NBA: Terrance Ferguson, Brian Bowen and the newest league pipeline

Brian Bowen is heading Down Under as part of an ambitious new program. Can Australia’s NBL be a legitimate pathway for NBA prospects?

A little over a year ago, Terrance Ferguson was drafted into the NBA. The 21st overall pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder may have been just another draft pick to many, but the selection was a momentous occasion for an entire league on the other side of the world.

In 2016, after decommitting from a pair of NCAA programs, Ferguson took his talents to Adelaide, Australia, and signed a professional contract with the Adelaide 36ers. Playing in the National Basketball League (NBL), Ferguson struggled to have a major impact on the court against grown men and seasoned professionals.

And yet, despite averaging just 4.6 points in 15.2 minutes per game, NBA scouts saw enough to peg him as a first-round draft pick. For the NBL, it was justification that their league was starting to be viewed in the same light as the major European competitions.

Fast-forward to today, and a similar story is unfolding. The Sydney Kings, another NBL franchise, announced the signing of Brian Bowen earlier this week.

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Bowen, a five-star recruit in the class of 2017, shares similarities with Ferguson. Both had committed to two separate college programs before moving to Australia, although Bowen’s decommitments were the result of a long-winded investigation into the violation of NCAA rules.

The biggest difference between the two, however, is their contracts. Bowen is the first player to join the NBL under the league’s Next Stars program, which was launched in the wake of Ferguson’s NBA Draft success.

The initiative targets college-aged athletes who are eligible to nominate for the NBA draft the following season. Players are contracted by the league, not the teams, and they don’t fill one of the three overseas import slots that NBL clubs have.

After hitting roadblock after roadblock trying to start his NCAA career, Bowen was an ideal target for the Next Stars program and for the league. Speaking shortly after the program was announced earlier this year, NBL CEO Jeremy Loeliger alluded to the opportunity that college basketball’s issues might provide.

"“It just so happens to coincide with a period of difficulty for the NCAA, and therefore perhaps this may be more attractive to more people than we presumed in the first place,” Loeliger said."

While Bowen’s NCAA issues gave the NBL a foot in the door, the league is hoping to be more than just a safety net for banned players. If Bowen’s time in Sydney is a success, it could be the catalyst for more high-profile players to consider heading Down Under.

So, what does the NBL have in its favor over college hoops? The most obvious answer is money. Players contracted under the Next Stars program are payed $50,000 USD net of tax, which is not an insignificant amount for young players who would make nothing in college.

The standard of play in the league is rapidly rising as well. Hardcore NBA fans would recognise some of the NBL’s stars, with Casper Ware, Josh Boone, Bryce Cotton and NBA champion Andrew Bogut all in the league.

Bryan Curtis, editor-at-large of The Ringer, spent time in Australia earlier this year and saw the NBL first-hand. He says the quality of play, combined with greater physicality, makes it a good place for young players to transition into professional basketball.

"“To me, the standard of play looked like very, very high-level college basketball and often better than that, with an important caveat—the players are much older and more physically developed,” Curtis said.“I think it’d make a good ‘welcome to the big leagues’ year for a lot of high-school players.”"

While the NBL is making big strides on the court, it is still behind many of the European professional leagues, and arguably even the Chinese Basketball Association. Because of that, the league is hoping that prospects will take into account Australia’s off-court appeal, as well as the on-court product, when considering the Next Stars program.

"“Why not come and spend a summer in Australia where it’s English-speaking, you have this fantastic lifestyle, a really good quality basketball league and a program that is a sufficient scale that you’re pretty confident that every NBA team is going to be sending out scouts on a fairly regular basis,” Loeliger said."

Bowen’s signing has already grabbed the attention of the American media. While the announcement of the Next Stars program barely registered in the US, Bowen has thrust it into the spotlight, at least for now.

https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1026969317814853632

If he is able to join Ferguson in the NBA and make it two-from-two for the NBL, more and more prospects might start to consider a stint abroad.

Loeliger and the NBL have made it clear that they won’t sign any and every player that shows interest. They need to be certain that the players involved are good enough to play meaningful minutes for a team, rather than languishing on the end of the bench and collecting paychecks.

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With a prospect as talented as Bowen now on board, they might have more options to choose from in the coming years. The calls for college athletes to be paid are only getting louder, but maybe the best way to get payed – and still make it to the NBA – is to head Down Under.

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