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How often will headline writers use "Dante's Peak"?
TweetNO huge surprise today that Dante Exum nominated for the NBA draft on June 26, three-time championship winner Luc Longley quick to support the 18-year-old’s decision.
Longley, who anchored three Chicago Bulls title runs, was drafted at #7 by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1991 draft.
“He's a nice package for a club,” Longley said of the 198cm guard who debuted with the Boomers against New Zealand in last year’s Oceania Series.
“He's got a lot of poise, a rare thing in Australia called explosiveness.
“His skill package and athleticism don't set him apart from a lot of other guys.
“What sets him apart is his poise and decision-making.
“I think he'll go in the first round and quite high in the first round.”
Longley also believes Exum will be a game-changer for Australia at international level.
“Going to the NBA doesn't guarantee success but if he keeps improving, in Rio (at the 2016 Olympics) he'll be good,” Longley said.
“But at the next Olympics is where you'll see the complete deal.”
Exum hired the same agent as Kobe Bryant, bypassing the college system despite being heavily courted by some of the most storied NCAA schools.
He is projected as a top five pick which meant playing college only put that ranking at risk.
While potentially earning $US5 million ($A5.71 million) in his rookie NBA season, multi-million endorsement deals also await.
Frankly, it is great news not just for the Exums but for Australian basketball.
JUST for those of you who have asked about the NBL penalties for Chris Anstey.
My (e)mail is the Tigers coach was fined a total of $2,200 for his various alleged indiscretions, with $1,000 of that suspended.
I hear a whisper too Chris will be charging the NBL $1,200 for next week’s next nbl.com.au column.
Former Tigers guard Daryl Corletto is being sought for his opinion on whether this is some sort of anti-Tiger conspiracy.
GOT a fair reaction to a tweet the other night after I watched “The Blind Side” again, starring Sandra Bullock.
The NBL’s own Luke Schenscher can be spotted late in the movie on a TV screen in the background, playing for Georgia Tech during his college days.
Must admit I did a double-take, then watched it again and there was Big Red. It’s the scene where Michael’s tutor hands over the last topic he has to do to his adoptive dad and sits down “to watch the basketball” instead.
Next time it comes around, watch for Schensch.
SERBIAN superstar Vlade Divac is touring Australia, gathering support for the charitable foundation he and wife Ana have set up to support refugee families with housing.
He was briefly in Adelaide and mobbed by the Serbian community within which he rightly is regarded as a megastar.
His personal story was best told in one of the brilliant ESPN 30-for-30 docos “Once Were Brothers” which, if you haven’t seen, definitely try to catch or track down on Youtube. You won’t be sorry.
