Heat wild about Harry
THE Townsville Heat have pulled off a major coup for their QBL title defence with the signing of talented big man Harry Froling.
The 19- year- old has returned home to Townsville to begin his professional career following a volatile sophomore season at Marquette University which saw him part ways with the Golden Eagles.
Froling previously played at QBL level in 2016, helping the Heat to a perfect 7- 0 start before leaving for his first college stint with Southern Methodist University ( SMU).
The 211cm power forward has his sights set on the 2019 NBA Draft and he believed Townsville was a great place to start pushing his claims with his first professional contract.
“I’m a professional now and there’s a lot of pressure on me, but I’m excited and I’m ready to take that step,” Froling said.
“I’m in a lot better shape now – that was one of my knocks, not being in the greatest shape.
“I’ve grown as a person and matured a lot and as a player I’ve gotten a lot better, so I think it’ll be good.
“I’m here to win a championship with these guys and then look at my future with the NBL and Europe, and then hopefully the NBA in a couple of years with the draft.
“This is one of the stepping stones and I’m going to attack it with everything.”
Froling completes an impressive starting five for the Heat alongside returning stars Peter Crawford, Josh Wilcher, and Justin Baker, while former NBL guard Jordair Jett has also joined the club this season.
Heat coach Rodney Anderson said Froling was already a natural leader on the floor and he backed the local junior to dominate the QBL.
“He should be looking at being the MVP of this league. That’s how good he is,” Anderson said. “He’s going to be the most sought- after NBL rookie and there might even be some European teams looking at him. He needs to come out every game thinking that he’s the man and making plays.
“Even though he’s only 19 years old, his leadership qualities are really great. He’s a really good communicator and just the way he plays as almost a seven- foot guy.
“We’re not just going to have to rely on Josh Wilcher this year to make plays. Harry’s definitely going to have the ball in his hands a lot, so it’s really exciting to have him here.
“I’m sure Harry would have done his due diligence and checked around the country and even the world to see what options are open for him, but nothing’s better than coming home and playing here in front of your home crowd.”
The Heat ramped up their preseason preparations this week with games against the England and Scotland men’s teams while they’re in town for the Commonwealth Games.
Wilcher, Baker, and Jett are yet to join the rest of the squad, but Anderson said the Heat had proved against England and Scotland that they have the talent to claim back- toback titles.
“We’ve got a heap of things we need to learn and work on, but that’s exactly what you want in preseason,” Anderson said.
“We know who we are right now, we know how we’re going to play, and without three of our starters I thought we did really well against two international teams.”