the other, and be a good decision-maker. The question is: how much has the game slowed down for him? How much can he consistently impact winning?
“There was a lack of physicality last year at times, there was a lack of strength, a lack of decision-making, but you expect that from a freshman; especially someone who’s new to the game, he didn’t really fully transition to the sport until late. I think, now that he’s a sophomore, and has some springs under his belt and played 20 minutes a game as a freshman, people are gonna wanna see you take that jump.”
Condon had a knee injury heading into this season he may be limited early on, but, sooner than later, he should be a prominent starter for this Florida team that comes in as a likely top-25 team.
Kiwis worth tracking
There are a few New Zealanders playing college basketball at the division-1 level, but Julius Halaifonua is the one that stands out.
The 7-footer out of Auckland is entering his freshman season at Georgetown, following a stint at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra. The big-man has already represented his country at the senior level – playing for the Tall Blacks in a FIBA Asia Cup qualifier – and there’s an expectation that he could make an impact from day one with the Hoyas.
Halaifonua’s size is what stands out, but it’s the fact that he’s a high-IQ, skilled big who can stretch it out to beyond the three-point line that makes him intriguing as a potential NBA prospect down the line.
“It sounds like they’re pretty excited about what he’s shown so far,” Givony said.
“I think we’re gonna have to see what his body looks like, and what has he been able to do from a conditioning standpoint? Defensively is going to be the big question for a guy like him. He’s so skilled offensively. He can really pass, he can step outside and make threes, he has great footwork, he has great touch, so I think there’s a lot there. He’s only 18, so it doesn’t have to happen for him immediately.”
The 18-year-old is an extremely rounded offensive player, and about to start his college career with a program with a strong history of graduating big-men to the NBA; Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Roy Hibbert, and Greg Monroe are among the centres who’ve been drafted out of Georgetown.
Ben Gold is also a Kiwi who could be in for a substantial season at Marquette.
The 6’11 forward has a lot of tools – he’s a solid athlete and took a material leap in his three-point shooting last season – and it feels like it’s only a matter of time until he puts it all together. Out of Wellington, Gold is coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles, shooting 35.9% from downtown, on 3.2 attempts per game.
Reyne Smith and Anthony Dell’Orso: the ever-intriguing transfers
There are two Australians who have made the most of college basketball’s new NIL rules.
We’re talking about Reyne Smith and Anthony Dell’Orso, of course. Both guards shone at smaller schools, leading to a heap of interest from high majors for a substantial amount of money. For context, both would be making more than most imports in the NBL.
Smith’s reputation as a sharpshooter grew over his three seasons at Charleston, shooting 37% from downtown over his career as a Cougar, on 7.8 attempts a game. When his head coach at Charleston, Pat Kelsey, got the top job at Louisville, it made sense for the Tasmanian guard to follow him to the storied program.
When Smith signed with Louisville, Kelsey called him “one of the best shooters in the world at his age”, so this is an opportunity for the Australian senior to play the role of complementary shooter for a team and program that’s hoping for a deep tournament run this coming season.
The same can be said for Dell’Orso, who used an elite season at Campbell University – 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, shooting 38% from downtown – to garner multiple offers from high major schools. The 6’6 guard out of Melbourne chose to transfer to Arizona for his junior year, joining a growing list of Australians who have been part of the program – Josh Green and Keanu Pinder, among others – with the expectation of playing a key role for Tommy Lloyd’s team.
Nicknamed ‘Delly’ – of course – Dell’Orso is hoping to use his transfer to Arizona as a springboard to the NBA, so the thing worth tracking will be how his game translates from the mid-major to the high-major level. There’s clear positional size and shooting, while the Wildcats have a solid development program and track record of graduating players to the NBA, so it’s reasonable to believe there’s a legitimate pathway for the 21-year-old.
“My goal is the NBA,” Dell’Orso said at his Media Day press conference.
“That’s what I’ve always dreamt of. I can come here and I know I can get better, and I have the pieces around me that can help me get better. They can give me everything I need in order to get to that goal… if this is the best place that’s going to develop me the best, that’s where I want to go.”
The breakout candidates
Achor Achor already had his breakout season at Samford over the 2023-24 campaign – helping the Bulldogs to a conference championship – and now, after transferring to Kansas State, we’ll see if he can reach another level beyond that.
Over his junior year at Samford, Achor averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.5% from downtown; his most memorable performance coming in the NCAA Tournament, where he dropped 23 points and eight rebounds against Kansas. The 6’9 forward out of Melbourne was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Bulldogs, so he projects as a starter for Jerome Tang’s Kansas State team.
Another Australian who’s had steady improvement over the years, and is worth keeping an eye on to see how he grows with a change of scenery, is Mawot Mag.
The 6’7 wing – also out of Melbourne – just finished his fourth year at Rutgers, averaging 9.1 points per game last season, and is now set for a campaign with BYU. Mag is a high-level defender who should be able to guard one-through-four in the Big 12, and brings a motor and athleticism to his Cougars side.
Once again, Saint Mary’s and Portland load up on Australians
There are always those schools that go heavy on their recruitment of Australians.
Saint Mary’s is, of course, one of those; they’ll go into the new season with three Australians on their roster.: Harry Wessells, Josh Dent, and Rory Hawke.
Wessells is one to keep an eye on. The 7’1 big-man played just under 10 minutes per game last season – averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds a contest – and could be in for another increase in opportunity. The native of Boddington, Western Australia spent time with the Boomers ahead of their 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign, and he earned glowing reviews from multiple national team players who spoke with ESPN, so he’s primed for a leap of some sort.
Dent will be entering his freshman season at Saint Mary’s and, while it’s tough to hit the floor as a first-year player, the word out of Moraga is that the 6’3 guard has been shooting the ball extremely well over preseason workouts. He’s the younger brother of former NBL player, Lachlan Dent, and has a chance to work his way into Randy Bennett’s rotation.
Portland is the other school with a heap of Australians.
They’ll go into the new season with four, which is now commonplace under head coach Shantay Legans, who’s been one of the best recruiters of talent from the Oceania region over the past few seasons; first at Eastern Washington, and now at Portland.
Austin Rapp is going into his freshman year with the Pilots, coming off an NBL season as a development player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix. The 6’10 stretch big has had a lot of success through the junior national team ranks and with the state of Victoria, so his first season in Portland is a much-anticipated one. One of Rapp’s junior national team peers, Carlin Briggs, will join him as a freshman in Portland. The 6’7 wing is one of the country’s most intriguing young prospects.
Melbourne’s Bol Dengdit – a 6’11 big-man – is returning for his second season with Portland, coming off an admirable freshman year where he averaged 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, in just over 20 minutes per game.
Max Mackinnon – a 6’6 wing and son of Sam Mackinnon – is coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons at Elon, so there’s some optimism on how he’ll perform at this level.
Who NBL teams are eyeing
There are some players going into this college basketball season that most NBL teams will likely end up fighting over.
Smith, Achor, and Mag will be the key ones, while Dell’Orso will also be of interest, though he’s still a junior.
Oscar Cluff is also an interesting name here. The 6’11 big-man out of the Sunshine Coast spent his first two seasons at a JUCO, before averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a junior at Washington State. He’s since transferred to South Dakota State, where he should get an expanded opportunity to show his worth.
With the dearth of local bigs in the NBL, his size alone makes him intriguing to teams in Australia.
The same goes for Harrison Hornery, who’s entering his senior year at USC. The 6’10 forward’s role has expanded every season, and he’s coming off a campaign where he averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds, in 13.9 minutes per game, for the Trojans.
Jayden Stone is set to play his senior year at West Virginia, following a season at Detroit Mercy where he was the most productive Australian in college basketball, averaging 20.8 points per game. The 6’4 guard out of Perth is a shifty three-level scorer, and a career 34.7 percent three-point shooter over his time in college.
The final name worth highlighting here is Kobe Williamson, a 6’8 forward entering his senior year at Seattle. The native of Melbourne is a skilled big who’s been an effective connective piece on both ends for the Redhawks over his time in the program, and that’s what could translate to the pros; think a Kyle Bowen type. Williamson averaged a career-high 8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a junior.
