Overton went on to play just short of 500 NBA games - the first to do so via the NBL - after a club MVP season averaging 25-5-6 at the Snakepit. The Australian stint came after he was drafted (40^th overall) by Detroit in 1991 but struggled to crack the legendary Bad Boy Pistons roster.

It was the original blueprint for what's now an official NBL Next Stars program three decades later. It saw former Hawk LaMelo Ball picked at No. 3 in the most recent NBA Draft after eschewing the traditional college path.

Hawks current Next Star Justinian Jessup took a more traditional path through a stellar college career with Boise State before being Drafted by Golden State last month.

Jessup is hoping a season down under can work as well as it did for the likes of Overton all those years ago - or more recently Terrence Ferguson and James Ennis.

"[Getting Drafted] was awesome, an amazing feeling, [Golden State's] such a great organisation," Jessup said.

"I was really excited about it and [the NBA] is what I'm aiming for but I'm not really focused on that right now. We haven't had those development discussions yet, they'll happen in the future, but it was part of the deal they wanted me to play down here.

"I think it's definitely a great pathway, guys have shown what's possible and I'm looking forward to taking my game to the next level and improving with the Hawks this year.

"I'm trying to be, not just a shooting threat, but a threat off the bounce, a threat in the pick and roll, a good defender, rebounder... I want to expand all parts of my game."

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It's not hard to see what made the 6 ft 7 shooting guard an attractive Draft prospect after averaging 16 points, four rebounds and two assists as a senior, finishing his career as the only Bronco to notch 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 steals and 50 blocks.

His 325 three-pointers is a Mountain West conference record and surpassed the Broncos program's previous mark set by current NBL sharpshooter Anthony Drmic. With all the tools, he's confident a season under legendary coach Brian Goorjian can make him NBA ready.

"He's a great coach, he really cares about the guys," Jessup said.

"The team's really just got here, we haven't had a preseason game yet, I just got here, [fellow import] Tyler [Harvey] just got here but it's been really exciting.

"I'm still getting into the rhythm of things and learning how to play with the guys but it's good to be finally down here and get settled in."