HEAT READY TO REBOUND
TOWNSVILLE Heat guard Corban Wroe hopes he can make the most of his training opportunity with NBL club Melbourne United as he looks to make the leap to the professional ranks.
Wroe, 22, has been a strong contributor for the Heat in his eight games since graduating from the University of Hartford in Connecticut, where he played four seasons including two as captain.
While he has trained with the Townsville side in his university holidays the last few years, it wasn’t until this season he could finally play and his defensive attributes in particular have shone through.
Wroe scored 16 points along with five rebounds and two assists in the Heat’s loss to Cairns Marlins on Saturday before flying to Melbourne for a training opportunity with NBL club United from Monday.
The Townsville- raised Australian Institute of Sport product will train for two weeks with the club before touring with them in China for a week, given the Victorian side will be without a string of first choice players.
It’s not a designated trial for a contract, but Wroe says he would take any opportunity to train in those conditions and put his case forward.
“It hasn’t really been specified and I’m taking it right now as an opportunity to get my name out there,” he said.
“They haven’t specifically said it’s a trial for a spot on the team but it always is.
“Ultimately I want to get picked up by a team and hopefully it’s an NBL team.
“With eight teams in the league it’s really tough and it’s a tight league to try and jump into.
“If it doesn’t happen this year I might try for Europe but if I can get picked up at an NBL team that would be my biggest goal.”
The training opportunity means Wroe will miss the Heat’s next few games, including the return clash with the Marlins in Townsville on Friday, but he said the side couldn’t afford to give up despite their finals chances looking slim.
“There’s no way you can know, anything could happen and the north teams might go on a losing streak and we can jump back up,” he said.