The next generation of Australian basketball talent will take centre stage from this weekend in Melbourne’s outer southeast.
The 2024 instalment of the Foot Locker Under-14 Club Championships will feature 200 games across six days with 25 girls and 25 boys’ teams vying for glory.
From Maffra in regional Victoria to Norwood, Willetton, Darwin, Logan to Bankstown, Canberra and Tasmania will converge on Casey Basketball Stadium where Generation Next will be on show from Sunday, September 22 until Friday, September 27.
The next Josh Giddey, Amy Atwell, Dante Exum, Kristy Wallace or Anneli Maley could be in action across the courts.
All five represented Australia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and share the common thread of playing for their junior teams at the club championships.
Giddey won a bronze medal with the Melbourne Tigers, coached by basketball legend Andrew Gaze, in 2014. A few years earlier, Atwell played for the Willeton Tigers and Maley wore the colours of her Eltham Wildcats in the 2011 tournament.
Back in 2008, Exum represented Keilor at the same championships Wallace suited up for the Southern District Spartans.
Boomers representatives, NBL stars and emerging young talent have also progressed through the club championships including Xavier Cooks (2008, Illawarra Hawks) Ben Henshall (2017, Willetton Tigers), Tyrese Proctor (2017, Sutherland Sharks), Jacob Furphy (2018, North West Tasmania Devils), Joshua Dent (2017, 2018, Illawarra Hawks) and Roman Siulepa (2018, Brisbane Capitals).
A who’s who of the women’s game also have under-14 club championships on their basketball CVs including Lauren Scherf (2008, Diamond Valley), Courtney Woods (2010, Southern District Spartans), Abby Cubillo (2011, NT North Geckos), Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild) (2012-13, Southern District Spartans) Monique Conti (2012, Melbourne Tigers), Emma Clarke (2013, Perry Lakes Hawks), Georgia Amoore (2013, Ballarat Rush), Shyla Heal (2014, Norths Bears), Gemma Potter (2014-15 Bulleen Boomers) and Indiah Bowyer (2015, Cairns Dolphins).
He might now be an AFL superstar with a premiership and Norm Smith medal to his name but as a talented junior basketballer, Christian Petracca also progressed through the pathway and competed at the under-14 club championships when he represented Keilor in 2010.
Hawthorn’s Blake Hardwick (2010, Doncaster Panthers), Carlton’s Matthew Owies (2010, Melbourne Tigers) and St Kilda’s Mattaes Phillipou (2016, Sturt Sabres) are all alumni of the under-14 club championships.
Head to BA Competitions for fixtures, ticketing and more information.
