Since coming to the University of Florida, Todd Golden and his staff have made bringing in international talent a priority and they’ve been successful already landing talent from multiple continents.
One of the great parts about bringing in players from non-American countries is that there is a good chance they will have their name called for international competition, and that’s what happened with Alex Condon who was named to the Australian Select team.
For context–Australia has been one of the top basketball countries in the world over the last two decades with a number of NBA players and an expectation to compete for medals on the international stage. Currently Australia is ranked 5th in the world according to FIBA (the world governing body over basketball) and they’ll be looking to compete for a spot on the podium in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
One of the reasons Australia has had so much success internationally is the way that they have brought young players into their program as a development tool, and that’s the case with Alex Condon and the rest of the players on the Select team. The Select team is not the top group of players that will be going to the Olympics, but a group of young players that will be training together before competing against the Olympic club, offering some great competition for the top team and some great development for the Select group. Joining Condon is some other division-1 talent, as well as some of the top young players in the NBL (the Australian domestic basketball league that has produced a number of NBA lottery picks).
The Select team had a training camp before heading to Japan to play two exhibition games before heading back to Australia where they will train with and against the Olympic competition team.
Japan is currently 26th in the FIBA world rankings and interest and investment in basketball has skyrocketed in the last decade, so they were going to offer the Select team some tough games.
In the first game, Condon came off the bench and was instantly effective as a scorer pouring in 11 points and 4 rebounds in just 13 minutes of action. Playing with the high level of energy he’s known for he was excellent in transition, beating his man down the floor, and anytime he caught the ball near the paint in the halfcourt it seemed he was going to convert for two points. His passing was also on display with an excellent pass out of a double team on the block that turned into an open three.
Condon was so productive in the first game as a bench piece that he got the start in game two. This time he had 13 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes of action, and it was much of the same story as the first game where his energy, length, and physicality was overwhelming to the Japanese team. Condon showed some comfort handling the ball, and in the Australian offense he was more of a facilitator than he was in the Florida offense, allowing him to get some reps in a different role which should help in his overall development.
Ultimately Condon was one of the best players for an Australian team that featured a number of players with NBA buzz, and it seems like his offensive package looks improved from a freshman year where he already showed the ability to score. Condon is still relatively new to the game of basketball after switching his focus from Australian Rules Football and it seems like his growth is continuing on a sharp upwards trajectory. Florida’s staff expects him to play a big role for the Gators this season and if this event in Japan was any indication, he’ll be ready for that responsibility.