BIO: Jordan Vandenberg was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Waverly basketball program while and attending Box Hill Senior Secondary College.

He played four seasons of college basketball for North Carolina State University and he also holds a Dutch passport because of his father. Vandenberg received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2008. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jordan Vandenberg made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 25 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.

After finishing seventh with a 9-19 record in 2014/15, Sydney retained head coach Damian Cotter and returned Josh Childress, Jason Cadee, Tom Garlepp and reigning Rookie of the Year Angus Brandt. Cody Ellis (to Illawarra), Kevin White (to Illawarra), Ben Madgen (to Belgium), Kendrick Perry, Josh Duinker and Daniel Joyce departed, while Julian Khazzouh (via Lebanon), Steven Markovic (via Townsville), Rhys Carter (via New Zealand), Jeromie Hill (via UTSA), Marcus Thornton (via William & Mary) and Dion Prewster (via Wellington) were added.

Childress (21 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks across 13 games) missed Sydney’s first four games with a foot injury before returning against Adelaide on October 23 and breaking his right hand. Al Harrington (via Fujian) (17.7 points and 6.8 rebounds across 6 games) was signed as his short-term injury replacement and played six games before his stint ended as Childress prepared to return, while Jayden Hodgson (via Centre of Excellence) joined as a development player after training with Sydney during the school holidays.

With the Kings sitting last at 3-9, Cotter was released on November 28 and former Washington Wizards assistant Joe Connelly was promoted to interim head coach. Childress returned in late November but fractured his left hand two games later, leading Damion James (via Le Mans) (7 points and 7.8 rebounds across 5 games) to join as another short-term injury replacement. James appeared in five games before being taken off the roster when Childress was reactivated on December 29.

Sydney’s frontcourt was then hit when Khazzouh (13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks across 17 games) ruptured his right quadriceps tendon against Illawarra on December 18 and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. With the Kings desperately short of size, assistant coach Ben Knight (via retirement) returned to the active roster more than four years after knee problems had ended his NBL career one appearance short of 400 games. Knight (0.5 points across 4 games) reached the milestone against New Zealand on December 27 and provided emergency cover while Sydney searched for a longer-term replacement, later being called upon for one further appearance in February when the Kings were again short-handed.

Vandenberg (via Bendigo) had spent the previous two days training with Sydney when the Kings confirmed his signing on January 7 as Khazzouh’s injury replacement for the remainder of the season. He and Craig Moller had been brought in for tryouts, with Vandenberg winning the active roster position and Moller remaining with Sydney’s training group. Vandenberg had spent 2015 playing with Bendigo after previously being signed briefly by the New York Knicks and appearing with their D-League affiliate Westchester. “He is an exciting prospect that we, as a coaching staff, feel is going to help us in the short term,” Connelly said. Markovic (3 points across 7 games) had also remained sidelined following illness and surgery to remove his tonsils, leading Indiana Faithfull (via Sydney) (2.6 points across 7 games) to be signed on the same day as his replacement after the Kings believed Markovic would struggle to regain full fitness before the end of the season.

#Work

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 4, 2016

Vandenberg (3.1 points across 8 games) came from the bench in every appearance and played all eight games remaining after joining Sydney, with no injury or illness recorded during his stint. His 20 games missed all occurred before he joined the roster, while he made 10 of 16 field-goal attempts and all five of his free throws during his eight appearances.

Vandenberg’s best game came in his NBL debut against Illawarra on January 9, where Vandenberg (6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 blocks) made two of three field goals and both free throws in six minutes. Garlepp (18 points) and Brandt (17 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Sydney, while Kirk Penney (29 points and 5 assists) led Illawarra to a 114-90 victory.

One of Vandenberg’s longer appearances came in Cairns on January 29, where Vandenberg (4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists) made both field-goal attempts and played 11 minutes and 19 seconds. Cadee (21 points and 4 assists) and Garlepp (16 points and 5 rebounds) led Sydney, while Torrey Craig (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) produced the game’s defining moments with a dunk over Vandenberg and a long three-pointer late as Cairns defeated the Kings 81-76.

Cadee (14 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across 28 games) and Garlepp (13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds across 27 games) carried increased responsibility throughout Sydney’s injury-hit season, while Thornton (12.8 points across 28 games), Brandt (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks across 28 games) and Carter (5.6 points across 28 games) provided the other major contributions. Garlepp was named the Kings’ Most Valuable Player, while Brandt’s development earned him an opportunity with the Australian national team.

Vandenberg matched his season-high in Sydney’s final game against Townsville on February 13, making all three field-goal attempts to finish with 6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 blocks in 9 minutes and 24 seconds. Cadee (32 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Childress (31 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks) led Sydney, while Omar Samhan (25 points and 13 rebounds) led Townsville to a 126-123 overtime victory as the Kings finished last with a 6-22 record.

Jordan Vandenberg played one season in the NBL. He averaged 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 8 NBL games.