BASKETBALL
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NICK Kay took on a spot of coaching yesterday as the young basketballer prepares to move to Wollongong and a new club and season with Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball league.
That 23-year-old Kay was the ABL’s rookie of the year last season makes it an even more special year for the Tamworth Thunderbolt
junior.
Yesterday Kay was coaching the West Tamworth Public School boys’ team in the annual North West Schools Sports Association Boys Gala Day.
His side “had fun and tried hard”.
It was also a bit of fun for Nick at the bequest of his mother, Terrie Kay.
“She’s the school principal at West,” Nick said of a request he couldn’t say no to.
While he had a great season in the ABL, Nick was stunned, like everyone else in the basketball world, when the Townsville Crocodiles folded.
“The board realised they weren’t viable and didn’t want to get half way into the season and fold,” Kay told The Leader.
“It was disappointing.”
He had enjoyed a brilliant debut season and loved every minute of his year with the Crocs in Townsville. “I loved it up there, they had a good group of players.
“And it was my first professional contract. That was special.”
As a Tamworth Thunderbolt junior Kay dreamed of playing at the highest basketball levels.
At age 18 he left Tamworth, before the Tamworth Sports Dome was completed, and headed to the US where he began a college degree with Metro State in Denver.
He also excelled there and added an extra dimension to his young game.
That enabled him to return to Australia and play so well in his debut season with the Crocs.
Since the Crocs demise he has been busy. Rob Beveridge, coach of the Illawarra Hawks, called and signed him up to play the approaching ABL season with the Hawks.
Being based in Wollongong also makes it easier for his Tamworth family to watch him and travel to games.
“I’ll head down there in July,” he aid.
“I’ve got the next week at home and then fly up to Townsville and sort out a few things.”
He will head to Wollongong in good nick too, after spending the last month playing in New Zealand with the Invercargill-based Southland Sharks in the NZ National Basketball League .
“We made the finals but lost in the crossovers,” Nick said.
“It was good fun. It was strong too. “They are really into their basketball over there. Invercargill is about the same size as Tamworth but they get 2500 to home games and 3500 for finals.”
He hopes to return to the Southland Sharks after the new ABL season finishes.
“That’s the good thing abut the ABL,” he said.
“It goes for six or seven months and then I’m free to play wherever.”