Australia represents in Shootout

Best known for Aussie rules football, the Great Barrier Reef and about a million kinds of creatures that can kill you, Australia has been churning out deadly shooters on the basketball court since the sport became popular there in the 1980s. With a combined seven Australians on the rosters, the game between the Colonels and the Seawolves was a showcase of men from the land Down Under.

"It's a small world," said Nicholls State star Anatoly Bose, one of three Aussies on the Colonels' squad.

The Seawolves cruised to a 72-58 victory with junior guard Kevin White shutting down Bose. Bose, a Sydney native, is Nicholls State's leading returning scorer and entered Thursday's contest averaging 19 points per game. White, who is from Manly, a suburb of Sydney, held Bose to six points.

"We grew up playing against each other," said White, the only player remaining from UAA's 2008 Final Four squad. "I've never really had to guard him before. When I found out I was I was a little surprised. I know most of his moves, so it was easy to adjust to guarding him."

Joining Bose on the Nicholls State roster is junior guard/forward Dominic Friend and sophomore forward Cameron McCallum. Both hail from towns near Melbourne.

A couple non-Australians in the Colonels lineup still have a twist of Oz to their names. Maurice Foster's surname is touted in commercials as "Australian for Beer" and Justin Ayers could team with UAA redshirt freshman Ryan Rock to become one of Australia's iconic landmarks.

"It was nice to see some people I grew up playing against," said White, who has also faced Friend in Australia. "I talked to Anatoly a bit before the game. We talked about what it is like living in Alaska and what it is like living in Louisiana."

At UAA, Aussies outnumber Alaskans four to three. White is joined by his brother Steve, a sophomore guard, and freshmen Liam Gibcus and Bryce Arnott, who are both from towns near Melbourne.

"There are some programs around America that don't really look at Australia from a recruiting standpoint, but then you have programs like St. Mary's, Nicholls and Alaska Anchorage," Kevin White said. "I knew there would be four or five Australians on the team, which was one of the reasons I came."

Other Australians to play for the Seawolves in recent years include Luke Cooper (2004-08), Ivan Platenik (2006-07) and Chris Neal, who played last year and is a volunteer student this season. New Zealander Jeremiah Trueman played for UAA from 2007-09.

When summer comes and his classes end at UAA, White travels home to play club ball during the Australian winter.

"I haven't had a summer since 2004," White said. "But I'm doing something I love and I'm getting the Alaska experience, so it's OK."

Nicholls State took its team to Australia in 2008.

"It was great playing in front of family and everything," Bose said. "It was awesome. I showed my teammates around and they loved it."

Australians have been competing in the Shootout since at least 1988, when one of Australia's greatest hoopsters, Andrew Gaze of Melbourne, helped Seton Hall to the Shootout championship. Tonight's championship game will feature Washington State freshman forward Brock Motum of Brisbane.