BIO: Keanu Rasmussen was born in Adelaide (SA)

NBL EXPERIENCE

Keanu Rasmussen made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After a second disappointing season under coach CJ Bruton, several changes were made to their roster. Despite imports from last season, Robert Franks and  Antonius Cleveland both being contracted for a second season, they were allowed to exit their deals and pursue opportunities overseas.

Anthony Drmic (to Tasmania), Ian Clark (to Melbourne) and Kai Sotto (to Japan) all headed elsewhere, but perhaps the most significant loss for 36ers fans was the decision not to bring back big man Daniel Johnson after 13 years with the club.

Former Sixers Jason Cadee (via Brisbane), Isaac Humphries (via Melbourne) and import Jacob Wiley all returned to the club to provide much-needed leadership.

Rasmussen was signed as a development player, getting the oppourtunity to play for his hometown 36ers, with Bruton having faith that the young talent would be able to make a mark in his first season.

“I can see Keanu plying his trade as a development player and making his way into a roster spot down the track,” Bruton said.

“He has the basketball IQ and skill set that can transition to the NBL level.”

Other new faces to the squad included Trentyn Flowers, courtesy of the Next Stars program, AFL to NBL convert Alex Starling and imports Trey Kell (via South East Melbourne) and Jamaal Franklin.

Franklin’s time with the club was brief; being handed his released during the middle of the NBL Blitz. The loss of Franklin resulted in Rasmussen being elevated into the team’s full roster, while the continued to search for his replacement.

In a similar fashion to last season, Adelaide got off to yet another slow start (with a 1-4 record) before signing DJ Vasiljevic, who had exited his contract with Sydney early to sign a deal to play with Washington in the NBA, before being released on the eve on the NBL season. Rasmussen was reverted back to the team’s developmental program as a result.

Vasiljevic (19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) added instant firepower to the squad, but after a horrendous loss to Tasmania, where Adelaide’s inability to shoot both inside (29 per cent from the field) and beyond the three-point line (2-11) saw them produce their equal-lowest score since the beginning of the 40-minute era (59-94), Bruton was shown his walking papers. With the team sitting bottom of the ladder (4-9), Bruton was replaced by assistant coach Scott Ninnis, who had coached the team previously from 2008-2010 and managed to turn things around in the second half of the season after an impressive January (5-1) which saw Adelaide back contending for a playoff spot.

Adelaide finished the season as the second-best rebounding team, averaging 43.5 rebounds per game, but also the worst in the competition from behind the three-point line (shooting 29.9 per cent).

Kell (17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Humphries (15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) both delivered career-best seasons, and Wiley (10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) led the team in rebounding.

Ultimately, the revitalised side finished a win and percentage away from competing in the Play-In Tournament (12 wins, 16 losses) with Rasmussen appeared in only four games for the season, scoring a total of four points.

Keanu Rasmussen currently plays for the Adelaide 36ers and has played 5 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 0.8 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0 assists since entering the league in 2023.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Adelaide 36ers – 1 Year Deal (2024-25)

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.