Mangerton teen Emerson McRea has seen firsthand the sacrifices her brother Ollie McRea made to realise his dream of playing for the Junior Wallabies.
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The 16-year-old intends to work just as hard and make the necessary sacrifices to realise her own dream of one day playing in the WNBA in the US and for the Australian women's national basketball team the Opals.
For the time being the Illawarra Hawks player is looking to make her mark in the upcoming nationals.
Emerson is one of five Illawarra representative players selected for state teams for the 18s National Championships in Brisbane this April.
Emerson and Lillian Ragan will represent the NSW Country 18s women's team.
They will be joined by fellow Illawarra players Luka Cuda and Aki Langford who will represent NSW Country's 18s men's team at the nationals, with fellow Hawk Josh Spark selected as a reserve.
The selection for Emerson comes hot on the heels of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) inviting the towering centre to attend a recent elite National Performance Camp. Only 23 girls from all over Australia were invited to this camp in January.
Jo McRea said it was obvious from an early age that her daughter was a good basketball player.
"She's been playing since she was about 10. She moved from rugby union to basketball and never looked back," McRea said.
"She totally loves it. It's just her life, she loves everything about it.
"Most of her time is spent either playing basketball or training. She can't get enough of it."
McRea said once Emerson, who is in Year 11 at St Mary Star of the Sea College, finishes school, she plans on heading to the US to hopefully play basketball in one of the colleges there.
"Emerson is keen to play in the college system in the US. Obviously she'd love to one day also play in the WNBA and for the Opals, but that's a long way off I think," she said.
"Emerson is driven to succeed. She has seen how well Ollie is doing and she wants to replicate that.
"The two of them egg each other on all the time but they're proud of each other as well.
"She's got a great role model to look up to. He has tread a similar path, just in a different sport."
Meanwhile, Illawarra players Luka Cuda and Aki Langford and Josh Spark are hoping to play their part in helping NSW Country at least medal at the nationals.
Luka is a high-flying power forward who loves a breathtaking dunk.
Coach Cal Wade (Maitland) will be looking for Luka to do much of the scoring in the paint come tournament time.
Aki made the team as a 15-year-old. He captained NSW Country at the 16s nationals in Perth last year. He's a slashing scorer and athletic defender who can guard all five positions on the floor.
Aki said he was looking forward to competing against the best players in Australia once again.
"It was a great experience playing against like the best of the best. I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing against Australia's best players again," he said.
"I reckon this year we've got a really good team, good coaches, good environment and I reckon hopefully we'll be in the running for a medal."
Luka, Aki and Josh will participate in a state team training camp in Moss Vale this weekend.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
