Import says our in just the right place
BASKETBALL QUALITY Taipans signing Devon Hall has described Cairns prodigy Kody Stattmann’s college coach as a “players coach, you want to play for”.
Hall and the former Cairns Marlin are at the opposite end of the college basketball spectrum — the 23-year-old American completed his amateur career earlier this year while Stattmann is embarking on his first campaign at Virginia now.
The former St Augustine’s College student waded through numerous offers from major US college programs but decided to further develop his game under Tony Bennett at the Atlantic Coast Conference school.
Hall, who found four points and five assists on debut in the win over Brisbane on Saturday, says Bennett, who is in his ninth season at Virginia, is a perfect coach for young players to develop their games under.
“It is a ton of teaching and learning, I was trying to learn as much as I can and be a sponge,” he said.
“(Bennett) is and gets after you.
“He is a player’s coach, you want to play for him and you want to fight for him.” enthusiastic
Hall “red-shirted” his freshman year at Virginia, which means to delay an athlete’s participation to lengthen his or her period of eligibility to play in college sports.
As a senior in his last season before being recruited by the Taipans and drafted into the NBA, the smooth left-hander averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, shooting 44.3 per cent from behind the arc.
“I red-shirted in my first year going in so it was about finding out who I was as a player and figuring out what I was good and was not good at,” Hall said. “It was about getting better each and every year and every day.
“It was a big process, I enjoyed the heck out of it and I miss it now.” Stattmann and Bennett open their 2018-19 college season against the Towson Tigers next month.