Gillette College News
Thu, Jan 19, 2012 - [Men's Basketball]
James Hunter jokes with a teammate while warming up before practice on Monday.
They come from the same continent, but grew up worlds apart.
Now James Hunter and Reece Maxwell - Gillette College's Down Under connection - are halfway around the world, helping the Pronghorns rise to the top in Region IX men's basketball.
Hunter, a 6-foot-10 freshman, grew up on a farm in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, near a town called Nowra, which is about 80 miles from Sydney. He went to boarding school at prestigious Cranbrook School in Sydney and played basketball most of his life, although he did try a little rugby.
His father, Todd Hunter, is the bass player in a band called Dragon, one of Australia's top rock groups from the mid-1970s to mid-'80s. Dragon had a couple of moderately successful albums. His uncle Marc is the band's singer.
"I played the trumpet when I was younger. My father used to do some recording around the house, so I grew up with music," Hunter said. "But I was always a good basketball player, so I went the athletic route. I tried Australian-rules football. It's rough and they'd put me in the middle because I was always the biggest of their players."
Australian rules
Hunter picked up a little something from his rugby and football days. His physical brand of basketball in the paint has paid off on offensive rebounds for the Pronghorns.
Maxwell, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, grew up in a coastal metropolitan area in Perth. With a population of 1.7 million, it's the largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia, between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment called the Darling Range. Australian-rules football held Maxwell's interest most of his younger years.
"I love anything to do with the ocean, surfing, fishing, whatever," Maxwell said. "I played Australian football all my life. It's like aerial pingpong, where you beat each other up.
"I tried out for rec basketball. It happened to be at the same time as football and I couldn't do both. But a couple of my good mates were playing basketball."
Gillette basketball fans can thank those good mates for assisting in Maxwell's decision to pursue the game on the hardwood.
Now James Hunter and Reece Maxwell - Gillette College's Down Under connection - are halfway around the world, helping the Pronghorns rise to the top in Region IX men's basketball.
Hunter, a 6-foot-10 freshman, grew up on a farm in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, near a town called Nowra, which is about 80 miles from Sydney. He went to boarding school at prestigious Cranbrook School in Sydney and played basketball most of his life, although he did try a little rugby.
His father, Todd Hunter, is the bass player in a band called Dragon, one of Australia's top rock groups from the mid-1970s to mid-'80s. Dragon had a couple of moderately successful albums. His uncle Marc is the band's singer.
"I played the trumpet when I was younger. My father used to do some recording around the house, so I grew up with music," Hunter said. "But I was always a good basketball player, so I went the athletic route. I tried Australian-rules football. It's rough and they'd put me in the middle because I was always the biggest of their players."
Australian rules
Hunter picked up a little something from his rugby and football days. His physical brand of basketball in the paint has paid off on offensive rebounds for the Pronghorns.
Maxwell, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, grew up in a coastal metropolitan area in Perth. With a population of 1.7 million, it's the largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia, between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment called the Darling Range. Australian-rules football held Maxwell's interest most of his younger years.
"I love anything to do with the ocean, surfing, fishing, whatever," Maxwell said. "I played Australian football all my life. It's like aerial pingpong, where you beat each other up.
"I tried out for rec basketball. It happened to be at the same time as football and I couldn't do both. But a couple of my good mates were playing basketball."
Gillette basketball fans can thank those good mates for assisting in Maxwell's decision to pursue the game on the hardwood.
How to speak Australian
Like New Yorkers talking to Californians, it might be the Queen's English, but sometimes there is a language barrier.
"Reece will say stuff and the rest of the team will be saying, ‘What are you talking about?'" Hunter said with a laugh. "I guess the Worcestershire accent is more strong. There's some things he says that I don't even understand."
There are definitely different personalities throughout their homeland, Maxwell said.
"We're definitely city kids and country kids," he said. "I like James, he's a good bloke. There's differences in where we come from. Little things, up in Sydney, there's not much Australian football, it's more rugby. It's like here. Different parts of the country have different things they like to do."
World travelers
It's not their first time away from home.
Maxwell has traveled throughout Europe in Spain, Germany, France, England and the Czech Republic. Hunter played on a high school-aged Cranbrook traveling team that toured the United States. He also played for another school team in 2009 that traveled through North Carolina.
Their interests are as different as their personalities, but their journey through America is one they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives.
America certainly has its oddities.
"Everything is different, like the roads," said Hunter, who bought a Ford Contour. "I've driven on the wrong side of the road. But I'm used to it now. Me and my girlfriend got into the car one time. I actually got in the passenger seat and she got in the driver's side.
"I reached over and put the keys in before I realized there was no steering wheel and here I thought I was driving."
Maxwell might be landlocked with no ocean in sight, but he has discovered the inland equivalent to surfing - snowboarding.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to the weather," said Maxwell, who's been in the United States a year and a half now. "I love snowboarding. It's not the same, but it's as close to surfing as I'm going to get. Sometimes I get a little too confident, I like doing jumps and that sort of thing."
The Pronghorns head into the teeth of the Region IX schedule, beginning with Casper College on Saturday. There will be times when Gillette coach Shawn Neary's lineup is two-fifths Australian.
But it's the melting pot that is Pronghorn basketball is a big part of why they are so successful.
Like New Yorkers talking to Californians, it might be the Queen's English, but sometimes there is a language barrier.
"Reece will say stuff and the rest of the team will be saying, ‘What are you talking about?'" Hunter said with a laugh. "I guess the Worcestershire accent is more strong. There's some things he says that I don't even understand."
There are definitely different personalities throughout their homeland, Maxwell said.
"We're definitely city kids and country kids," he said. "I like James, he's a good bloke. There's differences in where we come from. Little things, up in Sydney, there's not much Australian football, it's more rugby. It's like here. Different parts of the country have different things they like to do."
World travelers
It's not their first time away from home.
Maxwell has traveled throughout Europe in Spain, Germany, France, England and the Czech Republic. Hunter played on a high school-aged Cranbrook traveling team that toured the United States. He also played for another school team in 2009 that traveled through North Carolina.
Their interests are as different as their personalities, but their journey through America is one they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives.
America certainly has its oddities.
"Everything is different, like the roads," said Hunter, who bought a Ford Contour. "I've driven on the wrong side of the road. But I'm used to it now. Me and my girlfriend got into the car one time. I actually got in the passenger seat and she got in the driver's side.
"I reached over and put the keys in before I realized there was no steering wheel and here I thought I was driving."
Maxwell might be landlocked with no ocean in sight, but he has discovered the inland equivalent to surfing - snowboarding.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to the weather," said Maxwell, who's been in the United States a year and a half now. "I love snowboarding. It's not the same, but it's as close to surfing as I'm going to get. Sometimes I get a little too confident, I like doing jumps and that sort of thing."
The Pronghorns head into the teeth of the Region IX schedule, beginning with Casper College on Saturday. There will be times when Gillette coach Shawn Neary's lineup is two-fifths Australian.
But it's the melting pot that is Pronghorn basketball is a big part of why they are so successful.
By Rod Harwood, News Record sports writer
Today
Men's Basketball
| GC at | 7:30pm |
| Casper College | MST |
Women's Basketball
| GC at | 5:30pm |
| Casper College | MST |
Saturday, Feb 25
Men's Basketball
| GC at | 5:00pm |
| Northwest College | MST |
Women's Basketball
| GC at | 3:00pm |
| Northwest College | MST |
Tuesday, Feb 28
Men's Basketball
| Sheridan College at | 7:30pm |
| GC | MST |
Women's Basketball
| Sheridan College at | 5:30pm |
| GC | MST |
Saturday, Mar 3
Men's Basketball
| South Dakota Stars at | 5:00pm |
| GC | MST |
Friday, Mar 16
Men's Rodeo
| GC | |
| Gillette College 3/16/12-3/18/12 | |
Women's Rodeo
| GC | |
| Gillette College 3/16/12-3/18/12 | |
Saturday, Feb 18
Men's Basketball
| Central Wyoming College at | 64 |
| GC | 69 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| Central Wyoming College at | 45 |
| GC | 55 |
Wednesday, Feb 15
Men's Basketball
| Little Big Horn Community College at | 65 |
| GC | 108 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| Little Big Horn Community College at | 50 |
| GC | 90 |
| recap | |
Saturday, Feb 11
Men's Basketball
| GC at | 75 |
| Western Wyoming Communtiy College | 81 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| GC at | 76 |
| Western Wyoming Communtiy College | 89 |
Wednesday, Feb 8
Men's Basketball
| GC at | 76 |
| Miles Community College | 80 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| GC at | 62 |
| Miles Community College | 55 |
| recap | |
Saturday, Feb 4
Men's Basketball
| Dawson Community College at | 71 |
| GC | 81 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| Dawson Community College at | 31 |
| GC | 56 |
| recap | |
Friday, Feb 3
Women's Basketball
| Air Force Acadamy Prep School at | 50 |
| GC | 71 |
| recap | |
Saturday, Jan 28
Men's Basketball
| GC at | 67 |
| Sheridan College | 81 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| GC at | 61 |
| Sheridan College | 75 |
Wednesday, Jan 25
Men's Basketball
| Northwest College at | 94 |
| GC | 82 |
| stats - recap | |
Women's Basketball
| Northwest College at | 68 |
| GC | 78 |
| recap | |
