Rockets go big with the addition of AJ Ogilvy
“This news will rock the league. The guy is dominant and brings even more lumber to our already massive pack. We are headed to Brisbane in round three with all towers ready to go.”
Rockhampton Rockets General Manager Cameron Tragardh did not mix words when speaking with The Pick and Roll about their latest addition, the signing of star NBL centre AJ Oglivy for the remainder of the 2019 QBL season.
Oglivy starred for the Rockets in their round one clash with central Queensland rival Gladstone Port City Power taking the W 109-92 scoring 36pts, 4 assists and 13 rebounds.
Without him in their round two game against Sunshine Coast Rip City they went down 113-102 in a tight contest. As Tragardh mentioned the addition of Ogilvy will greater their options going forward as a pack looking to play big.
“We are extremely excited to try to avenge Saturday nights loss to the Sunshine Coast Rip," explained Tragardh.
"With AJ unavailable due to family commitments, and it was always our intent to honour both games of replacement player Adam Gibson's short term contract. This [situation] however made us extremely small for last week's game. We are looking forward to having our post targets back for the rest of the season."
The 6'11 NBL star will join former QBL MVP and NBL warhorse Shaun Bruce and towering import Sean O’Mara, to not only further strengthen the squad’s credentials, but elevate them into a championship contender that must be respected.
Ogilvy brings valuable experience to the squad, playing for the Sydney Kings in 2013-14 and a further three seasons with the Illawarra Hawks from 2015, leading the Hawks to the 2017 NBL grand final. He also enjoyed a stellar collegiate career for Vanderbilt, an off-season in Iran, as well as three seasons of European basketball in Turkey, Spain and Germany.
In the 2018-19 season the centre led the Hawks in rebounds (6.8 per game) while also contributing per game 9.6 points, 1.8 assists as well as a 46% field goal strike rate. This workload adds another dimension for Rockhampton to work with.
With a pack that gives a whole new definition to dominance, size and talent, the Rockhampton Rockets had already been named in The Pick and Roll’s tips for the top four for the current season.
The announcement today is guaranteed to get the league talking and will only add to the potency that the Rockets have at their disposal across the court as well as so much more from a team base throughout the community as Tragardh commented.
”We were exploring our options in terms of a second restricted player, and our board agreed that the player we picked would spend some time in our community and around our junior programs, before their NBL preseason preparations began. AJ is a true pro, and someone we are excited to have in our program. The timing just fit, as he is having his first NBL offseason in Australia in a long time. We are happy to have him."
Round three will see the Rockets launched into South East Queensland with a triple-header weekend in which they will take on the Ipswich Force (Friday, May 10), Logan Thunder (Saturday, May 11) and Gold Coast Rollers (Sunday, May 12) across the weekend.
With one of the most imposing front courts in the league, this shapes up to be a round full of great contests and the possibility of severe damage across the match-ups by the Rockets men in a feast for fans.