Huge Duop-portunity ahead for Hawks marquee man

When Boomers coach Brian Goorjian named his final 12-man roster for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the list of players assembled oozed talent.

Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova and Dante Exum all had NBA experience. Jock Landale, Chris Goulding, Nathan Sobey and Nick Kay were all well known in Aussie hoops circles. And Matisse Thybulle and Josh Green had just come off 'rising star' type seasons with the Philladelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks respectively.

But one name didn't have the same sort of acclaim as the others on that list.

Casual basketball fans probably had to check once or twice when they saw Duop Reath pencilled in at the centre position - but according to coach Goorjian, the 25-year-old Illawarra Hawks marquee signing has 'star potential' NBL fans are finally about to uncover.

"Jock Landale is signed to the NBA now so there's only four guys on the Olympic team in the NBL [Nathan Sobey, Chris Goulding, Dellavedova and Reath], so to get an international calibre player like Duop is huge for Hawks fans. I've been around him on the day-to-day for the last eight weeks, his potential is unlimited and he is going to be an exciting piece not only for the Hawks, but for the league in general," Goorjian said.

Reath - a six foot eleven, 110 kilogram ball of South Sudanese muscle - walking away from the Tokyo Games with a 'once in a lifetime experience' and a bronze medal to boot, with his sights now shifted to a new challenge with the Hawks.

"Í'm just looking forwad to playing back in Australia really. Trying to win and just try to get better and work on my game. I'm still young and really want to focus on my development too and I feel like the coaching staff and my teammates at the Hawks will really help me with that," Reath said.

A return to Australia coming after several years working on his game abroad, with the former Sandgroper admitting his first foray onto a basketball court was due to nothing more than a sudden growth spurt.

"I grew up in Perth and basketball was pretty unplanned for me. I really started playing in high school, around the eighth or ninth grade when I started getting taller than everybody else. I grew up playing soccer but I felt like I was getting too big to be on the soccer field and a lot of my friends had already started playing basketball so I just turned into a basketball player," Reath said.

And my, how he has developed. A stint at junior college was followed by two more years in the system at Louisiana State University - or LSU - a school made famous by All-American alumni Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Simmons. From there he headed to the unfamiliar hoops hunting ground of Serbia, winning the league title with club Crvena Zvezda in 2021. 

A path not all that trodden by Australians, but one that has no doubt contributed to the impressive product Hawks coach Brian Goorjian will have at his disposal this NBL season.

"He's gonna be a centrepiece for the team, athletic, blocks shots, got a nice touch around the basket and he's a tremendous human being. So I see him fitting in real nicely with our young group and I see him in a leadership role as well. He's gonna be a huge part of our success this season," Goorjian said.

The two - Reath and Goorjian - hitting it off in Boomers camp, with a glowing appreciation being further enhanced while quarantining in the same facility at Howard Springs in the NT.

"He's [Goorjian] a great person overall," Reath said.

"Off the court, an amazing person,. Basketball-wise, he just really cares about the game. He's really detail oriented about everything so I feel like that really fits with me. As a person I really value that off the court relationship as well," Reath said.

Goorjian urging those in the Illawarra to sit up and take notice of Reath this season as the Hawks aim to bring a second championship to the city of Wollongong.

"He's gonna be the type of player people are gonna come out and want to see play. And the people that meet him, they're gonna become more attached to the team than they already are and I think he's gonna bring new people in the community to the stadium, I think he's that good."

"And I think it's a real exciting and extremely credible signing for our proud basketball region. Look at the Olympians from the past, they've virtually been home grown products that grow up and play for the same NBL team their whole life. So to recruit somebody like Duop [Reath] is groundbreaking for our organisation," Goorjian said.

Reath will also add his name to the growing list of South Sudanese talent to come through the door of the Win Entertainment Centre in recent years, with Deng Deng, Deng Adel and Sunday Dech all suiting up in red, black and white over the past few seasons.

"I've been away from Australia for 12 years but if you go back 12 years there was no aspect to this (South Sudanese) basketball at all," Goorjian said.

"When I left, the Indigenous community were just starting to emerge, you know Nate Jawai and Patty Mills etc. With the Australian Institute of Sport program, they created an avenue for everyone to play and succeed. And now we are seeing it with the South Sudanes community, it's really thriving," Goorjian said.

It's a new wrinkle to the National Basketball League, and one Goorjian is welcoming with open arms.

"For basketball, the South Sudanese boys build and athleticism suit the game. They're long, athletic, hard working, and just have a lot of qualities that go into basketball that I like. The style which I play, I'm attracted to what the South Sudanese players bring to the game. I like to play up and down the floor, I like to get in the lanes defensively, I like to run, I like to switch. Deng Deng, Deng Adel and Sunday [Dech] have all played with Illawarra and now Reath is here so I think it's just really great for the game and a really great fit here in the Illawarra," Goorjian said.