The expression on the face says it all.
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Clutching the Australian flag in one hand and waddling along the warm sand of a beach in Wollongong, Dre Clarke is every bit the happy little Vegemite.
There is no mistaking Dre Clarke is a dinky-di Aussie.
Yet, his mum, dad and older sister are not.
How’s that work?
Well, Dre is the son of the Illawarra Hawks’ American import Rotnei Clarke and his American wife PD.
Dre, who has an older sister Kyah, was actually born in Australia while dad was here playing for the Hawks in the National Basketball League last year and will celebrate his first birthday next month in Australia.
Yet, in news surely to delight basketball fans across the country, Rotnei has started a process of hopefully becoming a naturalised Australian himself along with his family.
Rotnei will next week sit down with experts from Acorn Lawyers to examine his requirements for becoming naturalised Australian.
If successful it will only increase his value and future potential in his adopted home. It could even one day see him don the Green and Gold national sporting colours of Australia.
Speaking recently with the Illawarra Mercury, the Arkansas native revealed he was keen on the idea of becoming a naturalised Aussie.
“If I could become a naturalised Australian I’d definitely be interested,” he said.
“Being a naturalised Australian could change things (the future), it could change a lot I feel.”
If I could become a naturalised Australian I’d definitely be interested
- Illawarra Hawks import Rotnei Clarke
This is the third season Rotnei has played in Australia and he is currently on the last year of a two-year deal he signed with the Hawks in 2016.
”We’d definitely be interested in coming back to Australia,” Clarke said.
“We love it here, love it in Australia. The weather’s unbelievable.
“You can’t beat living on the Coast like we do.
“It’s a great place for the family.”
Kyah, the Clarke’s daughter, has grown up on the beach and the family take every opportunity they can to hit the sand and the surf of Wollongong.
The Hawks take on the Cairns Taipans at the WEC on Sunday at 5pm.