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Former Nicholls State men’s basketball player Anatoly Bose said in November it was “awkward” to be recognized in the streets as a professional basketball player.
He better get used to that feeling.
If he keeps playing as well as he is now, he’ll be on the hardwood for a very long time.
In his first season playing in Australia’s National Basketball League’s (NBL) Sydney Kings, the 6-foot-6-inch scorer has found immediate success, establishing himself as one of his team’s top players.
Bose was so good in his first year that he was named as the NBL’s Rookie of the Year, an honor he said he didn’t expect in his first year back in his native land.
“I have really enjoyed my rookie year with the Sydney Kings,” Bose told SydneyKings.com. “And I am just looking forward to returning to the basketball court for the 2012-13 season in October.”
At Nicholls, Bose was an elite-level scorer, finishing his career with more than 2,000 points and a career 17.1 points per game scoring average.
With the Kings, that talent has apparently transitioned without a hitch.
In his rookie year, Bose averaged 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The former Colonel shot 41.6 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
He did so, while adjusting to the rigors of the professional game – a level he said “cannot compare” to college.
“It’s a lot more physical,” Bose said. “They let a lot more contact go down low. It’s a brutal game. It really is. You have to be a man to survive.”
Whatever Bose is doing to “survive” is apparently working just fine.
Bose recorded eight, 20-plus-point games during the season, including on Jan. 14 when he scored a career-high 25 points.
To top it all off, Bose was peaking as the season was ending. The Australian-born standout averaged 18.3 points per game in his final eight games of the season and 20 points per game in the Kings’ final four games.
He said a lot of that process had to do with health. Bose missed three weeks with a torn ligament in his foot.
When he returned, his late-season push really started to take fold, which caused people in Australia to take notice and recognize the former Colonels’ face in the streets – a surreal feeling.
“You walk around the street and people know you – people recognize who you are,” Bose said in the middle of the season. “It’s a great feeling, but there’s a great deal of responsibility there – that’s something I didn’t always think about.”
With this award in his trophy case, the future appears bright. Bose said his focus is simple – keep getting better.
If he does, the awards should continue to pile up.
The Tri-parish area knows better than anyone that Bose can play with the best.
We saw it first-hand for four years in Thibodaux.
“I’ve gotten just so much better. I’m more confident and comfortable,” Bose said. “I’m not just a one-dimensional player who can shoot or penetrate just one way. I’m much better at getting to the rim and creating my own shot and creating space.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 17: Anatoly Bose of the Kings shoots for the basket during the round seven NBL match between the Sydney Kings and the Cairns Taipans at Sydney Entertainment Centre on November 17, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
