BIO: Venkatesha “Venky” Jois was born in Upper Ferntree Gully (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Dandenong basketball program as well as Box Hill High School, where he graduated from in 2011.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Venky Jois made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 25 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

After finishing first with a 20-8 record and defeating Adelaide 3-2 in the 2018 Grand Final series, Melbourne entered the season looking to defend its championship. Casey Prather (to BC Khimki), Tai Wesley (to New Zealand), David Andersen (to Illawarra), Majok Majok (to New Zealand) and Kyle Adnam (to Sydney) departed, while United retained captain Chris Goulding, David Barlow, Josh Boone and Casper Ware and added DJ Kennedy (via Turkey), Mitch McCarron (via Cairns), Alex Pledger (via New Zealand) and Daniel Trist (via Spain).

Melbourne opened the season 3-2 before going 6-1 through November and remained among the league leaders despite injuries affecting Goulding and Kennedy. On January 26, Venky Jois (via Germany) signed for the remainder of the season after beginning the year with Rasta Vechta in Germany, providing Melbourne with additional frontcourt depth ahead of the playoffs.

Two days later, he made his NBL debut in Adelaide and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound in limited minutes as Melbourne defeated the 36ers 114-91. Boone (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks), Kennedy (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block), Ware (16 points and 10 assists) and McCarron (16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) led United, while Nathan Sobey (24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) led Adelaide.

Jois (1.7 points across 11 games) appeared in all six of Melbourne’s remaining regular-season games and five of its six playoff games. He did not miss a game because of injury after joining United, with his limited opportunities coming from his role at the end of the rotation.

Jois (2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist) played five minutes in Auckland on February 1 as Melbourne defeated New Zealand 107-87. Goulding (24 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Barlow (23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) led United, while Armani Moore (17 points and 1 steal) was New Zealand’s leading scorer.

Against Cairns on February 14, Jois (2 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists) played four minutes as Melbourne fell 87-85. Goulding (22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block), Ware (18 points, 4 assists, and 1 steal) and McCarron (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals) led United, while Melo Trimble (21 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals) and DJ Newbill (17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) led Cairns.

Ware (18.8 points and 4.5 assists) led Melbourne in scoring and finished second in MVP voting before being selected to the All-NBL First Team, while Goulding (14.4 points), Kennedy (12.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals), McCarron (11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds), Barlow (11.1 points and 4.6 rebounds), Boone (10.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks) and Pledger (6.4 points and 4.4 rebounds) formed the major rotation. Dean Vickerman won Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season as Melbourne finished second with an 18-10 record.

Melbourne opened the semifinals against Sydney with a 95-73 victory at Melbourne Arena, with Jois (2 points and 1 rebound) playing two minutes. Ware (22 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Kennedy (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block) led United, while Brad Newley (17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) was Sydney’s leading scorer.

Game two moved to Sydney, where Jois did not play as Melbourne completed the sweep with a 90-76 victory. Ware (30 points and 5 rebounds) and Goulding (23 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal) led United, while Kevin Lisch (13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists), Kyle Adnam (13 points and 1 steal) and Andrew Bogut (10 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks) led Sydney.

Perth opened the Grand Final series with an 81-71 victory at RAC Arena, with Jois (2 points) appearing briefly off the bench. Ware (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) and Goulding (15 points and 1 steal) led Melbourne, while Terrico White (19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Angus Brandt (14 points and 7 rebounds) and Bryce Cotton (10 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals) led Perth.

Melbourne responded in game two with a 92-74 victory at Melbourne Arena to level the series, with Jois (3 points and 2 steals) playing less than two minutes. Goulding (14 points), Ware (14 points), McCarron (13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Kennedy (12 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led United, while Cotton (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists) and White (17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) led Perth.

The series returned to Perth for game three, where Jois (2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist) played five minutes as the Wildcats defeated Melbourne 96-67. Kennedy (13 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal) and Barlow (13 points and 5 rebounds) were United’s leading scorers, while White (31 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists) made seven three-pointers and Cotton (16 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) led Perth.

Jois’ best game came in game four, where Jois (4 points and 2 rebounds) scored four points in 43 seconds, but Melbourne’s championship defence ended with a 97-84 loss. Ware (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block), Goulding (15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Barlow (15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals) led United, while Cotton (28 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals), White (20 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Nick Kay (12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Perth as the Wildcats won the championship 3-1.

On April 3, Jois (to Super City Rangers) signed to play the 2019 New Zealand NBL season.

CAIRNS TAIPANS
2020/21
After finishing third with a 16-12 record and falling one win short of the Grand Final the previous season, Cairns entered NBL21 looking to build on its breakthrough year under coach Mike Kelly. The NBL reducing the import limit from three to two saw DJ Newbill depart (to Japan), while Scott Machado and Cameron Oliver returned and Nathan Jawai re-signed on a two-year deal. Jordan Ngatai (via New Zealand) was added after six seasons with the Breakers, while NBA prospect Mojave King joined through the Next Stars program.

On April 19, Oliver (17.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks across 24 games) was waived on compassionate grounds after complications with his wife’s pregnancy required him to urgently return to the United States. The following day Cairns signed Venkatesha “Venky” Jois (via Pirot) for the remainder of the season. Jois had most recently averaged 10 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in Serbia and was returning for his second NBL stint after previously joining Melbourne late in the 2018/19 season. “It’s always difficult in the middle of a season to come in and make a big impact, but that is exactly what we need Venky to do,” Kelly said.

Jois (6.4 points and 5.1 rebounds across 10 games) came from the bench in all 10 appearances, providing rebounding and energy following Oliver’s departure. He made 30-of-64 field goals but struggled at the free-throw line, connecting on only 4-of-26 attempts.

Jois (2 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) made his Cairns debut against New Zealand at the Silverdome on April 23, where his apparent block on Corey Webster during the final seconds was initially called a goaltend before being overturned on review. Dufelmeier Jr (14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) had given Cairns the lead with a three-pointer moments earlier, while Finn Delany (23 points and 14 rebounds) led New Zealand as the Taipans held on for a 70-68 win.

Two days later Jois (12 points and 8 rebounds) reached his season-high in scoring against South East Melbourne at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena. Cameron Gliddon (22 points and 8 rebounds) led the Phoenix, who opened the game with an 18-2 run and defeated Cairns 86-66 despite Jois leading the Taipans in scoring.

Jois’ best all-around game came against Adelaide at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on May 4, where he finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Deng (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) made his return from injury and led Cairns in scoring, while Brandon Paul (18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) led Adelaide to a 92-76 win.

Machado (15.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 7 assists across 35 games) remained Cairns’ primary playmaker, while Deng (12 points and 4.5 rebounds across 20 games) missed 16 games after suffering a partial tear of his left MCL and Kouat Noi (10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds across 18 games) missed the final 18 games after suffering a PCL tear. Mirko Djeric (8.6 points across 34 games) made a career-high 66 three-pointers, Jawai (8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds across 36 games) recorded four 20-point games for the first time since his rookie NBL season, while Ngatai (6.7 points across 36 games), King (6.2 points across 30 games), Dufelmeier Jr (6 points across 21 games) and Fabijan Krslovic (5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds across 32 games) provided support. Dufelmeier Jr had been elevated from training player as an injury replacement, while Hyrum Harris (via Illawarra) was added as a nominated injury replacement.

Jois played 10 consecutive games after joining Cairns and did not miss any through injury. His season ended following the May 28 game against South East Melbourne, with the Taipans announcing two days later that he had not travelled on the final road trip following the recent passing of a family member and needed to return home, causing him to miss the final two games.

Cairns closed its season against New Zealand at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua on June 2, where Machado (21 points, 4 rebounds, and 11 assists) and Jawai (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led the Taipans, while Tai Webster (23 points and 6 rebounds) led the Breakers to an 84-78 win as Cairns finished ninth with an 8-28 record.

Venky Jois played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne United and the Cairns Taipans. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.1 assists in 21 NBL games.