SET TO SPARKLE
Natural talent sharpened by countless hours across several years – and states – has taken rising star basketballer Shaneice Swain from Cairns and the Far North to the bright lights of Hollywood.
And you get the feeling this tale has only just begun.
Swain became the first Far North talent to be taken in the WNBA Draft this week, when the LA Sparks took the 19year-old guard with the 14th overall pick – the first time the WNBA franchise has selected a player from Australia.
It was a monumental moment in the history of Australian hoops, let alone Cairns, as the proud Yupangathi and Gangalidda/Gooreng Gooreng woman was selected in the second round and, by doing so, had her status as one of the sport’s newest and best role models further enhanced.
A product of Cairns basketball, Swain has long been pegged as a talent to watch as she progressed through the junior ranks with the Dolphins and Cairns State High School, and earned representative selections for junior state and national teams.
It is in that Queensland representative arena that respected Cairns hoops figure Kerry Williams crossed paths with a talent with natural ability.
While he had seen her as a junior, it was when Williams was appointed as Basketball Queensland’s state performance officer that he really took notice of the youngster.
“She had a natural ability to shoot great distance, and great anticipation, especially defensively,” Williams said.
“Her ability to score and get in the lane was special.
“Her natural ability … I didn’t see it at first, but as she started to practise more and I saw her compete against the girls and boys, you could see she was special.”
Williams won’t take any credit for Swain’s achievement – that is the product of persistence and hard work by Swain herself, with a great support network around her.
“I’m super-proud of her achievements and watching her grow and becoming the player she is – she makes it worthwhile doing the job we do,” Williams said.
“I can’t take credit; it’s her and her father and her family, the commitment and dedication they’ve shown her to support her and her commitment to the program.”
For Williams, who has developed a great working relationship with the teen over the years, the attribute that separates her from the rest is her ability to stay in the moment.
“Her special talent is that nothing fazes her, nothing bothers her,” he said.
Swain is rarely flustered, despite the hardships she’s faced over her career, which included being thrust into a key role in the Canberra Capitals’ WNBL side in what was her second season.
Kristen Veal has seen Swain confront the battles head on.
Veal has worked with her for about five years through the Centre of Excellence and most recently as head coach of the Capitals. She remembers a Swain who was young, quiet, small in stature but forthright in what she wanted to achieve: represent Australia.
And she watched the young gun who set Cairns courts alight throughout her junior career overcome major setbacks, including an anterior cruciate ligament injury when she was 16 that could have seriously affected her career.
“I remember sitting down with her in Australia camp before the COE and she was just a little pint-sized ‘Swainy’,” Veal said. “Feels like she was
half the size, half the confidence, half the conversation.
“But she said clearly she wanted to play for Australia; she was adamant on where she wanted to go and use her talent. To see her grow and evolve over the last few years, and overcome the ACL injury – a 16-year-old doing their ACL and we spent the next 1½ or two years getting her back – and she capped it by playing for Australia at the Under-19s World Cup.”
For Veal, she had a closer look than almost anyone as Swain developed from an early arrival at the COE – she wasn’t eligible until she was 16 but officials had kept tabs on her since the under-14s – to a “baby” on the Capitals’ WNBL roster and into a player who became an integral part of the team’s machine during the 2022-23 season.
One of the biggest transformations, Veal said, was the way she learned to act, carry, work and live like an elite, professional basketballer.
When it came to her being drafted, Veal’s only shock was that it happened so fast, especially after her first campaign was riddled by injury.
“She’s always had athleticism
and talent, it was just rounding that out with what it’s like to be a pro,” Veal said.
“She put on 5kg through the season, which is huge because she was light coming in, doing the work in the off-season, connecting with teammates, studies. She keeps growing and investing more in that space, and she keeps getting better because of it. That helps her talent shine more.
“She was 18 when she first stepped into a WNBL program, and a lot of that will naturally mature over the first four to six years of her career, but the fact she had to step up and do a lot more this year fast-tracked some of that development.”
That’s part of why the Sparks selected her.
Not only does Swain have a strong skillset now, but Sparks CAO and GM Karen Bryant and head coach Curt Miller were impressed by what she could be in years to come.
“A priority for us in this draft was to acquire young players that we could develop in our system,” Bryant said.
“Our staff was really impressed with Shaneice’s skillset, and we think her upside is high.”
Miller added: “Swain is a 19year-old crafty guard that has a tremendous future as both a playmaker and a scorer. Her youth and ceiling excite us for the future.”
Swain, who played for her hometown Cairns Dolphins against Brisbane Capitals on Friday night, will become a bigger star in years to come, but already she is inspiring the next generation of ballers.
“When playing with the Dolphins before she left, back when she was 16, she was talking to some of the other girls and they look up to her,” Williams said.
“Another young girl, Teyahna Bond, she’s playing for the Dolphins, and she wanted to follow in her footsteps as her pathway is similar to what Shaneice is taking.
“She’s inspired some of the local young girls. And nationally now, especially in the junior sphere, they look up to her and watch what she’s doing.”