It’s official, Tasmania’s The Southern Huskies will become the first professional basketball team since the demise of the Hobart Devils over 20 years ago.
Today the team also became the first Australian team to play in the Sal’s NBL, New Zealand’s oldest professional sporting league.
The team announced NBL stars such Adelaide 36’ers Harry Froling, Mason Bragg and Melbourne United’s Craig Moller will be a part of the team in their debut season. The Huskies will also be coached by Anthony Stewart who played in 489 NBL games, 74 of those with the Hobart Devils.
With the season beginning Thursday 11th April 2019, the Huskies will face eight teams from New Zealand, playing at last once on one of the Huskies’ Home courts in both the North and Southern areas of the state.
With 6,000 foundation members of the Huskies already prepared to cheer the team to victory, every game will be streamed live for both Huskies fans and Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne United fans keen to watch Froling, Bragg and Moller do their thing in the NBL offseason.
“We’re super excited to be joining New Zealand’s Sal’s NBL in 2019. We see it as critical to be on the floor in 2019, and a step – from a competition point of view – to a league that has grown into an extremely competitive and commercially viable competition. It’s attracting quality players from New Zealand, USA, Europe and the Australian NBL.” says Chief Executive of The Southern Huskies, Justin Hickey.
Hickey says he’s committed to growing the sport in Tasmania, and to providing a pathway into the sport for young players throughout Australia.
“We’ve assembled a super exciting and extremely competitive team and we see it as the first step in the road back to the Australian NBL. We’re committed to assisting in growing the talent pool in Tasmania and providing an aspirational team for all Tasmanian basketball prospects to aim for”
Hickey has worked diligently not just to bring professional basketball back to Tasmania, but to put together a team capable of playing in the Australian National Basketball League in the next two years as well as benefit local tourism.
“Aside from the level of quality basketball we are excited to be playing, the opportunities to showcase both Tasmania and New Zealand from a tourism perspective are tremendous. We have committed to live stream every game to both New Zealand and Australian audiences, and we are working hard to produce a game night like nothing seen in Tasmania before. We want to attract both the basketball and non-basketball audience to what we want to be ‘the best show in town’ each and every week.”
Hickey noted that the professionalism and game night fan experience the Huskies put on will make the Southern Huskies something the NBL cannot refuse when they look to enter the Australian competition in 2020.
The team have agreed to a five year deal with the New Zealand NBL which would mean Tasmania would be the first Australian state to have access to professional basketball 12 months a year playing in the New Zealand NBL from April to August and then competing in the Australian NBL from September to March.
The Huskies aren’t likely to be the only clubs keen to play year round basketball as well with the New Zealand Breakers expected to enter a development team into the NZNBL in 2020 as well as other NBL teams, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth among those believed to be interested in doing the same.
The NZ NBL season kicks off on the 11th April 2019.