Friday, March 11th, Cairns Convention Centre, Taipans vs Jackjumpers.
There is 4:59 remaining in the game, and the Cairns Taipans are down 56–74 to the Tasmania Jack-jumpers.
Head coach Adam Forde decides he has seen enough from his starters and empties the bench to run his youngsters.
Emptying the bench is a standard process that happens in many sports when a score differential becomes insurmountable.
For the majority of people watching, this is just standard procedure and marks the beginning of “garbage time”.
For Taipans training player Robbie Heath, however, this moment means so much more.
It is his chance to make an impact on the biggest basketball stage in Australia and prove to everyone watching that he belongs.
Heath finished with four points and an assist in five minutes and had impressed with the small opportunity he had received.
Those who know Robbie best aren’t surprised because this is not the first time he has made an impact with a small opportunity.
Robbie Heath was born with a basketball in his hands.
His father, Bob “Tiger” Heath, had moved to Australia in the first significant migration of US basketball imports alongside the likes of Dave Simmons and Cecil Exum. Bob himself had a very long and successful SEABL career.
It was decided that when Robbie was 12 years old that the best move for his basketball career would be to move to Philly, where his father grew up.
Robbie attended Abington High school, where he found instant success.
In the 2017–18 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament, run by the elite basketball academy that produced RJ Barrett, D’Angelo Russell, and Ben Simmons, he was named to the tournament’s all-first team alongside NBA stars RJ Barrett (New York) and Bol Bol (Denver). Robbie also finished as the school’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,642 points
Despite his best efforts, Robbie couldn’t secure any interest from any NCAA Division 1 team. Being in his mid-teens, Robbie would get quite homesick and return home in the off-season, rather than playing in AAU tournaments where the majority of college scouting gets done.
With no scholarship offers, it was off to prep school for Robbie to try and get some attention.
After a year at prep school, Robbie committed to Div 2 school West Chester University.
Not the Div 1 opportunity that he wanted, but an opportunity nonetheless.
Heath destroyed all comers in the Division II competition and smashed every scoring first-year scoring record held at West Chester. He was the highest-scoring freshman in the entire NCAA, averaging 24.6 points a game. Heath also led the Golden Rams in rebounding (7.3), assists (2.6) and steals (1.6), leading all of Division II in free throws attempted and was second in makes.
The 21-year-old guard even dropped 50 points one round and finished his Freshman season ranked as the best first-year player in the entire NCAA. Seriously go watch his highlights. And this sweet documentary on Robbie’s journey.
After this monster of a freshman campaign, he transferred to Div 1 school Pepperdine.
Unfortunately, Heath saw very minimal opportunities at the Waves. He still managed to have 9 points in 5 minutes against #1 ranked Gonzaga, but his playing time was highly sporadic and inconsistent.
Robbie, after consulting with his family, decided his best course of action would be to finally return home and have a crack at making the NBL.
NBL teams didn’t just come knocking for Robbie however, despite his considerable success in the States, Heath needed to once again prove himself. This is to be expected as nothing comes easy, nor has anything just been handed to Robbie.
Heath did what he always does, got to work.
Robbie averaged 25 minutes and 17.4 points per game for the Diamond Valley eagles which were highlighted by a 38 point performance against NBL1 south leaders Frankston.
Robbie finally got the call from his agent this past summer, that Taipans head coach Adam Forde was intrigued by Heath, Robbie travelled to Cairns as soon as he was able to join the team.
He now awaits his next opportunity to perform, and once again prove that he belongs among the world’s best players. Heath’s road so far has already been long, winding and full of obstacles. Yet it feels like his story is only just beginning.
