A member of the 2016 Under-17 World Championship team for Australia, Matthew Johns has been named as the most recent addition to the men’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) program.
Hailing from Geelong, Johns competed for Victoria at the Under-14 Club Championships before representing Vic Country at the Under-16’s in 2014 and Under-18’s in 2015 and 2016 when he averaged 14.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists across seven games.
He first played for Australia at the Under-16 Oceania Championships and was an integral part of the national team at this year’s World Champs where he averaged 5.7 points and 2.9 rebounds.
His best performance came against Finland in an important 15-point group stage win, recording 17 points on 5-10 shooting with three boards and two assists.
“We are very excited to bring Matt into the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence program,” said CoE associate coach Adam Caporn.
“Matt’s versatility is incredibly valuable in the modern international game.
“He can defend multiple positions, is multi-skilled and has a terrific ability to bring other players into the game.
“He has demonstrated an ability to steadily work hard and improve and we have enjoyed seeing his growth over Athlete Development Camps, national championships and into this year’s World Champs.
“We are sure he will take full advantage of the opportunity at the CoE.”
Johns will play his first game for the CoE in the SEABL this weekend as they travel to his town of Geelong to take on the South Conference’s third placed team.
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.