The University Basketball League is back for its third season, and Melbourne’s Men’s and Women’s teams are looking to build on solid performances in 2022.
The Men’s team narrowly missed out on the playoffs in 2022, and Captain Joel Rimes (Doctor of Philosophy – Immunology) is confident that his team will improve on last year’s performance.
“We're very happy with how things have looked in our first few weeks of preparation. We've had a few very talented recruits join the team this season, while also retaining a majority of last year's roster.
It really is a privilege to participate in a competition such as UBL. It's an excellent opportunity to compete against other universities from all over the country that really enhances the student experience,” Rimes continued.
Bachelor of Arts student Ariyel Edwards will lead the Women’s team, having played a key role in earlier seasons.
“The team is shaping to be quite competitive this season. We have a lot of talented players with a variety of strengths that we’ll be looking to use at each game,” said Edwards.
Keith Noack is welcomed as the new head coach for the Women’s team. Noack, who also coaches the Basketball Club’s Women’s Big V team, brings a player-focused coaching philosophy to the team.
“Paying attention to each player and discussing their role helps build an attacking, risk-taking, enthusiastic team”
Last week the teams played together for the first time against Monash in the annual Big Blue competition on campus. Both the Men’s and Women’s team came away with wins and gained some valuable on court time with each other.
“It was a great opportunity to develop some chemistry with the new squad, and a win against a talented Monash team is certainly a good sign for things to come”, said Joel Rimes.
The teams travel west this week, flying west to face Adelaide University for round 1 of the competition.
Melbourne faces locals RMIT in round 2 on Super Sport Wednesday. Be sure to bring your friends for a great day of fun and competition in the Sports Precinct.
