Catching up with Alex Toohey: NBA Global Academy, Gonzaga and more

The Gonzaga commit is one of Australia's premier 2004-born prospects, and one to watch as he progresses on his next few basketball stops.

For Aussie hoops fans who aren’t familiar with Alex Toohey yet, that’s going to change very soon. The 2004-born prospect has committed to Gonzaga University —a key rival of popular Aussie destination St. Mary’s— ahead of the 2023-24 NCAA Division I season. In a recent interview with The Pick and Roll, Toohey provided an insight into his training at the NBA Global Academy, as well as a recent tour of the United States, and what made Gonzaga stand out.

Credit: FIBA

The 18 year old confirmed that he recently finished up year 12 at University of Canberra Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra (or UCSSC Lake Ginninderra, also formerly Lake Ginninderra College), and is presumably set to hone in on his training at Canberra’s NBA Global Academy. Toohey happens to be a native of Canberra, and like Patty Mills before him, has reaped the benefits of attending a world class training facility in his home city.

“I kind of started training with [the Centre of Excellence] around year ten, and after school I’d race out there and then start training with those guys. It was like that for a good couple of months, maybe even a year, and then the following season they called me up, which was nice,” Toohey recalled.

“Being in Canberra, and playing in some of those competitions, I guess it’s easier for me to be invited to some camps with no need to travel. So I kind of was able to come into a few camps here and there, and then I guess I proved that I was ready, at some point.”

At 6’8’’ tall with a 6’10’’ wingspan, Toohey has the body of a forward, yet also boasts guard skills. In fact, he even led the 2022 Australian Under 20 championships in assists, with impressive tournament averages of 16.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. But at this stage in his career, the rising star views himself as a small forward, with his eyes set on a backcourt role in the future. Wherever he ends up playing however, Toohey is a highly switchable defender, and projects as a versatile asset for future Boomers rosters.