HE'S understandably been high on the Illawarra scout list this week but South East Melbourne star Mitch Creek caught the eye of Hawks young-gun Daniel Grida long before that.
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Creek has quickly taken to life at the NBL newbies franchise man, dropping two of his three highest career scores (28 and 25) in the Phoenix's first two outings.
It has them eyeing a 3-0 start to their maiden campaign, which would a be a first for a new NBL franchise, when they host the Hawks at Melbourne Arena on Saturday.
With Creek pursuing his NBA dream last season, Grida is yet to come up against his fellow AIS alum in the NBL but learned enough in Boomers camp last year to know how tough he is to guard.
"He wasn't in the league last year so I didn't get to play against him but I was in the Boomers team with him and that whole training camp I was matched up against him," Grida said.
"He's really tough, he's super strong and it looks like he's added a three-point shot to his game which makes him even tougher but hopefully we can lock him down.
"They're obviously feeling pretty good right now and it's always tough to play against a team that's feeling good like that, especially when they're at home.
"Mitch and [John] Roberson are shooting the lights out at the moment but hopefully we can slow them down a bit. That's going to be the key for us."
Creek's returned the NBL with all the confidence you'd expect from a freshly minted NBA debutant, having earned contracts with the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
Harbouring NBA aspirations of his own, Grida says Creek's rise has shown that the domestic scene can offer a path to the biggest stage.
"He's a guy that's been in the same situation as me, he went straight from the Institute to the NBL," Grida said.
"Watching him has been a lot of fun the way his career's gone. He basically forced his way into the NBA when no one thought he could.
"I think he's an inspiration to everyone, lots of kids should look up to him to see how hard he works and what he's achieved and what he's still achieving now.
"He's definitely a guy I've looked up to over the years and aspire to be like. I want to play at the highest level I possibly can. Whether that's here, Europe, the NBA, it's definitely something I want to do.
"I'm not getting ahead of myself, I'm going to stay in the moment and do the best I can where I'm at right now but hopefully I can do the same thing he's done."
It may yet prove the biggest flow-on effect of LaMelo Ball's arrival in Wollongong, one that's trained the eyes of NBA talent scouts on the league and the Hawks.
Grida says it's something he and the likes of Sam Froling and Angus Glover, all under the age of 21, are well aware of.
"It's a huge opportunity for all us young guys having LaMelo here and all the attention he brings," Grida said.
"It really clicked for me the other day when I saw that more than a million people watched our game against the Bullets which is insane
"That really flicked the switch in my mind that everyone's watching. [Ball's arrival] is a huge benefit for everyone in the league that's trying to move up to other leagues or that have NBA ambitions."