Owen Hulland: First All-Asia Basketball without Borders in Australia: An Athlete’s Perspective Q&A

Forward by Janx……

Norwood Flames, and South Australian, Class of 2018 player, Owen Hulland, was a guy we felt could explode at the recent U18 Australian National Championships and we had made it clear that we felt he had only just begun to find his ceiling in the lead up.

During the week of the championships he dominated for the state of South Australia men, and was a great man to have in the team on and off the floor. Appreciated by all his team mates and coaches for his positive attitude, desire to improve and coachability, but most of all to take every challenge put before him in his stride.

He showed in this tournament he has the makings to be in the upper echelon of talent Australia has produced, if he can continue to work hard and improve.

As he continues to develop and improve this multi-skilled, 6’10’’, stretch 4 man will continue to garner attention. Over the past few months since his great performance he has received attention from National Coaches, Div 1 College Coaches and this week has just taken part in the first ever All -Asia NBA Basketball without Borders Camp ever held in Australia.

Owen has agreed to a Q&A to find out more on his experience at Basketball Without Borders, which included being selected into the All Star game with Alex Mudronja and Biar Garang.

Over to Owen……

Q: How did you feel when you found out you would be going to the BWB Camp?

A: I felt excited because it was a chance to meet and learn from NBA players and former hall of famers.

It was also a chance to play and train against the best kids in Asia.

Q: What was the format of the camp (EG: Games, Skills Development, Seminars)?

A: For the first few days it was life skills seminars in the morning followed by skills training and then in the afternoon team training followed by games.

On the last day I was selected to play in the All Star game

Q: Who were the main coaches you worked with?

A: I worked with with David Robinson for positional plays, Bruce Bowen for teamwork and Jerry Stackhouse was my team coach. Zach Guthrie was my coach for the All Star game.

Q: What was the standard like in the players from other countries involved?

A: The training and game intensity has high but at times the language barrier was difficult to overcome.

Q: What did you learn that you can carry forward in the coming 12 months?

A: To keep working hard and to stay focused to achieve my goals.

Q: What did you learn that you can carry forward beyond the 12 months?

A: That there opportunities worldwide to play professional Basketball and that through hard work and dedication it is achievable.

Q: What was your favorite part of the camp?

A: My favourite part of the camp was playing in the all star game.

Q: Who were the other South Aussie reps and how was it sharing this experience with those guys?

A: Alex Mudronja and Biar Garang were also selected, it was good because there were other kids I knew there and it gave me a competitive edge.

Q: What do you want to be doing in 5 years time in your basketball?

A: I want to be playing professional Basketball.

Q: Any closing thoughts?

A: It was a great experience to go to the BWB camp Asia. It was also good to meet Coaches and kids from other countries.