Tamuri Wigness

Tamuri Slim Wigness Jr. (born 26 March 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Tamuri Wigness
Wigness in January 2020
No. 0 – Brisbane Bullets
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (2002-03-26) 26 March 2002
NationalityAustralian
Listed height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Listed weight84 kg (185 lb)
Career information
High schoolCairns State (Cairns, Queensland)
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentBrisbane Bullets
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Australia
FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
2018 ThailandTeam
FIBA Oceania Under-17 Championship
2019 New CaledoniaTeam
FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship
2017 ChinaTeam

Early life

Wigness was born in the Torres Strait Islands[1] region of Queensland, Australia and is of Indigenous Australian heritage (Muralag). He moved with his family to Cairns, Queensland at an early age to begin his primary schooling education.[2] His first sporting interest began to develop while in Cairns when he played junior rugby league up until the age of 10 when his mother advised him to play basketball instead because it involved less contact.[3] Within a year of picking up the sport, Wigness was placed in Cairns Basketball's Tiny Taipans development program and was given the opportunity to train with professional Cairns Taipans players at the age of 11.[4]

Wigness attended Cairns State High School throughout his teenage years[5] and while in high school he continued to play basketball as well as picking up junior Australian rules football with the Manunda Hawks in the local AFL Cairns competition[6] where he was selected to play for multiple junior representative teams.[7] He and fellow Cairns junior basketball standout Alex Davies were both scouted by the professional Gold Coast Suns AFL team throughout their teenage years[8] and were offered places in the Suns' developmental academy; Davies accepted the offer to pursue football while Wigness elected to focus on basketball.[9] The pair remain close friends and often train together in both sports when based in the same area.[9]

At 14 years of age, Wigness was chosen to represent his home state of Queensland at the 2016 under-16 national championships and starred throughout the tournament scoring an average of 25.56 points per game, with a 45-point highlight coming against South Australia.[10] He accepted an NBA Global Academy scholarship in 2017[11] and was given access to first class training facilities at the Australian Institute of Sport complex in Canberra. Later that year he was once again chosen to represent Queensland at the under-16 national championships[12] and his dominant performances for Queensland[13] led to selection for the Australian team at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship.[14] He played a pivotal role in winning the gold medal for Australia and was named as the starting point guard in the All-Tournament Team.[15] In 2018 he travelled to Treviso, Italy to take part in the NBA's Global Camp where he impressed scouts by forming an athletic backcourt combination with fellow Australian guard Josh Green.[16]

Wigness was also a part of the gold medal-winning Australian teams at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship and the 2019 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship as well as competing for his home nation at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup and the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. In his final year before turning professional he played in the 2019 NBL1 season, where he averaged 11.7 points, four assists and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence. In his season finale, he posted 22 points and 12 assists.[17] Wigness was put on the radar of several college and NBA scouts when he travelled to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the 2019 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp and walked away with All-Tournament honours.[18]

Professional career

On 20 July 2020, Wigness announced his decision to forego the American college system and instead signed a two-year contract with the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a part of their Next Stars program.[19]

National team career

Wigness has represented Australia in several junior international tournaments, including at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup and the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.[20] At the 2019 Under 17 FIBA Oceania Championship, he made the All-Star Five.[17]

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References
  1. "Why Australia's NBA invasion won't stop with a record 10 representatives". Daily Telegraph. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. "Tamuri hoping to make people "Wigness" of next great from Torres Strait". FIBA. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. "Basketball Players From Cairns and South West Metro Chosen For The Australian Crocs". Basketball Queensland. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  4. "Tamuri's got game". ABC Far North Queensland. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  5. "FNQ Basketball Prodigy on Road to Top". The Cairns Post. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  6. "AFL Cairns Juniors 2015 Grand Final Previews". Cairns AFL. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. "Cairns Lions U14's Dominate NQ Championships". Cairns AFL. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  8. "Dropping the ball on Wigness will haunt Taipans". Daily Telegraph. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  9. "Sun on the horizon for Manunda Hawks talent". Cairns Post. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  10. "Under 16 National Championships Wrap-Up". Basketball Queensland. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  11. "Indigenous NBL stars ready to play for Australian national team". Aussie Hoopla. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  12. "First NBA Academy games completed at BA Centre of Excellence". Basketball Australia. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  13. "Wrap Up for 2017 Australian Junior Championships". Basketball Queensland. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  14. "Australian Crocs and Sapphires named for 2017 FIBA U16 Asia Championships". Basketball Australia. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  15. "Sotto, Sun and Wigness lead the FIBA U16 Asian Championship Mythical Teams". FIBA Asia. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  16. "Scouting the most interesting draft prospects at the NBA Global Camp". ESPN. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  17. Maggi, Alessandro (20 July 2020). "Brisbane Bullets announce Tamuri Wigness". Sportando. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  18. "Australia's Tamuri Wigness, the 'flashy bulldog', named to Basketball Without Borders Global Camp All-Tournament team". Fox Sports Australia. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  19. "Bullets Sign Tamuri Wigness". NBL. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  20. "Patty Mills heaps praise on young Indigenous-Australian star Tamuri Wigness Jr. ahead of FIBA U17 World Cup". Fox Sports Australia. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
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