NBL: Former Boomers and current Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian is frustrated about his final game as boomers head coach but is optimistic over their future.
NBL, Hoops Fest 2024: Sydney Kings’ Alex Toohey reflects on pre-season shock, NBA aspirations, Boomers, futureSeptember 18th, 2024 10:00 am
“But I think getting into that early and realising that Kouat is a very talented player and a very physical man... playing against that in pre-season gave me the confidence in the season where if guys are coming down at me, I’ve played through this before and I can kind of adjust to it.” More recently, he had also seen the success recent Next Stars including Josh Giddey had in the NBA after coming through the program.
You may not be the most talented player on the roster and even Toohey, while on a clear pathway to the NBA, had to earn playing time in a forward rotation that included Noi, DJ Hogg and Jaylin Galloway.the respect of his teammates, fitting into the Kings’ playing style and adopting a team-first mentality, that made the NBL all the more appealing.Source: Getty Images
That kind of forward-thinking is what stood out to Marty Clarke, technical director of the NBA Global Academy, when he first met Toohey in his early teenage years. Although, as Clarke pointed out, it was less a case of him making suggestions and more a matter of informing Toohey and his family of the different pathways that were available.
It also helps that Toohey has been in and around the Boomers set-up too, so Goorjian is already familiar with the 20-year-old’s game. “He didn’t want to change everything straight away, he just wanted to tweak things he saw. He just wants to keep playing to everyone’s strengths and making sure he’s getting the most out of everyone.
Toohey said he “struggled” with his confidence at times last year, adding he would shoot five 3-pointers in one game and then go another four without attempting a single shot. Again, while Toohey’s focus is currently on the Kings, how he performs in the NBL will obviously also impact his draft stock, and so improving his shot will only add to the well-rounded skillset that makes him a solid two-way NBA prospect.
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