Two top hoopsters are US bound

By Russell Bennett
TWO hills hoopsters well on the way to basketball stardom will represent Victoria at the Under-20 Australian Junior Championships in Canberra later this month.
Sassafras teen and Knox Raider Taylor Dyson, and Mount Evelyn’s own Kilsyth Cobra Michael Knoll can not wait for the tournament to begin.
Dyson, 18, started playing basketball at just five-years-of-age. He has been a part of the Knox Raiders system since he was 13.
The six-foot-four shooting guard said he was “really excited” to be playing in the tournament. He said the Victorian side had a gold medal in its sights and he just wanted to contribute to the team’s success. But Dyson has his long-term basketball future on his mind.
He will head over to the United States in August to enrol in a Division 1 college and play for one of the best amateur teams in the world.
He said “seven or eight” of the prestigious schools had expressed an interest in signing him.
Dyson said he was excited about the prospect of receiving a scholarship for a top-notch education.
“I want to have a professional basketball career in America, Europe or Australia,” he said.
“But I’ve also always had a big interest in journalism and I hope to study that.”
Dyson is no stranger to competing on the big stage, having represented Australia in the under-17 World Championships in Germany. The Australians finished sixth in the 12-team field and Dyson’s best game came against the United States.
He said scoring 16 points against the Americans gave him confidence that he could match it with them in college basketball.
Knoll, also 18, started playing his junior basketball as a Year 7 student at Mount Evelyn Christian School.
Now with the Kilsyth Cobras, the six-foot-eight giant is also talking to US college teams. He described his biggest attributes as his ability to score in the paint with a range of dunks and other post moves.
But he also pours time and effort into his defensive skills, and says his running, agility and ability to sprint up and down the floor were key in transition.
Dyson and Knoll will join forces with players from Dandenong, Ballarat, Kilsyth, Diamond Valley and Melbourne. The Victorian men are the defending champions and will be a target of opposition teams throughout the under-20 tournament. Since the National Championships began in 1974, the Victorian men have won 22 gold medals.
Victorian side head coach Grant Wallace said: “We are all really excited with the talented squad we have assembled for the upcoming February 2012 championships.
“It is a more evenly balanced group of athletes than 2011, which should allow us greater flexibility in how we approach the way we play.
“We now need to be best prepared to appropriately represent this great state of Victoria, our clubs and all the high quality athletes who narrowly missed selection. We are all looking forward to the massive challenge ahead.”
The under-20 Australian Junior Championships begin in Belconnen, ACT from 19 to 25 February.