Right: Narre Warren basketball star Carley Mijovic top-scored for Victoria Metro in the under-16 final of this month’s Australian Basketball Championships. 20910By Marc McGowan
MEET Narre Warren’s answer to Lauren Jackson.
Carley Mijovic is turning heads on the basketball court for the Dandenong Rangers despite being just 14 years old.
The talented forward/centre already stands 186 centimetres and top-scored for the triumphant Victoria Metro team in the under-16 final of this month’s Australian Basketball Championships in Western Australia.
“Next year I’m in the under-16s as well, so I wasn’t sure whether I’d make the team, but I ended up making it as a bottom-ager,” she said.
“I started a couple of games and towards the finals I got some more minutes.
“I just went out and did what I could do.”
Mijovic, who previously played with the Casey Cruisers and Endeavour Hills Panthers, has also been selected to participate in the Rangers’ junior national league development squad camp in December.
The year eight Berwick Secondary College student competes for Dandenong’s unbeaten under-16 side in the Victorian Junior Basketball League’s Championship Division.
Mijovic’s Rangers coach, Jonathan Goodman, who was also an assistant for Victoria Metro, believes she has plenty of potential in the game.
“Carley works hard, is easy to coach and overall is good for the team … it’s exciting,” he said.
“She got better as the week went on (at the championships) and definitely got better adjusted to the side and the different pace of the game.”
Goodman is not the only Dandenong official impressed with Mijovic, with elite programs manager Mark Hewish dubbing her “a potential Opal”.
Having played a pivotal role in Victoria Metro’s national title victory, she is putting all her focus into helping the Rangers achieve success.
But also on the horizon for Mijovic is potential selection for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), where former Dandenong rising star and Endeavour Hills-raised Stephanie Cumming is plying her trade.
“From nationals they will pick girls to go on three-day camps and then, if they think you’re good enough – and once you’re old enough – hopefully they’ll pick you (for the AIS),” she said.
Mijovic and Goodman rate her shooting as her major strength, but both agree she needs to continue working on all aspects of her game.
“She needs to keep working hard at practice and make sure she refines all the skills she’s got and maintains that willingness to improve,” Goodman said.
“She attends all the early morning sessions she has to and works hard outside of that, which is really pleasing.”
But as the accolades stack up, Mijovic has a simple reason for loving the sport.
“I enjoy meeting new people,” she said.
“It’s a team sport, so you can get out and enjoy it with friends – not just individually.”
