AJ Ogilvy makes immediate impact with Illawarra Hawks

Pre-season isn't the time for rash predictions, but the Illawarra Hawks might have a new sheriff in town.

Off-season recruit AJ Ogilvy emphatically signalled his arrival in Wollongong on Friday night at the Snakepit, pouring in a game-high 35 points in the Hawks' 110-99 overtime win against the touring University of California team.

The former Sydney Kings centre also ripped down 11 rebounds and blocked five shots in his first game in Illawarra colours.

Go to the Hawks Nest

The Hawks are counting on Ogilvy to be a beast at both ends of the floor in the 2015-16 NBL season.

"We got the ball to AJ where he needed it," Illawarra playmaker Rhys Martin said.

"We set good picks for him and got him lots of post-ups. The whole team's working on making sure he gets touches inside to make the defence collapse. We did a really good job of that and he probably played one of the best games of basketball he's been able to play, because of his injuries in the last year, so he was happy with his game.

"He's a dominant big in this league. He was like that when he played for Sydney. Whatever team he plays on, he's going to be an interior focus. If we can make sure he's getting good touches and not getting frustrated throughout the game, that's going to keep the flow of our team going inside-outside, and stop us from being perimeter-orientated."

Fellow newcomer Kevin Lisch was superb in his Hawks debut, tallying 21 points, six assists, five steals and five rebounds. Forward Oscar Forman hit 5/7 threes and finished with 19 points.

Jordan Matthews led the tourists with 24 points, while Jaylen Brown had 19 and Jabari Bird added 17.

Illawarra won the rebound battle 39-36 and racked up 18 assists. They knocked down 47 per cent of their shots, including 12/28 from three-point range.

"We shot the ball well and shared the ball well," Martin said. "Cal's a good team and were able to run and got a lot of points in the paint, so that's something we'll work on ... better containment defence on the perimeter and our rotations."

The game was fiery at times and players had to be separated occasionally.

"It's always fun and entertaining for the crowd when it's like that," Martin said. "They're all young guys fighting for time, sorting out who's going to play what and where and how much. It was all fine after the game."