BIO: Terrance Ferguson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Terrance Ferguson made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 29 years of age. He scored 10 points in his first game.

After finishing fifth with a 14–14 record and missing the playoffs, Adelaide retained Jerome Randle while Adam Gibson (to Brisbane), Anthony Petrie (to Brisbane), Ebi Ere (to SLUC Nancy) and Lucas Walker (to Perth as an injury replacement for Matthew Knight) departed. Coach Joey Wright added Anthony Drmic (via Boise State), Majok Deng (via Louisiana-Monroe), Eric Jacobsen (via Arizona State), Adam Doyle (via Forestville) and 18-year-old NBA Draft prospect Terrance Ferguson (via Advanced Preparatory International).

Ferguson had previously committed to Alabama and then Arizona before deciding to bypass college and sign a one-year deal with Adelaide on July 1. The 36ers first approached Ferguson after he scored 21 points and made six three-pointers at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, with the opportunity to earn a salary, support his family and develop against professional players influencing his decision to move to Australia. His decision to move directly from high school to the NBL later helped inspire the league’s Next Stars Program.

Adelaide opened the season at WIN Entertainment Centre on October 7, where Ferguson (10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) made his NBL debut off the bench, but Creek (24 points), Randle (13 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Deng (13 points and 6 rebounds) could not prevent Illawarra winning 122–88 behind Rotnei Clarke (23 points and 6 assists) and Marvelle Harris (21 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals).

Ferguson (4.6 points across 30 games) appeared in 30 of Adelaide’s 31 regular-season and playoff games, averaging 15.2 minutes and making 17 starts. He did not miss a game through injury.

One of Ferguson’s two highest-scoring games came against Melbourne at Titanium Security Arena on October 14, where Ferguson (13 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 block) made five of eight field goals off the bench. Randle (20 points), Sobey (15 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Johnson (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Jacobsen (10 points and 10 rebounds) provided support, while Tai Wesley (18 points) and Todd Blanchfield (17 points and 5 rebounds) led Melbourne to a 98–87 win. Creek left the game after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot and was subsequently ruled out for eight weeks.

Ferguson (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) provided another athletic spark against Cairns on October 21 as Randle (23 points and 8 assists), Sobey (15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Johnson (13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals) led Adelaide to an 83–67 win, while Cameron Gliddon (14 points) led the Taipans. Ferguson was later charged with striking Mark Worthington following an incident late in the first quarter, with the Game Review Panel classifying the contact as intentional, medium impact and high contact. A two-game base suspension was reduced to one game after Adelaide and Ferguson accepted an early plea, ruling him out of the October 29 loss to New Zealand, his only missed game of the season.

Adelaide reached its lowest point against Brisbane on November 19, where Ferguson (0 points in 20 minutes), Sobey (24 points) and Johnson (20 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists) were unable to contain Torrey Craig (34 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Petrie (23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) as the Bullets won 105–87 and dropped the 36ers to 3–6 and last place.

Ferguson’s best game of the season came five days later at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where he made his first NBL start and finished with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal as Adelaide defeated Brisbane 101–83. Randle (22 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals), Johnson (18 points and 6 rebounds), Sobey (18 points) and Teys (13 points) led a balanced Adelaide attack, while Craig (20 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals) was Brisbane’s best. The victory began an eight-game winning streak and Ferguson remained in the starting lineup for the next 17 games as the 36ers climbed from last place to first.

Ferguson tied his season-high against Brisbane at Titanium Security Arena on January 19, finishing with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block as Adelaide routed the Bullets 101–68. Sobey delivered a half-court alley-oop to Ferguson during the blowout, while Randle (22 points and 3 steals), Creek (15 points and 5 rebounds), Sobey (13 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) and Johnson (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) helped Adelaide dominate the game, with Daniel Kickert (20 points and 8 rebounds) leading Brisbane.

Ferguson’s move into the starting lineup coincided with Adelaide’s rise to the top of the ladder, with the 36ers winning 14 of 15 games after their 3–6 start and securing first place with three rounds remaining. He returned to the bench for the final two regular-season games after starting 17 consecutive games.

Ferguson (2 points) played just over three minutes in Adelaide’s final regular-season game against Cairns on February 11, where Randle (24 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists), Creek (16 points and 9 rebounds) and Johnson (13 points and 4 rebounds) led the 36ers, while Travis Trice (18 points) and Gliddon (16 points and 5 assists) led Cairns to a 98–89 win. It was Adelaide’s fourth consecutive loss to finish the regular season, although the 36ers still claimed the minor premiership with a 17–11 record, two games clear of the rest of the competition.

Randle (21.3 points and 5.4 assists across 31 games) led Adelaide in scoring and was named NBL Most Valuable Player and selected to the All-NBL First Team. Sobey (15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists across 31 games) was selected to the All-NBL Second Team and named Most Improved Player, while Johnson (15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds across 29 games) joined Randle on the All-NBL First Team and Creek (12.1 points and 5.4 rebounds across 21 games) returned from his foot injury to strengthen the rotation. Jacobsen (6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds across 31 games), Drmic (6 points and 3.2 rebounds across 30 games) and Hodgson (5.6 points and 5.7 rebounds across 31 games) provided Adelaide’s other major contributions, with Drmic named Rookie of the Year and Wright named Coach of the Year.

Adelaide opened its semifinal series against fourth-placed Illawarra at Titanium Security Arena, where Ferguson (7 points and 1 rebound) provided 14 minutes off the bench and produced a putback dunk over three Hawks during the second quarter. Randle (26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), Sobey (16 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists), Johnson (16 points and 7 rebounds) and Creek (11 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals) led Adelaide, while Tim Coenraad (26 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) was Illawarra’s best as the 36ers won 93–78 and took a 1–0 series lead.

Game two moved to WIN Entertainment Centre, where Ferguson (3 points) played five minutes off the bench as Randle (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists), Johnson (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Jacobsen (12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Adelaide. Coenraad (17 points and 10 rebounds), Mitchell Norton (17 points) and Clarke (15 points) helped Illawarra win 100–94 and level the series.

The deciding game returned to Titanium Security Arena, where Ferguson (3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) played seven minutes as Illawarra built a 21-point lead before Adelaide mounted a late fourth-quarter comeback behind Randle (26 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Sobey (22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals). Clarke (20 points) and Harris (17 points) steadied the Hawks as Illawarra won 106–98 and eliminated Adelaide 2–1.

Terrance Ferguson played one season in the NBL. He averaged 4.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 30 NBL games.