Wild to mild, Harry learns bench lesson
HARRY Froling is a Townsville product who started his professional basketball career in Adelaide but can trace a key moment of his development and maturity back to the far north.
The NBL Rookie of the Year front runner is preparing to take on the Cairns Taipans tonight after lifting the 2018 QBL title with his home town Townsville only a few months ago.
The stretch forward became Townsville’s focal point in the QBL but in an early season game against the Cairns Marlins at the Fish Tank, he was forced to watch the first quarter of play from the bench.
The future Adelaide 36er would only play 22 minutes that night, suspended for the first quarter of the game for missing a gym session with his Heat teammates the week before.
Froling was in Cairns to celebrate Marlins youngster Aron Farmer’s 21st birthday and while things got a little out of hand that night, the 20year- old admits it was an occurrence that turned into a positive in the long run.
“It was a bit exaggerated and was not as big a deal as some people made it. I did not get arrested . . . nothing illegal happened,” Froling said.
“I just had a bit too much to drink and was asked to leave Gilligans. It should not have happened, and I missed a gym session with the Townsville QBL boys.
“It was good for me to have that experience because it shows you need to be careful, you can’t step out of line and need to keep things low key.
“It was a good learning experience for me.”
Snakes coach Mike Kelly knows Froling well from his Townsville days.
“Harry is a great kid and is playing great basketball, his numbers per minute are amazing,” Kelly said.
“He has a little chip on his shoulder, which he has had since he was young.
“I would love to knock it off this weekend and say something to him but he is a great guy and comes from a great family.”
Froling grew up watching Townsville and Cairns battles in the NBL and expects the Taipans to be up for the challenge tonight, despite their bottom of the ladder status. “You need to respect every team in this league,” Froling said. “They also have some good role players – Cairns are a dangerous team.
“They are going to be coming in with nothing to lose, I expect that from Cairns every time. I remember all the Reptile Rumbles.”
The Taipans head to South Australia tonight to try to snap a seven- game losing skid.
Over that seven game losing streak, Cairns have won just one final quarter and been outscored by 36 points after three- quarter time during that span.
Taipans captain Alex Loughton travelled yesterday and remains a chance to play for the first time in a couple of weeks.
I JUST HAD A BIT TOO MUCH TO DRINK AND WAS ASKED TO LEAVE GILLIGANS. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED, AND I MISSED A GYM SESSION WITH THE TOWNSVILLE QBL BOYS. HARRY FROLING