Ask any young basketball player and they would tell you that they would play year-round if they could.
Just go from one season to the next and avoid those long, boring off-seasons.
There would be no need to find a job to while away the summer months when you can just head to the other side of the world and carry on playing.
Josh Wilcher is someone doing just that. After leaving the Plymouth Raiders in February, Wilcher headed back to his native Australia and signed up with State League side, Townsville Heat.
In the gap between his two seasons at Plymouth, Wilcher filled the time by suiting up for another Aussie side, Bendigo Braves, and once his his season with Townsville comes to an end, it’ll only be a short break before he’s heading back to the UK to play for the Cheshire Phoenix.
“It’s for sure living the dream,†said Wilcher.
“I love basketball and obviously love playing the game so to be able to travel around the world and play, I’m very lucky.
“Even though I’m from Australia I’m not playing where I was raised so I’m able to experience my own country a bit more, which is great too.â€
Although Wilcher and the Raiders didn’t part on the best of terms last season, the Aussie point-guard still has a lot of love for a city he called home for almost two years.
He’s not interested in dwelling on the past but says he is looking forward to when his new side visit Devon next season.
“I still look back at my time in Plymouth as an amazing experience,†said Wilcher.
“The fans are fantastic; they supported me through my full time there and still support me with my new move.
“I met many people that I consider now as really good mates and I’m very excited to see everyone again when I venture down there next season.â€
As for Wilcher’s new club, he revealed it came about thanks in part to the coach who first brought him to the BBL.
“The opportunity to join Cheshire came through my old coach Jay Marriott,†revealed Wilcher.
“I think he put in some good words for me and then my agent was able to get it all sorted.
“It feels great to be back,†he added. “I really love playing in the BBL and in the UK.
“By the looks of it the league is getting tougher so should be an exciting season!â€
Before he comes back to the BBL, Wilcher is determined to finish his current season down under with some silverware.
“The Townsville opportunity came up not long after I finished at the Raiders,†he said.
“The General Manager is someone I used to play against back home, so they reached out to me.
“It’s a fantastic club that’s run really professionally and I absolutely love it here.
“We’re currently tied top of the league 11-3 with two weeks to go before the finals so hopefully we can bring a championship home!â€
Pic: Mansoor Ahmed
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments