IT is hard to miss Cockburn Cougars’ towering, highly-credentialed new young gun Kane Waters.
The 18-year-old, who stands at a lofty 6’11, will provide some much-needed tall timber for Cockburn’s SBL side this year after committing for the upcoming season.
Waters is returning to Western Australia upon completion of his stint in the Australian Institute of Sport, where he lived and breathed basketball, which he said forced him to grow up quickly.
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READ NOW“I’d wake up in the morning, go and shoot, come back to my room, have a shower, eat some breakfast and head to school from 8.40am-2.40pm,” Waters said.
“Afterwards, I’d go back, have two hours of practice, then do homework, study for a test or exam and after that, around 9pm, I’d play PlayStation or call friends and family, chill out for the night and then go to sleep. They were very full days.”
While in Canberra, he was also selected to take part in the NBA Global Academy, an elite basketball training centre located at the AIS.
The NBA’s global hub for top international male and female prospects from around the world, the Global Academy invites up to 12 elite student-athletes from around the world to train under the supervision of NBA-trained coaches.
Waters said the challenge of competing against other elite athletes of a similar age was a completely new experience.
“It’s another level, it really takes a big jump from the West Australian Basketball League and playing WA juniors to the elite in the country,” he said.
Back in Perth and coming off an appearance with the WA under-20s, the Rockingham product will join forces with a number of former Flames including rising star Luke Travers and coach Andrew Cooper.
Waters said his number one goal for the season was to consolidate himself in the Cougars’ rotation.
“I’m trying to come out and make an impact on the team, find my space.I hope to play in most games, become a crucial part of the team and do everything I can, whether that’s off the bench or starting.”