Currently in camp under Goorjian with the high-flying Boomers, Reath has officially inked a deal that will bring the Perth-raised star back to Australia.

The 6 ft 11 star is a valuable piece of the Hawks as a marquee big, a role Cam Bairstow was recruited to play last season before his campaign was scuppered by chronic injury concerns.

Reath gave an insight into his abilities in the Boomers blowout of Nigeria in last week's Tokyo warm-up games in Las Vegas, finishing with 17 points.

Having secured the return of star guard Tyler Harvey on a three-year deal, club president Dorry Kordahi said Reath's signature is another major feather in the club's cap.

"It's fantastic to secure the talents of Duop Reath as one of our marquee signings," Kordahi said.

"He's a fantastic young player and his signature is a testament to our basketball program and where we are taking the Illawarra Hawks.

"Signing a player of his calibre shows once again, just how I was adamant when [new ownership] took over and I'll make the point again, we are serious about being a force in the NBL and not just another number.

"Duop committing to us is further proof the Illawarra Hawks are becoming a destination club for players with serious ability."

The South-Sudan-born 25-year-old enjoyed a stellar college career with LSU after being recruited from Texas' Lee College.

Read more: Illawarra aim to make Wollongong the last stop of Goorjian's coaching journey

Since going unselected in the 2018 NBA draft, Reath joined the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA Summer League and has spent the last three years in Europe.

Goorjian, said Reath had the potential to be a star of Australian basketball for years to come having perhaps been out of sight out of mind in Europe.

"Duop is a talent, there's no doubting that," Goorjian said.

"He's been plying his trade overseas and away from the spotlight a bit, but his skill set, basketball IQ and flexibility has been on show for Australia to see during this Olympic preparation. I couldn't be happier to have him as part of our roster for the next season of the NBL."

With Sam Froling returning on the back of a breakout campaign, and skipper AJ Ogilvy inking a one-year extension this week, the Hawks will not be short on interior presence.

"That was the piece we were missing last year with Bear going down and not having that extra rotation piece," Ogilvy said.

"If we're able to get him and have playing anywhere near the level he's been playing with the Boomers, it's exciting.

"I don't know if a lot of people had seen him play before these last few [Boomers] games and it surprised a lot of people. Goorj has done a great job to get that done before he got in TV."

Goorjian, Reath and the Boomers will begin their tilt at Olympic gold on Sunday night with their first Group clash against Nigeria, having smashed their pool rivals 108-69 last week's warm-up outing.

Reath joins the pair along with Harvey, Emmett Naar, Akoldah Gak, Dan Grida, Isaac White, Max Darling and Lachie Dent on the Hawks roster.