YOU could almost hear the sigh of relief from opposition players when Illawarra confirmed that defensive whiz Tyson Demos won’t be suiting up in the NBL this season.
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Demos has long been a fan favourite in Wollongong for his ability to produce game-turning hustle plays, but the take no prisoners playing style has taken a toll on the 28-year-old’s body – to the tune of six knee operations in five years.
It’s why he and Hawks coach Rob Beveridge arrived at the mutual conclusion that his body needed a season off to fully recuperate and hopefully allow him to continue his NBL career.
“I spoke to the physios and sports performance guys and Bevo and we came to an agreement that it’s probably best that I sit out this year and try and get my body right,” Demos said.
“We knew my knee would come good again there was just a question-mark over whether I could get through a whole season, not just the games but training four times a week. That was the main concern but hopefully the year off will help me decide what to do and help the body recover.
“I’ve definitely still got the fire inside and that heart and desire but the body just isn’t holding up for me at the moment. I’ll still be hanging around the club to stay involved.”
Facing your own sporting mortality is tough for any professional athlete but Demos, far from hobbled by his knee problems, has found a silver lining in leading the Apunipima Australian Indigenous All Stars in a three-game series against New Zealand next month.
The series will continue a fierce rivalry between the two proud cultures in multiple sports and Demos jokingly suggested he made need a “a few extra personal fouls.”
“Most of the other series’ have been during the NBL season but Tory Lavalle from MCR has given me some personal sponsorship to get over there so it’s sort of a blessing in disguise,” Demos said.
“It’s always a privilege to represent not only your country but your culture and your family as well and ’m really excited to represent my mob. I can imagine it’s going to be a pretty physical game and pretty fiery and I’m all for that, that’s my style of game.
“There’s a lot of great indigenous talent out there, you look at the Nat Jawai’s the Patty Mills’ so I’m proud to be another role model for future Indigenous kids playing basketball and maybe steer a few away from the footy towards basketball.”
The other bonus for Demos is the opportunity to pursue his passions for youth work in a fultime role with Life Without Barriers.
“I’ve been lucky enough to secure a job fulltime with Life Without Barriers which I’m really passionate about,” Demos said.
“I first discovered the passion for working with kids through playing in the NBL and all the different programs we got to deliver out in the community and that passion just grew and grew.
“My family’s involved in the community service sector so it felt like the right thing to do to get my study and luckily I’ve been given a fulltime role in out of home care with troubled youths.
“It’s challenging at times but it’s really rewarding and I’m loving every minute of it.”