By JARROD POTTER
KEEP an eye out for Boise State University’s Victorian basketball dynamo.
The continuation of Endeavour Hills’ basketball success – spearheaded by NBA champion Andrew Bogut – has been taken on by Anthony Drmic at the Broncos since joining the team in 2011-12.
Now 1000 points later – a benchmark figure in American college basketball -Drmic joined the ranks of Boise’s best shooters with his 13th point of the match against the New Orleans Privateers on 23 November, becoming only the 23rd Bronco to achieve the milestone.
Most importantly for Drmic, on top of the immense pride associated with becoming a 1000-point shooter, he has evolved rapidly as a player while playing with the Broncos.
The once one-dimensional shooting-guard, finding his shots mostly at the three-point arc, has been cultivated into an all-round game.
“Obviously, it’s a great honour and honestly a little surprising,” Drmic said. “I didn’t think I was sneaking up on 1000-point mark especially with so much playing time still left in my career here at Boise.
“Choosing Boise was probably one of the best choices I’ve ever made because of the coaching staff.
“When I first got here, I relied on shooting the three-point shot and didn’t really do much else.
“Coach (Leon) Rice and the rest of the staff have helped me develop a much better all round game which has helped me in producing much better scoring numbers.”
The 6’6’’ guard-forward has advanced his game dramatically in this season – dialling up his stats up to 19.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.
Those who saw his junior basketball wouldn’t be surprised by Drmic’s emergence in America – with the Endeavour Hills’ basketballer playing the majority of his representative basketball for the Dandenong Rangers while also representing Victoria on numerous occasions and also receiving a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport.
Drmic is pushing Boise towards the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament and thinks his Broncos are capable of making significant inroads towards the later rounds.
“March Madness has got to be one of the best and most anticipated tournaments over here in the states or even the world,” Drmic said.
“All bets are off and you really got to play your best as you’re against some of the best players in the country.
“As for us this year, I feel like we have the tools to possibly make a deep run if we get hot and make shots, but we also need to continue to improve defensively over the season.”
Drmic wanted to thank his family and give a special mention to his niece Isabella who has been in hospital recently, recovering from major surgery.
“Really want to thank my family for all their support and love,” Drmic said.
“Especially want to give a quick mention to my little niece Isabella who had some pretty serious surgery that she got through with flying colours – love you Bella.”
