Basketball: Southern Utah signs two Australians
Southern Utah University in Cedar City has issued the following news release regarding its signing of two basketball players from Australia. The players' commitments were previously reported by The Salt Lake Tribune:
Southern Utah's men's basketball team signed a pair of Australian centers to National Letters of Intent Wednesday, Thunderbird head coach Roger Reid has announced.
Matt Hodgson and Nathan Crombie both committed and will join the Thunderbirds next year as freshmen. Hodgson, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound center from Booval, Queensland; and Crombie, a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Carina, Queensland are both members of the Australian Junior National Institute Team.
Hodgson, who is completing his senior year at Ipswitch Grammar School, is a recipient of the Australian Institute of Sport scholarship and was selected for the Australian Institute of Sport team.
"When we saw Matt we were really impressed, we thought we would be very fortunate to sign him," Reid said. "He could play for a lot of people. He's a true center with a 7-foot-nine inch wingspan. He's strong around the basket but he can also step out and shoot the ball. On the other end of the floor he has a good defensive presence. He still has a lot of work to do to be the player he can be - remember, he's only 17 years old - but he has all the tools to be a very good basketball player. He's also a good student with a great family."
Crombie, who is prepping at John Paul College, also plays for the Queensland Academy of Sport and played at Willetton Senior High. "Nathan is a legitimate 7-footer, a great athlete who runs the floor as well as any guard on our team," Reid noted. "He's got good quickness and a nice touch out to 15 or 16 feet; I think he also has the ability to develop an even better jump shot even though we don't really see him as a jump shooter. Nathan also has a very good family behind him."
Both players also have the ability to play good defense, Reid said, but he pointed out, "they need to learn how to play defense. At this point they really haven't needed to do much more than get in the middle and be a presence. We look forward to working with them to develop footwork and the mentality to be good defensive players.
Reid gave much of the credit for signing the two players to his assistant, Ron Carling, who has long ties to Australian basketball, including time spent as commissioner of the Australian National Basketball League, with the men's and women's Olympic teams; and a term as the Australian National Director of Coaching, where he was in charge of junior basketball development.
"Ron's relationship and contacts in Australia had a big hand in our success signing Matt and Nathan," Reid said. "His accomplishments there had a big hand in Australian basketball people telling these kids that we would be good people to play for."
Carling, in turn, gave the credit back to Reid, noting "they also know what kind of coach Roger is. His reputation on the court, and as a coach who treats his players like family, is something that will help us sign players no matter where we go."
Southern Utah's men's basketball team signed a pair of Australian centers to National Letters of Intent Wednesday, Thunderbird head coach Roger Reid has announced.
Matt Hodgson and Nathan Crombie both committed and will join the Thunderbirds next year as freshmen. Hodgson, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound center from Booval, Queensland; and Crombie, a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Carina, Queensland are both members of the Australian Junior National Institute Team.
Hodgson, who is completing his senior year at Ipswitch Grammar School, is a recipient of the Australian Institute of Sport scholarship and was selected for the Australian Institute of Sport team.
"When we saw Matt we were really impressed, we thought we would be very fortunate to sign him," Reid said. "He could play for a lot of people. He's a true center with a 7-foot-nine inch wingspan. He's strong around the basket but he can also step out and shoot the ball. On the other end of the floor he has a good defensive presence. He still has a lot of work to do to be the player he can be - remember, he's only 17 years old - but he has all the tools to be a very good basketball player. He's also a good student with a great family."
Crombie, who is prepping at John Paul College, also plays for the Queensland Academy of Sport and played at Willetton Senior High. "Nathan is a legitimate 7-footer, a great athlete who runs the floor as well as any guard on our team," Reid noted. "He's got good quickness and a nice touch out to 15 or 16 feet; I think he also has the ability to develop an even better jump shot even though we don't really see him as a jump shooter. Nathan also has a very good family behind him."
Both players also have the ability to play good defense, Reid said, but he pointed out, "they need to learn how to play defense. At this point they really haven't needed to do much more than get in the middle and be a presence. We look forward to working with them to develop footwork and the mentality to be good defensive players.
Reid gave much of the credit for signing the two players to his assistant, Ron Carling, who has long ties to Australian basketball, including time spent as commissioner of the Australian National Basketball League, with the men's and women's Olympic teams; and a term as the Australian National Director of Coaching, where he was in charge of junior basketball development.
"Ron's relationship and contacts in Australia had a big hand in our success signing Matt and Nathan," Reid said. "His accomplishments there had a big hand in Australian basketball people telling these kids that we would be good people to play for."
Carling, in turn, gave the credit back to Reid, noting "they also know what kind of coach Roger is. His reputation on the court, and as a coach who treats his players like family, is something that will help us sign players no matter where we go."
1 Comments:
Roger Reid is an outstanding coach and person--Ken Driggs
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