Australian Junior Championships 2024: A wrap on standout male prospects at the U20 tournament

The impressive talent on display this year includes some new names.

There’s no date on the Australian basketball calendar that brings together the country’s upcoming talent quite like the Australian Junior Championships.

At this year’s Under 20 event, held in Ballarat across the 30th January to 4th February, a wide array of future college and pro talents were on display. Here’s the team by team wrap of the most notable Aussies across the event.

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Tasmania

The hierarchy for Tasmania across this age group has been clear for years now. The three-pronged attack of Jacob Furphy, Kye Savage and Lachlan Brewer, all future professional talent, headline the bulk of the offensive volume, whilst the supporting cast admirably buy in to their roles, doing the dirty work and fulfilling their defensive assignments.

It was a formula that got the group all the way to third this year, beating South Australia in the final matchup for third place 95-91. Whilst the top end trio was as dominant as any core in the competition, ultimately their lack of depth kept them a rung below the competition’s true powerhouses.

Kye Savage has been a consistent scoring powerhouse across his junior career, and at an event leading 24.6 points per game, he can successfully put another scoring title on his resume. Savage, who appears slanted towards a professional pathway over college with interest from multiple NBL teams, had the ultra-green light across the event, and consistently dazzled with his lightning quick tempo and aggression in transition, as well as his unparalleled shot-making off the dribble; capable of taking and making an incredibly tough diet of self created jump shots in the half-court. There are shades of Nathan Sobey to Savage’s play style given his athleticism and motor, and similarly, success going forward may lie in his ability to round out his game as an off-ball threat, facilitator and defender going forward.

Jacob Furphy, almost as an antithesis to Savage’s one note scoring proclivity, is the all-around maestro to Tasmania’s success.