Aussies in Europe: Hooley and Steindl find teams
Two of Australia's up-and-coming stars have signed on with teams in Europe.
Albany alumnus Peter Hooley has joined Daryl Corletto's Plymouth Raiders, while ex-Townsville Crocodile Clint Steindl has signed on with the Belgian League's Leuven Bears.
Australian fans will likely best remember Hooley from his emotional buzzer beating 3 in 2015. That shot won Albany the America East championship, and sent them to the NCAA Tournament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP3OtIq1TCY&feature=youtu.be Hooley completed his senior year a few months ago, and left an impressive legacy behind. He was named America East Scholar Athlete twice, and is one of only nine male Albany athletes to have scored 1,000 points in the America East era.
Plymouth will be the Great Dane's first professional team. Hooley recently spoke to The Pick and Roll about the move.
"I have a British passport because of my old man, and [head coach Daryl] Corletto hit me up saying he was interested. So I had a chat with him and loved what he had to say." he explained.
There was some controversy surrounding the Plymouth Raiders. Fellow Australian Josh Wilcher found great success with the side, but recently left after reports of poor treatment by club officials during a pay dispute.
Hooley however, is the exact type of person one would want in their organisation, making it a great signing for the English League team.
Hooley did mention coming back and playing in his home country. "I was always planning to come to Australia... but unfortunately when the the rules (Ed: reference to NBL's three import rule) all changed it put everything out of whack, which wasn't ideal."
Clint Steindl, who is the NBL's reigning Most Improved Player, will make the move to Belgium after an impressive year with Townsville. The ex-Saint Mary Gael featured in 28 games, and averaged 13 points in the 2015-16 NBL season.
He will join the Leuven Bears, who compete in the same league in which ex-Sydney King Ben Madgen recently won the scoring title.
The Bears will be hoping that Steindl can turn their fortunes around. They finished last in the 2015-16 season, winning only 6 games.
Steindl's move comes after the Townsville Crocodiles had to withdraw from the NBL.