Bogut is the key to reviving Australian basketball

Thomas George explains that a successful Andrew Bogut in the NBA has the ability to completely change the fortunes of the National Basketball League here in Australia.

Remember the days when wearing NBL jerseys was cool? It must be ten years since I’ve seen someone, other than the actual players, wear one out in public. Now it’s all about NBA gear, as the popularity of Australian basketball has fallen by the wayside.

So what’s the deal? Ever since the good old days of the early 90s, before basketball cards were substituted for yo-yos, and free-to-air TV televised both NBL and NBA games, it seems as though basketball in Australia has been in a downward spiral.

Gone are the days when teams such as the now non-existent South East Melbourne Magic, with Chris Anstey and a young high-flying Sam McKinnon could delight the kids as much as Charles Barkley or Michael Jordan could. These days the most well known NBL players have either just retired or are at the end of their careers: Shane Heal, Andrew Gaze, Mark Bradtke, Lenard Copeland, Daryl McDonald etc. – all players who were stars during the ‘golden era’ of the 90s.

In reality, this ‘golden era’ of Australian basketball was really the golden era of NBL marketing. Today there are dozens of great players in the league, however they just don’t have the exposure to garner the recognition they deserve. Outside of events such as the Olympics, and to a lesser extent the World Championships, the only time you can see Australian basketball without actually paying to go to the game is if you have cable television, and even then they may only show a game or two a week.

However basketball is still one of the most popular participation sports in the country, and if the number of NBA gear being sold these days is any indication, the market for basketball merchandise and apparel has if anything gotten larger since the days when people wore NBL gear.

It would appear then, that Australian basketball could once again rise to prominence in this country if marketed properly. The NBL needs something to bring excitement back to the game, something that can drag basketball back into the mainstream in Australia and make household names of today’s star players.

Enter Andrew Bogut.

The highlight of last year’s men’s basketball campaign in the Athens Olympics, Bogut has since dominated in the US college ranks playing for the Utah Utes, and in less than two weeks he is expected to become the first ever Australian selected with the number one pick in the NBA draft.

Poised to become the best player Australia has ever had in the NBA, Bogut will likely make a name for Australian basketball in a way that Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Chris Anstey and Luc Longley were never able to.

If Yao Ming is any indication, he could be the saviour that the Australian basketball community has been waiting for. Yao, the first player from China to be taken with the number one pick, was selected in 2002 by the Houston Rockets, and since then has become a superstar and a role model in his home country. As a result Yao has become a major marketing icon, and the popularity of basketball has exploded across China.

Like Yao, a successful Bogut in the NBA would give Australian basketball the fresh new face it needs to market the game to the fans. He would become a role model, showing the kids that Aussies can make it in the best league in the world; and most importantly, it would draw attention back to the NBL.

If they play their cards right, the NBL could use Bogut to regain its exposure and once again become a popular spectator sport in this country. Who knows, maybe we’ll even see someone wearing an NBL jersey again.

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