Jeremiah McKenzie has been an absolute star for the Horsham Hornets this season.
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The combo guard is averaging 17 points per game, as his speed and court vision allow him to effortlessly control matches in the Country Basketball League.
McKenzie, 17, said his emergence this season has come from gradual improvement over the years.
“Each year I’ve just been getting a lot better,” McKenzie said. “I started playing for the Hornets when I was 14 and each year I’ve grown and have learnt a lot.
“Cam Bruce and Tim Pickert and the other guys are great teachers. To be up and playing with them has been great.”
The admiration McKenzie has for his veteran teammates goes both ways. Tim Pickert said before his 300th game last week that playing with McKenzie was the highlight of his season.
“I’ve played with a lot of good players over the time and he’s definitely right up there now as one of the best,” Pickert said. “He’s really come along in the last 12 months.”
For McKenzie, the Country Basketball League might just be the tip of the iceberg.
McKenzie said he was hoping for the chance to play in the South East Australian Basketball League, one of the best league’s in Australia.
“I’ve been down in Ballarat for school and there’s a SEABL side down there that I want to be pushing for,” he said.
“I trained a little bit with them last year but I never played a game. Hopefully I can get a game with them.”
And the SEABL isn’t McKenzie’s only option.
He was recently invited to a juniors practice match between Victoria Country and Victoria Metro, where he was courted by some college basketball recruiters from the United States after the match.
“There was a college there watching us and after the game they talked to me and got my details,” McKenzie said.
“I think since there’s been a lot of good Australian basketballers in the States recently they’ve been trying to branch out overseas a lot more. There’s a lot of talent here.”
But McKenzie isn’t thinking too far ahead. His attention is firmly focused on the upcoming finals series with the Horsham Hornets.
The Hornets and Lady Hornets play their last round of basketball this weekend, taking on Colac and Warnambool in a double-header away from home.
If the Hornets win both matches, they will finish on top of the ladder.
“We’ve been playing really good basketball this year,” he said. “Hopefully we can get to the end. Mount Gambier have always been a pretty good side. Some other sides like Bellarine and Bacchus Marsh are good too. It’s going to be good.”