More Miners sign on for season

THE Ballarat Miners continue to prepare for the upcoming NBL1 South season with the addition of an American and Melbournian to the squad.

Jack Davidson, a 185-centimetre-tall guard, is the latest import for the basketball club in 2023, and has spent the last four years playing with Indiana’s Wabash College in the second division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

“I’m excited to compete at a high level in the NBL1 and play for a great organisation in the Ballarat Miners,” he said.

“I have never been to Australia, and this is a great opportunity for me to jump-start my professional career.”

Davidson was the 2022 Jostens Trophy recipient as the most outstanding player in his NCAA division, and is Wabash College’s leading all-time scorer.

The record for most consecutive shots made from the free-throw line in the NCAA was broken by him in 2019, with 95, and he averaged 35 minutes, 25.5 points, and three assists per game last year.

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s Max Cody, a 185-centimetre point guard, is becoming a Miner off the back of a stint with Minot State University in North Dakota, where he achieved the second-best assist record of all time.

“It will only be my first year in the league due to being overseas, but I like to think I can bring great leadership to the point guard position,” he said.

“I’m not one to care about stats, so I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win.

“I have known [head coach Luke Sunderland] for a very long time and I owe a lot of the success I have had to him.

“I really wanted to be in a situation where I knew and trusted the coach and the Miners’ facilities are also incredible.”

Last year, Cody averaged 34.2 minutes, 12.5 points, and 6.4 assists on court per game, and at Minot State, he was a teammate of new Miner Tyler Rudolph.

Sunderland said Davidson has had an impressive career so far.

“He automatically changes how we will play and will greatly affect how opposition teams will have to match up with us this season,” Sunderland said.

“What Jack was able to produce in college, game after game, while being one of the sole focuses of opposition scouts, says a lot about his IQ as well as his skill and we look forward to him putting that on display here at the Miners.”

The head coach also expects Cody to thrive when he’s based in Ballarat.

“He will fit right in with our group and establish himself as a leader from the first bounce of the season,” Sunderland said.

“Max Set all-time records in the NCAA which isn’t something to be sneezed at.”