HARRY’S A HUSKIE
NBA prospect signs for Hobart’s NZ adventure
THE Southern Huskies have signed one of the country’s next NBA prospects as they strive to hit the New Zealand NBL competition full throttle.
The Mercury can reveal Harry Froling, a power forward who is on the Adelaide 36ers’ roster, is one of the foundation players for the Huskies in their New Zealand adventure.
The 20-year-old is the eldest son of Shane Froling, who played with the Hobart Devils in 1991-92.
Tasmanian guard Mason Bragg, who was part of the Perth Wildcats’ 2016-17 NBL championship squad as a development player, has also put pen to paper.
Two weeks ago the Mercury revealed the Huskies were deep in negotiations with Basketball New Zealand about becoming the first Australian team to join the league in 2019.
An official announcement confirming the Tasmanianbased side’s entry is expected as soon as today.
The Huskies consortium, led by business partners Justin Hickey and Mike Sutton, see entering the NZ NBL as the first step towards their longterm vision of joining the Australian competition, which would see a Tasmanian team back at the elite level of basketball for the first time in more than two decades.
They would need to be instantly competitive to prove they could make the jump to the Australian league, and the signing of Froling shows they mean business.
The 205cm big man is averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.5 minutes off the bench for Adelaide through the first 12 games. However in his past seven matches he has seen an increased presence in the rotation, which has resulted in an output of 11.8 points and six rebounds per match, including a season-high 23-point effort against the Sydney Kings in early November.
Froling signed a two-year deal with the 36ers in April after opting out of his American college career following a volatile sophomore season at Marquette. His decision to turn pro makes him an automatic entrant for the 2019 NBA draft.
The NZ league has eight teams based in Auckland, Christchurch, Invercargill, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington, with the fixture starting in April and running until the end of July.
To offset travel costs, the Huskies would most likely play double-headers on the road, with nine home matches to be split between Hobart and Launceston.
Basketball New Zealand chief executive Iain Potter confirmed to local media recently the league was close to accepting the Huskies’ bid.
“We’ve been in discussions about the possibility for some months,” Potter told Radio Sport. “It sends a message that it’s a really good, competitive basketball league. We see it as adding a bit of spice — it’s a new concept, a little bit of trans-Tasman rivalry never goes amiss.”