Young guns on different paths to the big time
THE paths of Illawarra swing man Daniel Grida and Cairns’ Kody Stattmann show the growing options for emerging basketball talent in Australia.
The pair were teammates at the Australian Institute of Sport and both have attended the fledgling NBL combine, but have gone the opposite ways to chasing their pro- fessional dreams. Grida had college offers but decided to pursue the NBL while the Far North prodigy took up a scholarship at Virginia, who are 20-1 through their current season.
The Illawarra Hawk, who is averaging four points and two rebounds a game this season, is expecting Stattmann to explode on the college scene, when his opportunity comes.
“I played at the AIS with him, but not for very long,” Grida said. “I spent about six months with him, he is awesome – he is a super funny guy and can shoot the absolute piss out of it.
“He is a flat out scorer, super athletic and I am really keen to see how he goes over at Virginia, hopefully he can get a few more minutes as well.”
Grida is also a flat out scorer that can shoot from anywhere, and looks to have a bright future.
“I finished my under-20s nationals and had a pretty good tournament, I was looking to go to college after that,” Grida said.
“I went to the first NBL combine and after that I was offered a spot at the AIS. I was there for a couple of years.
“I am happy to be where I am now.”