Award-winning feature series Aussies Abroad turns its attention to US college basketball as the season builds towards the ‘March Madness’ of the NCAA national championship.
St Mary’s and Australian Boomers point guard, Matthew Dellavedova or ‘Delly,’ as he’s affectionately known throughout Australian and US college basketball circles, has surpassed all expectations in his four years with the Gaels and he will graduate shortly as one of the school’s all-time greats.
Last season’s West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a finalist for this season’s Cousy Award (for the nation’s best collegiate point guard), Matthew will be closely examined by NBA scouts ahead of the 2013 Draft in June.
“There’s not a guy with a higher basketball IQ that I know of in the country, as far as a college player,” says St Mary’s coach, Randy Bennett, of Matthew’s basketball intelligence.
“You don’t want to make a comparison to Steve Nash, but Nash was a little bit like that in college. He’s a good player. He’s very similar to Matt. You wouldn’t have known Nash was going to turn into Nash.”
Matthew’s impressive performance for the Australian Boomers at the London Olympics, where Matthew held his own against basketball royalty such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, will also factor into his NBA Draft prospects.
Tune in to this must see feature to hear from Matthew’s parents, team-mates and St Mary’s coaches, Randy Bennett and Aussie Adam Caporn, in this half-hour ESPN Aussies Abroad exclusive.
