Alex Condon has become the sixth ever Australian to win the US national college basketball championship.
The 210cm 20-year-old’s Florida Gators prevailed 65-63 in a thriller against the Houston Cougars in the March Madness decider in San Antonio on Tuesday Australian time.
Condon registered a double-double, scoring 12 points to go with his 13 rebounds as Florida fought back from being 12 points down at half time to claim their first national title since 2007.
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But the West Australian has been a part of the Gators’ problems early, coughing up four turnovers before turning things around late in the game.
He played a pivotal role in the dying moments, pouncing on a loose ball with roughly one second left in the game after the Gators pulled off a vital defensive play to prevent the Cougars from getting a shot up after bringing the ball up the court with 18 seconds remaining.
Less than a minute earlier, Condon also helped create a turnover.
Condon’s impressive showing late in the game may make his AFL back up plan redundant.
He is a category B rookie, for athletes who have been playing other sports rather than being registered footballers, with Collingwood under the proviso that he will join the Magpies after his college days if he does not make it to the NBA.
There is no guarantee he will advance to the top league in the world, but Condon’s performance in college basketball’s biggest game of the year, may put him on the radar of several NBA teams.
The last time an Australian took the court in the national championship was in 2004 when Luke Schenscher’s, who went on to play for the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trailblazers, Georgia Tech lost to Connecticut 82-73.
Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze was the first Australian to play in the March Madness final in 1989, but his Seton Hall side fell to Michigan 80-79 in overtime.
Cairns Taipans’ Kody Stattmann was the last Australian to win the national championship in 2019, after Mangok Mathiang won the title in 2013, but neither appeared in their finals.
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