Ili building on growing status
HE is arguably the breakout star of the Australian National Basketball League and a pivotal figure in the Breakers’ stunning start to the season.
But it wasn’t that long ago when Shea Ili thought he was more likely to earn a living on a building site than the basketball court.
‘‘At first I didn’t think I would be playing (full-time),’’ Ili told Stuff as he reflected on his progress since joining the Breakers as a development player in 2014.
‘‘I wasn’t too sure if that was going to happen or not. Rugby’s my second sport so if I didn’t make it in basketball I had rugby to play. I also thought I was going to be a builder if this didn’t happen but Pauli told me, ‘no, you’re not going to be a builder’.’’
Ili has made a habit of coming up big in the fourth quarter as the league-leading Breakers have won their past eight games, a streak they are determined to extend against the Brisbane Bullets at Spark Arena on Sunday.
Yet that confidence to have the ball in his hands in the crucial moments did not always come natural to the 25-year-old point guard.
In what turned out to be a defining discussion with Henare a few years ago, Ili credits a heartto-heart with his coach for giving him the belief to pursue a profes- sional hoops career.
Thankfully for the Breakers, Henare’s advice convinced him to put the tool belt away for the time being and instead devote hundreds of hours to constructing his game.
The results are clear to see, with Ili returning from a back injury that ruined his first fulltime season in the ANBL last year to be the early frontrunner for the league’s most improved player.
‘‘That day when he told me not to think about building until later in life, it sort of turned the tables for me,’’ Ili said. ‘‘I kind of didn’t know to trust him and whether I could make it or not but I did and it has helped.
‘‘It gave me the confidence to keep on working hard, keep on working on my weaknesses and it will come - and it has. But I’ve got to keep on working hard.’’
It sounds simple but hard work is pretty much the not-so-secret recipe to Ili’s success. PAUL KANE/GETTY IMAGES
There were signs this year that the Auckland-born playmaker was poised for a breakthrough season.
He was named Finals MVP in the Wellington Saints’ domestic NBL triumph and then went on to earn All-Star Five selection at the Fiba Asia Cup, leading a young Tall Blacks team to an impressive fourth-place finish.
But the foundations for his stellar 2017 were laid much earlier.
‘‘Everybody thinks that Shea’s just come up, but that boy has worked his arse off and he’s done everything right,’’ Breakers veteran Mika Vukona said. ANTHONY AU-YEUNG/GETTY IMAGES
‘" That day when he told me not to think about building until later in life, it sort of turned the tables for me."’ SHANE ILI
‘‘It was probably a couple of years ago, Shea was in every single day working out after everybody had done their thing. And he was working late at night, coming in at about 10pm and spending a couple of hours in the gym. Even now to this day, he’s doing extra training before our sessions start.’’
Vukona says his relentless work ethic has set the tone for the other young players coming through.
‘‘Now you see Finn (Delany), he’s doing the same thing, Jordan (Ngatai) is doing the same thing and when you have your point guard, who’s normally your oncourt leader, doing that every single day it’s just infectious and it’s a great way to set a culture.’’
Ili has averaged 10.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds off the bench in the first nine games of the season, but the numbers don’t do justice to the impact he has had on the court.
There has been several gamewinning contributions, including a career-high 23 points against the Bullets last month, draining five clutch free throws to hold off the 36ers and again nailing back-toback shots in the dying moments to seal the most recent win in Perth.
Or, as Vukona put it: ‘‘He’s got balls of steel out there right now. You can just see it coming down the stretch. The future’s bright for him and New Zealand’s pretty lucky to have him.’’