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BONUS: Interview with James Toohey aka The Shot Doctor (Canberra Gunners)
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The King's Birthday Long Weekend meant no NBL1 East games an hence no EGG regular episode! Instead we have a great interview with James Toohey aka The Shot Doctor from Canberra Gunners. Toohey takes us from his humble beginnings in Belgium to the USA and back to his success with the Gunners.
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Transcript
Bonus Episode Introduction
00:00:11
Speaker
Hey there eggheads! Because of the King's birthday long weekend, E. Scott Game didn't record a regular episode. So instead, please enjoy this bonus episode, an interview with James Toohey from the Canberra Gunners.
Who is James Toohey?
00:00:26
Speaker
So if the name Tui wasn't famous enough in Australia, apparently our guest also shares his name with a New South Wales politician, a Geelong Cats AFL player and an 1800s prospector slash prominent ah Irish Australian landowner of the early colony of Brisbane.
00:00:46
Speaker
Who'd have thought that? ah He is a pure premier 3 and D player according to Next Question by Caleb Fogarty and a fan of Avatar The Last Airbender if you look deep enough on his Instagram history and it looks like he loves a costume party. Our guest today is James Toohey. Hey
Basketball Beginnings in Belgium
00:01:06
Speaker
Toohey, how are you?
00:01:08
Speaker
Hey guys, glad to be here. Thank you. Hopefully we nailed the intro with some of those deep cuts that we had to find in your social media history. Yeah, no, very impressive research. Can confirm love, love a costume party. Halloween parties in ah in America are always ah a favourite. And then with the Gunners, we do ah a dress-up practice once a year and ah always dress up for our end-of-season event.
00:01:33
Speaker
So big fan, big fan. Yeah, mad respect for the love of a costume party. Underrated in my opinion. And I did admire your commitment to your costumes as well when I was browsing your Instagram.
00:01:45
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, full bald, full bald, had to commit. Yeah. Or if you don't, don't dress up or like don't come. Like dress up or don't come, I say, with costume parties.
00:01:56
Speaker
Seriously, you've got you gotta to go hard on the paint. You have to. Yeah. Yeah. yeah But before we get into all of those shenanigans, we're going to wind it all the way back to the very beginning, like we do with our athlete interviews and ask you where and how did your basketball journey begin?
00:02:16
Speaker
Yeah, so for me, my basketball journey began in Belgium, in Brussels, my My dad, military was posted over there for four years. And at the international school there, you played a basketball in the winter and soccer in the summer, or you didn't play sport.
00:02:36
Speaker
So yeah, just ended up picking up basketball in the winter there and kind of rolled with it all the way back to Australia. And yeah, been playing it ever since. did Did you also play soccer?
00:02:49
Speaker
ah Yeah, I did. Yeah, had a run around. um Yeah, not as not as enjoyable for me. And I was, yeah, definitely not a talent side player. How old were you when you moved to Australia?
Realizing Basketball Talent
00:03:03
Speaker
ah So was in Australia till about till year four and then moved over to Belgium, Brussels for four years and then back to Australia.
00:03:14
Speaker
So here, then there, then back. Wow, so you had the um the kind of novelty of being the Australian kid in the class? Yep, yeah, me and my twin sister had that novelty and young AT as well over there. He picked up some horrendous British, Australian American accent. It was terrible.
00:03:36
Speaker
It obviously didn't bring that back with him or I guess it got trained out of him very quickly. Yeah, he adapted pretty quickly and now he's ah yeah pretty bogan. Pretty bogan over there, yeah.
00:03:47
Speaker
I can imagine, especially compared to... Well, he might be picking up an American accent by now. I think he's still resisting the urge pretty strongly. at least I hope he is. Not going to follow the paths of Ben Simmons and Josh Giddey.
00:04:01
Speaker
I've got to stick to the roots. I've got to stick to the roots. That's right. I support that. So when did you when did you kind of realise you were actually like good at basketball?
00:04:14
Speaker
ah I mean, I'm not sure... when when exactly that hit me, i I guess I just really enjoyed playing, yeah, playing in Belgium and then come back playing in Canberra, uh, playing for the ACT.
00:04:28
Speaker
And then think I made my first ACT team, uh, top age 16s. And, ah I guess every time you make a state team, you feel like you're pretty good at what you're doing. um But yeah, I guess I just kept enjoying it. And then probably when, when you get offered to go play college in America, think you realize you're, ah yeah, you're you're doing something pretty well with the game.
00:04:52
Speaker
And talking, talking of Alex, Just give us a rundown on what what it was like. I guess you weren't really growing up playing basketball in Canberra. You were growing up playing in Belgium, but in the backyard against Alex, are you giving it to him?
00:05:08
Speaker
ah Yeah, yeah, 100%. I mean, i've got I've got a solid six years on him. So I was ah completely dominant for a long, long time. The last time we did play one-on-one, I did walk away with a win. and We haven't played since, and that's been probably three years or so. So reigning champion.
00:05:29
Speaker
You retire undefeated, never lost? up ah i think I lost. I definitely lost one of those ones. way back. um But if he wants to go again, I'm always down to play.
Transition to Australian Basketball
00:05:43
Speaker
And what about your twin sister? Did you ever rake her into playing one-on-one when you were in Belgium? Nah, she never got out there, had a run around, but she was a rower. She was a good rower. So not not much one-by-one rowing going on in the back backyard. little bit more difficult.
00:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, certainly hope not. That would be all kinds of dangerous. And did, so if your sister was rowing, did she, was that like a summer a winter kind of thing as well? Did she alternate sports as well? Or are you in Belgium?
00:06:17
Speaker
No, Belgium, that she played volleyball, sorry. So the volleyball was an option. um i think it was only a girls team from memory. So she played volleyball. And then when she came back to Australia, that's when she got into rowing.
00:06:32
Speaker
Yeah, I can't imagine there'd be... ah Look, my geography's not great, but I'm not sure. Is Belgium landlocked and perhaps not a lot of places to row? Yeah, yeah, landlocked.
00:06:42
Speaker
ah Yeah, i I'm sure they have, you know, lakes, bodies of water, but I'm not sure what the rowing scene's like. So you hear about landlocked countries and then, like, I went to the Canoe Slalom World Cup and, like, Slovakia and Serbia are just tearing it up and it's like, oh, I guess you've got rivers and lakes to do these things on, so...
00:07:02
Speaker
It's a good point. Yeah. Yeah. My luck does not mean they're not good at the water sports. I mean, didn't Switzerland win the America's cup? Anything could happen. And what was the playing style? Like obviously if you introduced to basketball in Belgium and then you came back to Canberra, was there much of an adjustment in terms of playing style or finding a team and being the new kid again?
00:07:25
Speaker
ah yeah I guess and I really remember um so much of a transition. I think when you first start playing, kind of any structure mind blowing and you you kind of just run up and down, you you shoot what you want. I do remember coming back to Canberra, starting to like make my way into some of the rep teams. And, yeah, just but remembering that there is a lot more structure and that kind of when that started, having to adjust to set plays and, you know, defensive principles, that was probably the first time I remember.
00:08:00
Speaker
And since then, you've been super loyal to Canberra basketball. As you mentioned earlier, you've represented the ACT since you were a junior. And
Loyalty to Canberra Basketball
00:08:08
Speaker
now part of the big three of the Canberra Gunners.
00:08:11
Speaker
And obviously you've had a long playing history with the likes of Will Mayfield and obviously the Brenda Bella Beacon, Glenn Morrison. But have you also been coached by Pete for a long time as well?
00:08:25
Speaker
Yeah, so Pete started coaching me when I was in, believe it was year 12 at Morris College Canberra, the junior club. Was making my way into the men's local comp, which normally plays on a Wednesday.
00:08:39
Speaker
The boys are out there battling it right now. And was, yeah, i wasn't sure which club to go with and ended up having a chat with Pete and he recruited me to come play for the Tuggerong Vikings.
00:08:50
Speaker
where where I played for yeah five, six years and always came and played for them when I came back from college. I have since retired from the time and on, but i'll always be a a Viking at heart.
00:09:02
Speaker
you don't have get suited up for Wednesday night comp anymore. You have the privilege of just focusing on gunners. yeah the the body Yeah, the body would not love a late night Wednesday game into an early morning Thursday shooting. So, yeah, had to make the conscious decision to prioritise some of those shooting workouts instead of, ah yeah, running around on a Wednesday night.
00:09:27
Speaker
It's probably a smart idea so don't get injured either. Yeah. True, yeah, less load on the body. And, yeah, the schedule gets pretty hectic at some points through the season. So I'm not sure how many um how much I would be playing.
00:09:41
Speaker
Was Pete a lights-out recruiter back then like he is with his UBL team, just getting anyone and everyone down to Tuggies? yeah the way you recruited me is so ah i think it's belcon ramblers they were gonna offer me to start in men's div 3 comp and pete came along and said you can start in uh vikings prem 2. so i said all right that's pretty pretty good off i'll i'll take you up on it um so yeah that's how that's how we got my signature yeah that's a much better deal who was running the ramblers back then
00:10:17
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not sure. They must there must have left since then. But missed opportunity, missed opportunity. yeah which Which part of Canberra are you actually actually from? Just Belko to Tuggies is like, that's pretty much as as long distance as you get in Canberra.
00:10:33
Speaker
Pretty much, yeah. so I was born and raised in Woden. which is but about 10 minutes to Tuggerong, 20 minutes to Belko. But now I live in Belko just because it is five minutes from the stadium. All for us to no longer play home games at Belko. So we're all at Tuggerong now. So um I'm just kind of chasing chasing the basketball around Canberra a little bit.
00:10:56
Speaker
Well, hopefully once the Belcon and Stadium gets the renovation, you'll be back at Belko as your home court. That's pretty exciting news. that is That is a great point. Yeah, I'll have to get a countdown started because, yeah, I don't want to spend too much time in the Tigreal Parkway.
00:11:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's essentially an away game every week now for you. Yeah, and some of the boys live like 20 minutes further north. It takes them 40 minutes to get to their home stadium. Basically playing in Sydney at that point.
00:11:23
Speaker
Have you ever been tempted, though, to play elsewhere, even when you stepped up into playing the Gunners? You know, Will had his stint over at Mount Gambier, but have you been tempted to test the waters in other conferences?
00:11:35
Speaker
ah Yeah, i mean, I think there's always that temptation. um Probably earlier when I returned from college, just kind of having that mobility, didn't really have an established job. There was definitely, yeah, temptations, thought processes behind that.
00:11:50
Speaker
But also winning the winning the comp the first year, it kind of makes you want to come back for a second. And then at that point, you know, planning roots, getting a job, trying to trying to figure everything else out that makes it little bit more difficult to do.
00:12:04
Speaker
But as we mentioned earlier, you did play elsewhere because you went you went to our college at Saginaw Valley State University for five years.
College Experience in America
00:12:12
Speaker
How did that come about? Yeah, SVSU, great, great times. So I ended up going to a, i think was like a prospect camp up in Melbourne.
00:12:23
Speaker
And when I was in year 12, I was playing for the Gunners when they were still in Seabull. So my coach at the time, Brad Davidson, he kind of helped me put my name out there. And then Randy Baruth, who was my college coach, approached me under-20s Nationals. And the conversation kind of went from there. And then, yeah, ended up going over the first year and I enjoyed it so much. I stayed for another the four.
00:12:50
Speaker
So, Saginaw, that's... D2? Yep, D2 in the GLIAC conference. The idea of d two college coaches coming out to U20 Nationals.
00:13:02
Speaker
I feel like nowadays with all the streaming, everyone just sits at home and the coaches just sit at home. i see him Were there a lot of coaches around Nationals back then? Oh, sorry. He wasn't actually yeah at nationals, but he messaged me while I was at nationals.
00:13:17
Speaker
Um, he, he had recruited a number of Australians in the past, um, started with, um, Caleb Davis, um, who's out in the West.
00:13:28
Speaker
And then, my cohort came in, I came in with, uh, Australian called Seb from Melbourne. another Australian, Locke from Melbourne, and another one, Liam from Melbourne. So they had a kind of a track record of bringing it in Aussies.
00:13:43
Speaker
And at one point while i was there, there was five Australians out there, all from Melbourne, unfortunately, but... what's What's the culture like at a college program where you have so many Aussies? Because I know like we saw that documentary about St. Mary's where like they were doing footy-style team songs after games because it was basically just like playing in an Australian team. Was the the culture kind of different with having so many Aussies in the team?
00:14:08
Speaker
Yeah, we didn't we didn't end up getting a footy song after winning, which I think is is definitely a missed opportunity. um But yeah, no, it was really good to have you know fellow Australians on the team. And we tried to drive the culture over there off the floor about getting around each other and, you know, kind of develop that mateship that australian basketball is so well known for um but yeah there was it was still obviously an american program and it was uh i guess a balance of the australian lifestyle and the american approach and was it all what that you expected
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. i mean, I kind of want to picture college basketball. imagine it's going to be really difficult. It's going very demanding. You're going to have to work hard in the classroom and on the court and in the weight room.
00:14:55
Speaker
And yeah, pretty much walked in and that's what it was. It was very demanding, especially in the weight room for the first 12 months was really brutal because I was a skinny skinnier kid than am now.
00:15:09
Speaker
But yeah, after the after kind of making it through that first year, you kind of know that the the the most difficult part is behind you. So yeah, really enjoyed it.
00:15:21
Speaker
And you were teammates with Darnell Hoskins jr your Canberra Gunners teammate. Sure was. Yeah. So I lived with DJ for four years in America. He's actually my roommate now. So he's living with me in Australia. He's off playing for the Warriors tonight. So wishing him the best. But yeah, DJ, we both started as freshmen.
00:15:42
Speaker
We kind of went through the whole college journey together. So it's it's really cool to go full circle and see him playing out here in Canberra. How did you, like when you came to recruiting him to play for this 2026 season, was it a matter of him saying, you know, openly, oh, just looking for my next gig and you're like, I got you, come to Canberra? Or how how did you kind of bring up that conversation with him?
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah, so coach Coach Pete had been talking to DJ for probably the last three years. um So DJ, think straight after college, he went out and played for Williton.
00:16:21
Speaker
And then it was playing in Melbourne in the big V. So he had been over here a few times and kind of had a constant conversation going with Pete. And then when Derek left at the start of this season to go up to Mackay, we were kind of missing that point guard spot. And Pete had been talking DJ for so many years that kind of made sense just to bring him in.
00:16:43
Speaker
so i i mean i put him in contact but i'm i'm definitely not the the recruiter that you pay me out to be um so that's that's great to pete mean it's a good it's still a good like relationship to have at least you could give dj a good reference because sometimes recruiting athletes, whether it's via the athlete directly or their agent, you know that they're always going to put their best foot forward and maybe need some character references to see what that athlete is actually like. so
Basketball Skills and Highlights
00:17:12
Speaker
I'm sure you gave him a good rap.
00:17:14
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, DJ is a great guy off the floor, one that really fits in to the culture. He's got a good sense of humour. He's hardworking and definitely, yeah, no way it was going to be a distraction this season. So he's come in and really gel with the boys and the boys really welcome him. So it's good to see.
00:17:36
Speaker
Yeah, we would not expect anything less from that Gunners program of welcoming a whole bunch of new players in. um And look, before we get into this next question, I'm just going to preface it by saying your overall shooting percentages at college, you were...
00:17:54
Speaker
In your career, 45.3% from the field, 42.4% from the three, 88.6% from the free throw line, which if you've listened to lots of EGG episodes, my biggest gripe is a low free throw percentage as a team and sometimes as individuals. So snaps to you. So it looks like you were born a shock doctor, not just becoming a shock doctor in NBL1 East.
00:18:21
Speaker
Because let's round it back to round three against the Maitland Mustangs. You were playing away and you hit that buzzer beater from the corner to seal the win.
00:18:33
Speaker
Like I had to watch that a few times in terms of like, did it leave his hand? How far into the court and into the crowd was Thuy actually taking that shot? You got to take us through that moment.
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. so ah we felt like we were probably chasing that game quite a bit in the fourth quarter. And we managed to get a nice stop down the other end. and It was all tied up. And, you know, we go over to see what play going to draw up. And new assistant coach Brad's drawing up.
00:19:02
Speaker
It's like down screen action, kind of an elevator. And then at the end of timeout, he's like, all right, all of this is a distraction. Throw it to Tui right here and James, you shoot it.
00:19:14
Speaker
so i was like oh okay and you know when they call your name to to shoot a game winner it obviously gives you a lot of confidence and i remember cam pender saying yeah you you're gonna hit this you're gonna hit this um but yeah tried to act nonchalant on the low block and then yeah flash the ball and spin and let it fly i' So, yeah, it went in in the end.
00:19:37
Speaker
Had been doing a lot of kind of variable shooting in the the preseason leading up, which involves kind of a few of those looks from three. But still, it's ah it's a it's a low percentage shot, but always happy when it goes in. It was like almost a miracle, let alone low percentage, because like you said, you had to spin, which is never easy because you're always the chance of being off balance when you spin. and You had your back to the ball and you're in the corner and you were well defended and fading away. Like it was it was like the didn't Kawhi Leonard hit something similar in ah in an NBA final series years ago?
00:20:18
Speaker
Yeah, I think he did have to shoot that over Joel Embiid. So I'm not sure they're comparable, but I'll take it. I'll take it. Yeah, we're going to give it to you. We'll give it to you. I think it's a like-for-like in those situations. Yeah, finals and, you know, just a regular season game, it's also the same stakes.
00:20:37
Speaker
Hey, Canberra Maitland, that's getting up there in stakes. It's always good to play the Royce. Oh, yeah, you got history. I mean, it's it's still a like for like in our eyes. But did you know it was soon as it left your hand?
00:20:50
Speaker
ah I remember, as I said, when I let it go, it did feel good. um And then I guess it didn't take long for it to go in the rim. So once it did, obviously it felt really good after that point. Certainly got to be one of the top five highlights of NBL 1 East men's competition, period.
00:21:09
Speaker
But as the shot doctor... What are your three primary tips for helping someone improve their three point shot?
00:21:20
Speaker
Three point shot. um I think everyone has something different about their shot. you've got to focus on the one thing that you want to prioritize. So whether that's, you know, tucking your elbow, following through. For me, it's my follow through. I always tell myself follow through.
00:21:36
Speaker
So figuring it figuring out what your priority tip to yourself is. Be number one. and then number two, repetition. Get lots of reps.
00:21:47
Speaker
And then number three is get reps when you're tired. Everyone's a good shooter when they're fresh. But the more cardio you can build into your shooting, ah the better off you're going to be. ah That'd be my three tips.
00:22:00
Speaker
And, yeah, case in point, deep in the fourth quarter, game on the line, you're probably already tired and you're still making those shots. I'll take it. I'll take it. Do you have any specific workouts that you do to, you know, get yourself, you know, tired and keep shooting?
00:22:17
Speaker
ah Yeah, so in the off-season, every Saturday morning we'll do cardio shooting, which is an hour of, yeah, full court sprints into inner shots, lots of lots of different variations like that. In the season, we'll we' kind of work in a few of those drills intermittently throughout the workout. But, yeah, off-season, Saturday morning cardio shootings, that's place to be.
00:22:42
Speaker
And I mean, repetition, you're giving up your Wednesday night local comp to go shoot on Thursday morning. What's what what's a Thursday morning shoot for our James Tui look like? ah Yeah, so get to the stadium around 6 a.m. and then do some ball handling, do some form stuff.
00:23:00
Speaker
And then depending if I'm solo or if some of the boys rock up, we'll get into it, try and try and do something full court to get the body moving. And then, you know, breakdowns, whether that's coming off screens or slipping screens or some time constraint shooting.
00:23:19
Speaker
it it kind of depends on the flavour of the day, but there's a lot of variety. Just more motivation to get one of the Gunners boys up or the Gunners Academy or the Gunners Youth League. They're all all invited. So anytime they show up, it's always good.
00:23:35
Speaker
It'll be freezing in the morning, I imagine. Yeah, yeah, it's been some cold mornings. It definitely has. um But, yeah, you've got to stick them out. But then I guess you would have been bred ah for winter basketball given you started in Belgium.
00:23:51
Speaker
no yeah well the thing is cold cold climates just heat the hell out of their gyms like the same thing in in america you walk into the gym and it's always warm australia is just cold it's cold outside it's cold inside so yeah i wouldn't say i'm prepared for it but we're getting there It's usually colder inside the stadium. Like
Competitive Matchups in NBL1 East
00:24:13
Speaker
even where the Crusaders play, it could be eight degrees outside and I guarantee it's only five inside.
00:24:19
Speaker
that's It's a great point. Yeah, it is. It's colder. You're talking to someone who commentates at Comets, so. imagine that's not warm either. it's It is not.
00:24:32
Speaker
It's just the occupational hazard of the Australian basketball, I guess. And also, as mentioned, 3 and D type of player. Who are some of your favourite people to guard in NBL1, East or otherwise? Because you've played at, what, two Nationals now?
00:24:48
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's it's always always fun to go up against Will Cranston Lau, Cranston Town, as we call him. i mean, he's just a hell a player and it's always always fun to run around after him.
00:25:02
Speaker
ah Same thing, chasing after Rain. He played with my brother at AIS. So chasing him around was was was a good fun the one time we did it.
00:25:15
Speaker
Historically,
00:25:18
Speaker
probably two other names come to mind. Will Hickey, hell of a player, and then Hutchinson. They're just both premier guards in the league. And anytime you get to lace them up in front of them is good fun.
00:25:32
Speaker
This Sunday. Yes, yes, it' true. That might be Evan's matchup though, so we're not sure. Let's not give any scouting reports away either before the round. Yeah, good call.
00:25:45
Speaker
In these matchups too, the names you mentioned are all household names in NBL One East especially. Are you one to trash talk when you have these matchups? God, no, no.
00:25:57
Speaker
Definitely not. No, I save all my trash talk for practice against the Warriors. Unless maybe I'm really fired up for the moment and I get a block, I might i might say something. But for the most part, absolutely not.
00:26:09
Speaker
I heard on the grapevine that Rhys K used to be an excellent trash talker. Yeah, I believe that. Yeah, he used i mean he's he's a redhead, so he's always fiery. um So i guess I don't think I was on the receiving end of any of his trash talk, but I 100% believe that he would have something to say.
00:26:28
Speaker
He ah strikes me as a man who has a lot of ah lot of off-the-cuff quips as well. i mean, it would be we had him on in the first in the first season. He actually even came up with the episode title for that. He's very quick-witted. He's very good.
00:26:41
Speaker
So now that Reece hasn't been part of the Gunners program for a while and he was, you know, one of the top trash talkers in the Gunners, who's taken his place? um Mayfield. Mayfield always just lets him out organically.
00:26:55
Speaker
Yeah, he just can't help it. um Maybe deliberate trash talker, probably Lockie Smith. Yeah, he's the the most deliberate one. Whether it's on the sideline or on the court, he's always got something to say.
00:27:09
Speaker
You are, you're coming up to, you're coming up here to play my Sharkies this weekend and it's part of a, it's a tough road to finals you've got. You've got the Sharks twice, Illawarra, Bulls, and then you've got the Bandits and Comets who, they're up and, Comets are up and down, but they're a tough matchup.
00:27:28
Speaker
um What's your focus on for the rest of the regular seasons? Yeah, I mean,
Team Dynamics and Strategy
00:27:33
Speaker
we're just trying to trying to stack wins, trying to build momentum. um as I think, as everyone knows, anyone can beat anyone in the East on any given night.
00:27:43
Speaker
um So a lot of our focus is us just on what we're doing, making sure that we're ready to go, make sure were understand the scout, that we're doing all the things we need to do off the court to look after our bodies and ah feel good, essentially. So we've got to respect everyone we play, but, yeah, the focus is definitely a what we're trying to do.
00:28:01
Speaker
recent slip up in form uh against davo and the spiders but you still only had three losses um i guess what we hear a lot is oh it's good to have a lot you learn from things but what are your takeaway from your uh what do you take away from your three losses so far yeah i mean obviously everyone wants to win every game they play uh that's yeah not not possible all of the time think the main takeaway is just that we've got to be ready to go i think I think it's fair to say the first game against the Hornsby at home, just weren't ready to go.
00:28:35
Speaker
We didn't really get ready at all throughout that game. And then we got what we deserved. And then the same thing heading down the central coast. We weren't ready to go. um we didn't, kind of fire up, didn't find a way to build momentum. And then we were we were much better the second time we played Hornsby. I think it was ah it was a great game, back and forth.
00:28:56
Speaker
I think we put ourselves in a good position to win that game, but we just weren't able to close it out down the stretch. So that that's definitely a positive loss, if if you will. um But yeah, we're just going to keep building, keep building what we're doing.
Off-Court Life and Hobbies
00:29:09
Speaker
final question as you know we like to bookend our athlete interviews with the same questions one of the most mysterious on the gunners team next to will mayfield where we're like what do we know about this guy outside of playing basketball so at least we're able to find that you love a costume party so that's a tick um but tell us a little bit more about who two years off the court i'd say i'm a ah fun loving guy I'm ah umm a public servant for my profession, so I do some audits.
00:29:38
Speaker
I'm studying systems engineering. I'm a master's in that, so that that keeps me busy between basketball and work. But yeah, I'm sitting down, playing a bit of Xbox, hanging out.
00:29:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's pretty much it. and And the love of the game. You're going to love the game. What's your go-to game on Xbox? The moment we're playing the new Lego Batman. Big fan of it.
00:30:01
Speaker
But historically, it played a bit of Rocket League, a bit of the Age of Empires, some classics. It's a bit of a um change from the old I play 2K FIFA and Call of Duty that everyone else says.
00:30:16
Speaker
Yeah, no, i'm not ah I'm not a FIFA guy. I'm not a 2K. um um I'll play a decent card if it's good, but I've been, in ah I guess, underwhelmed lately. So maybe if a good one comes out, I'll get back on it with the boys.
00:30:29
Speaker
Yeah, like Lego Batman. Was not it was not expecting that. It's good. It's good. I like my Lego. I'm a bit of a collector. Not not on the same scale as Glenn, but slowly building.
00:30:42
Speaker
but Behind that door is my ah is my collection. Yeah, yeah. got my eye Got my ah Lego architecture Paris and the Women's World Cup sitting there on the shelf. limited Yeah, i've got I've got the Great Wave on the wall and the the Galaxy on the wall. And I did ah Cop the New Ministerith, the Lord the Rings one. So slowly slowly building.
00:31:06
Speaker
the Is like the Great Wave within the the iconic Japanese illustration? Yeah, the Lego version. Yeah, it's very artistic. Yeah, that's cool. That's really cool. i like that. I didn't know that that was an option in Lego land. I just want to try and get into the Lego flowers because I can't keep any plants alive and that will do.
00:31:26
Speaker
It's a great idea. Yeah, I've got a few succulents and they don't need watering when they're in Lego. Let's throw Glenn under the bus really quick. What Lego does he have? Glenn, he's a big-time collector. He's got the the big Baron Doerr from Lord of the Rings and he's got Rivendell.
00:31:43
Speaker
I think he's he's kind of gone down the ah the big Lego path, so he's got a lot of the the big collections. But Rima Hazard is there collecting dust in a storage locker currently.
00:31:55
Speaker
That's not a way to treat your Lego collection from what I hear from other Lego collectors. Fake fan, fake fan. ah can't I can't get into the big Lego ever since I ah sent my mate a picture of the Eiffel Tower and he told me you could literally fly to Paris and see the real one for cheaper than the Lego set. i was like, all right, I'm out then. No taste for... a passions You know, Will said he's, you know, just a tradie rep in your city. Also sounds like a pretty wholesome kind of lifestyle off court. Are you similar when you have your off season, like just spending time in Canberra with family and friends and things like that, doing any roadies?
00:32:33
Speaker
Yeah,
Coaching and Future Aspirations
00:32:34
Speaker
pretty much same. get into coaching in the off-season. So for the last four years, I've been an assistant coach to the under-20s men's team.
00:32:44
Speaker
And yeah, just enjoy giving back to the youth, i' hanging out with them. It's kind of a you know a pathway from that under-20s team into the academy,
00:32:54
Speaker
into into the Gunners. So it's good to see O'Lear make that leap this year. He was part of that under-20s group for the last two years and Academy last year, and now he's made his way up into the Gunners. So it's good to see that pathway.
00:33:09
Speaker
think it's a really good way to encourage that pathway. and It's so good that Canberra have so many, um like they they're pretty consistent with those programs and pathways. And it would be nice to have an NBL team back in the capital though.
00:33:24
Speaker
Yeah, it would be very cool, wouldn't it? We'll get a stadium and then we'll ah have a conversation, right? Yeah. Yeah. I think I hope that the new stadium is gearing up to have an NBL team return to Canberra.
00:33:38
Speaker
No, it would be great to see. would be great. Could you see yourself coaching when you decide to finally retire from playing? Could you see yourself coaching or like how are there any other kind of ways that you'd like to stay involved in the game?
00:33:53
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, coaching is kind of that natural ah pathway from playing, just yeah being around the game as much as you can. Enjoy watching it. Enjoy playing it. Enjoy coaching it. So, yeah, would love to when I do hang them up, transition more into a coaching role.
00:34:11
Speaker
Commentating, podcasting. True. Yeah. Commentating sounds fun. Podcasting sounds fun as well. as the game The game gives you so many options. Commentating is fun. I can tell you that.
00:34:22
Speaker
And look, you know a lot about the game. You're very well spoken. I would encourage you to consider commentating and podcasting when you're ready. Okay, I'll keep it on the back burner. You know, Davey J in Canberra, he's got got that commentary box locked down. So it might be hard to work him out of there.
00:34:39
Speaker
Just like do what I do. Turn up to a game with your own headset. And so if they go, oh, sorry, man, we don't have another headset for you, just go sort it. BYO. It's always a good motto, isn't it? Just bring your own. It's down here in the drawer. Unreal.
00:34:53
Speaker
He's always going to need a color commentator, though, or does he do the games by himself? ah Actually, like I co-commentated Premier final with him, a Wednesday night final. So yeah, I did dip my toe in it. It was fun. Perfect. You're already on your way. And I hope that maybe you and Rhys will do a podcast one day. Or Rhys has got his new great coaching job in Tassie. There may come a day where you coach against each other at a 20s Nationals.
00:35:21
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that'd be interesting to see. That would be very interesting. But no, mean reese I've been on Reece's podcast, Bipartial Premiums. Him and Tom Cummins do that podcast. It's been retired, I think, but i made a few appearances on that.
00:35:36
Speaker
Awesome. See, look, seeds are already planted. many options. Thanks so much for being a guest. I know a long time coming. Thanks for supporting EGG. You know, big fan of the Gunners and the Canberra program. So good luck for the rest of the season.
00:35:50
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. a big fan of EGG. See you on Sunday. Sounds good. Thanks, Lachie. Thanks, Jacinta. Thanks again for listening in, Eggheads. Stay in touch with us on our Instagram at EastGothGame. And remember, don't sleep on the East.