It was a common scene over the off-season, with Andersen making the short 10-minute journey to Bogut’s Melbourne home gymnasium for workouts.

Having parted ways with Melbourne United, Andersen was rehabbing calf and achilles injuries while deciding whether or not to continue his storied career into a 20^th year.

Bogut’s career earnings ensure his digs are a considerable step-up on your average garage gym, but Andersen says his good mate’s ear proved just as valuable.

“He’s 10 minutes away from where I am in Frankston in Mount Eliza and he’s got a good little set-up there,” Andersen said.

“He's got a great court with a couple of hoops so we did some workouts. Then he’s got really good recovery set-up with a pool and hot-cold steam room. 

“I was rehabbing my achilles and my calf so I did a lot of rehab stuff when I needed to and got some shots up.

“Having that really helped and obviously being able to bounce ideas of Boges is great. For me, I didn’t know where I was going to end up or what I was going to do so we had some really good chats.

“He’s a good bloke to sit down with and pick his brain a little bit and he was great helping me out and letting me get in there.” 

The result will be two of Australia’s most decorated players going head-to-head when the Hawks take on arch-rivals Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday. 

Bogut’s presence will continue to ensure it’s packed to the rafters, with Andersen saying his long-time Boomers teammate has already had a huge positive effect.

“He’s got a lot of eyes on him, a lot of pressure but he’s had a great impact on the league,” Andersen said.

“The NBL’s getting a lot more attention this year, Sydney are doing well, they’re packing out that big arena.

“It’s definitely helping the cause. It was the same for me coming back to Australia from the Rio Olympics. 

“It wasn’t really about the money it was about enjoying basketball and trying to give back to this league and make a pathway for these other guys.

“You want to have a good league in Australia where young kids can come and earn a good dollar and young fans see that you can be pro basketballer.

“That’s why the guys like me who’ve played overseas for a lot of years want to come back and enjoy it.” 

On the floor, Bogut’s is averaging a double-double and five assists, while his league- leading three blocks a game will provide a stern test for the Hawks new inside-focused offence.

Andersen said his side will also need to improve dramatically on their last-start loss to Melbourne, a game that saw them hammered 42-29 on the glass.

“Rebounding was a big issue against Melbourne, we gave them too many second-chance points which really hurt us,” Andersen said.

“It was disappointing, I felt we could have been a lot better and could’ve come away with the win with the circumstances as they were. That’s life, that’s basketball, you’ve got to move on quick. 

“Sydney are looking to to find their rhythm as we are so it’s going to be a good test for us. It’s an important game, it’s a derby, and we need to come out and get a good win.”