Nate Jawai: "I’ll definitely be playing. I’m going to work my tail off for that"

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>HE may not have been drafted in the NBA's first round, but the next best thing happened to Nathan jawai yesterady

Jawai, 21, is likely to be playing in a Toronto NBA singlet next season after a trade between the Raptors and the Indiana Pacers – who picked him at No.41 in yesterday’s basketball draft – is approved.

Click here to see the Nathan Jawai story so far

Because he was picked outside the first round (top 30), the Bamaga product is not guaranteed an NBA contract next season.

But he is determined to fight his way into the NBA, his late selection acting as motivation rather than disappointment for the first indigenous Australian drafted to the NBA.

"I’m going out there to get this spot, I’m serious," he said from New York yesterday.

"I’ll definitely be playing. I’m going to work my tail off for that.

"It motivates me that I got picked in the second round.

"Thanks to Toronto and the Pacers for picking me."

Under NBA rules the deal can not be officially announced until after July 9, with officials set to carefully scrutinise the complicated trade involving several players.

But a report on Toronto’s website said the Raptors had "agreed to a trade in principle on the eve of the draft, acquiring six-time all-star Jermaine O’Neal and Indiana’s 41st pick".

"So when the Pacers selected Australian centre Nathan Jawai at No. 41, they did so on behalf of the Raptors.

"Jawai, who played for Cairns Taipans of the Australian league, can’t officially be introduced as a Raptor until the trade is finalised," the report said.

Cairns Taipans assistant coach Aaron Fearne said some "left field" picks in the opening round complicated the expected draft order.

"We really thought there was a chance of him going to Detroit with the 29th pick," Fearne said.

But there was still great interest in the forward/centre, with Washington, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly trying to trade up in the second round to nab the 208cm
behemoth.

With deals done rapidly, Jawai, Fearne and agent Mark Fleischer had no warning of when his number would come up.

Jawai was the first to notice his name had been called.

Host broadcaster ESPN was on a commercial break in the US – as it was in Australia – so pick No. 41 was not announced live, with Jawai first to notice his name next to Indiana in a "ticker" on the bottom of the screen at the ESPN Zone restaurant where he and other prospects were watching the draft.

"‘Look, I just got picked!’ that was my reaction," Jawai said.

Cairns Taipans coach Alan Black described events as
"sensational".

Black said talks with officials in North America led him to believe the Raptors had a spot for Jawai on their roster and he was likely to play next season.

Jawai praised all those that had helped him achieve his dreams – from his close family and uncle Danny Morseu who persuaded him to move to Cairns to play basketball, to coaches, officials and players at the Taipans, Cairns Marlins and Kuiyam Pride.</div>

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/06/2...sport-news.html

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>A THURSDAY Islander and comparative basketball novice, Nathan Jawai, was yesterday drafted into the world's top basketball league.

Jawai, a 208-centimetre, 130-kilogram forward, is from Bamaga, about 40 kilometres from the tip of Cape York, populated mostly by Thursday Islanders who have resettled on the mainland.

"I am thrilled, totally thrilled," Jawai said minutes after the Indiana Pacers nominated him as their second-round selection. "I did not expect first round, but as soon as they called my name I was so excited." Almost immediately, Jawai was traded by Indiana to the Toronto Raptors in a pre-arranged deal. He will make his new home in Canada's largest city.

Earlier this week, as the softly spoken 21-year-old contemplated the NBA draft, he described home as a "real laid-back, small community with not much to do, just relax.

"We do a lot of fishing, diving for crayfish, camping. I'm a free diver, on the reef. There's a lot of lobster up there."

Jawai was drafted with pick 41 after a month spent criss-crossing America for trials with 19 national teams. Toronto scouts had earlier travelled to north Queensland to watch him play. Yesterday, he was relaxed about the prospect of adapting to professional sporting life in the US.

"I like to get and see different things. Because there is not much at home, I like seeing different cities — you come across so many different people. I'm looking forward to it."

Jawai is not averse to the prospect of becoming a role model. "It's not a choice," he said. "I am a role model. Big time. A lot of people look up to me back home, so I'm a role model for young kids there.

"A lot of people back home are following me — in Cairns and Bamaga — so I love that, they support me a lot."

His selection in the NBA after just one season with the Cairns Taipans brightens the outlook for Australia's troubled National Basketball League, which has recently seen the collapse of teams from Sydney and Brisbane.

"His drafting shows that the NBL is a legitimate pathway to the NBA for our young players," NBL interim chief executive Chuck Harmison said.

Being drafted in the second round of the NBA guarantees Jawai a starting annual income of more than $A485,000.

In US basketball vernacular, Jawai has plenty of "upside" (room for improvement) and "wingspan" (225 centimetres from fingertip to fingertip). He has been playing basketball for only five years and is expected to improve exponentially.</div>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/basketball/u...4472771317.html

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shookem @ Jun 27 2008, 05:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>well it's a biiiig risk/reward scenario.

the guy has only been playing for five years and is from a real small town.

he does seem motivated though.</div>

$500k USD will do that to a man.

Good luck to him.