Basketball
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Basketball journeyman Andrew ‘‘AJ’’ Ogilvy always pictured himself returning to the NBL one day, but it was ultimately the Rob Beveridge factor which lured him to the Illawarra Hawks.
Ogilvy, 27, was announced as the club’s latest signing on Monday, and joins Rhys Martin on the playing roster for 2015-16.
He says he had been negotiating with the club for ‘‘a couple of weeks’’ before putting pen to paper over the weekend.
He was tossing up the pros and cons of a move to Wollongong, but was swayed when the Hawks unveiled Beveridge as their new head coach last week.
Ogilvy couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play under Beveridge.
‘‘Things really ramped up once Rob signed on,’’ Ogilvy said.
‘‘I have a pretty long history with Rob, he coached me in the under 20 National Championships and we've stayed close since then.
‘‘Once he signed on it happened really quickly and I was able to get the paperwork done over the weekend.
‘‘I wanted to come back and play in Australia also, but the fact Bevo signed was a big plus for me.’’
Beveridge has a long and successful coaching history, which includes major campaigns with a number of Australia’s top national and state representative teams.
Ogilvy last played in Australia with the Sydney Kings during season 2013-14.
That year he lead the competition in rebounds (8.7 per game) and blocks (2.3), and averaged 13.1 points and 1.9 assists.
Ogilvy shot 57.1 per cent from the floor with the Kings, was in the top 10 in free throws made, and was named in the All NBL team at centre.
Beveridge is rapt to welcome the 210 centimetre giant to his squad.
‘‘I have had the opportunity of coaching AJ in the past and am really excited to have the opportunity of coaching AJ again,’’ Beveridge said.
‘‘He is going to give us a legitimate interior presence both ends of the floor.’’
Ogilvy left the NBL in 2014 to join La Bruixa d’Or Manresa in the Spanish competition before his time there was cut short by a foot injury.
He’s been back in training for six weeks and plans to move down from to Wollongong from his home in Sydney in early-August.
His signing - along with Martin and Beveridge - is a big step forward for a club that was in danger of folding a month ago.
Ogilvy is well aware of the Hawks’ recent struggles but says it was never a factor in his decision.
‘‘I was always confident that the club would pull through,’’ he said.
‘‘They have a great history of being a community club and I knew they would find a way to get out of the trouble they were in.’’
Ogilvy joins the Hawks on a one-year contract.
He played college basketball in the US with Vanderbilt University but went undrafted in 2010.
Since then Ogilvy has spent time playing professional basketball in Turkey, Germany, Australia, and with two Spanish clubs.
