Fore sure you can

yep

Luke, some people here have been very misleading. You have to play SEABL to get a position in the NBL. There is basically no other way.

HO - no you don't. There is no prerequisite path to NBL. If you are good enough, you can play.

goodluck mate

NBL coaches watch SEABL games and Wildcats keep an eye on SBL.QABL is watched for imports but the highest standard outside the NBL would be SEABL and NZBL.

SEABL is not a set requirement, but it would give the biggest exposure to a wider target audience plus is well known to be much higher standard competition to showcase talent than the Waratah League, but seeing as how a fair amount of Hawks/Kings players and I think sometimes in the past, coaches, have played Waratah league, it's not without it's merit to getting exposure to those particular teams...

Best paths to the NBL are all subject. As one person has said, if you a good enough then you will make it regardless of path. Take 36ers paths (Don't hold me to these but I think they are correct - Couple of question marks though):

Carter - State??/NBL-DP/NBL/Overseas Leagues/NBL
Gibson - State/AIS-SEABL/NBL
Cadee - State/AIS-SEABL/NBL
Teys - State??/QABL/NBL-DP/NBL
Ervin - Import Path
Schenscher - State??/College/NBA/NBL
Frye - Import Path
Warbout - State/CABL/NBL-DP/SEABL
Doyle - CABL/NBL-DP/SEABL
Petrie - State??/AIS-SEABL/NBL
Anthony - State??/NZNBL/NBL/German League??/NBL
Johnson - State/AIS-SEABL/NBL
Creek - State/AIS-SEABL/NBL

Flinders, Johnson went to College (Pepperdine). The rest look correct.

use Exum as an example or Lebron or or or

There are no rules to do anything

if you are good enough you will be found regardless of where you are playing

Dmac was playing street ball in NY

Flinders, Schenscher and Carter went through AIS also. Luke was there for three years even.

From an exposure point of view SEABL is probably the best league as it covers the most number of teams/depths of talent & if your a kiwi the NZBL.

So I could play really well at State and get noticed? That's good that I can get noticed anywhere because I have no SEABL teams near me, hopefully you will see me in 10 years tearing up the league! aha

I cannot believe people responded to that sensibly.

Sorry Luke.

Luke, a couple of key things. Choosing a good junior club is important to ensure you get quality coaching. This is very important. You may have to travel as a good club may not be in your immediate area. Do some research here. The NBL takes players from everywhere and Waratah League has produced plenty. No doubt the SEABL is strongest feeder league but certainly not the only one..... Oh... And grow. Basketball obviously favours those that grow to be well above 6 foot. Unless you are 6 foot 2 +++, professional basketball will be a stretch.

Yeah Dale, one of my mates played for my local rep team but now plays for central coast for more exposure, he made the country NSW team and is a year below, I can see him playing NBA easy, should I follow his path ?

Luke, without knowing you personally, I would only give general advice here. The club you choose should give you the opportunity to play at the top level in your age group. In simple terms, if you are Under 16's and the club only had a team in B Grade or A Reserve, I would look to one that fields a team in A Grade. Also don't be afraid of joining a club which you know has better players than you. Sometimes this scares juniors but I think it is better for you. You learn more from playing and training with better players rather than being the best of a bunch of average players.

Without knowing the set-up directly in NSW, does your friend get to regularly play against Sydney based teams? I say this as the strongest clubs and players will still generally be based out of Sydney. Central Coast and Newcastle, whilst strong, will not be able to consistently give you the high quality of competition than Sydney can.

Good luck with it. Believe in yourself but also ensure you have a back up plan (eg - education). Injuries unfortunately can kill a sporting career so always good to have back up plan.

yeah Im pretty sure we vs every team, last saturday night I watched the mustangs game at home and they were playing a sydney team, hopefully a Newcastle team comes back to the NBL, surely they would watch Newcastle Basketball

Yeah, NSW was flying when Sydney/Newcastle-Hunter/Illawarra/West Sydney/Canberra were in the league. Options galore. Now just two remain. Victoria is even worse off going from four down to one.

I am talking about a time when you were only just born or not even.

I think there definitely should be a team in Newcastle or based out of Gosford. This way the Sydney, The Illawarra and The Hunter would be covered.

Hopefully in 5-6 years when you are in the zone(age wise) this will be a reality.

I noticed that you said College wasn't an option for you? I said this too as a teenager but probably regret it a bit now. Don't discount this option unless of course you have your own reasons for not doing it. From those I know, it was a very positive experience and there are a multitude of better coaches and players in the USA than there are here.

Maybe try and get yourself on an end of year tour and see how you like it. I know this may not be possible due to cost but if you can afford it, well worth doing.

Sorry, I am rabbiting on a bit here.

Okay Guys thanks for the advice, I've changed my mind, If I get noticed by a collage I will go, I was just wondering how do you get into the AIS? Do they watch you at state championships or something?

Only if you don't get shot by someone from the hood. Even though I think they have a Violence Victims Olympics now so could be a good option.