THE Mount Gambier Pioneers basketball club this week announced the return of Limestone Coast basketballer Kyle Tipene for the 2018 South East Australian Basketball League season.
Tipene represented the club as a junior eight years ago before heading to the USA to attend college and play basketball.
On his return to Australia he moved to Adelaide playing at both South Adelaide and Forestville clubs.
Last season he headed to Shepparton to compete in the Victorian Big V competition as a point guard/shooting guard, where he averaged impressive figures of 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while leading the league in three-point shooting, a 50pc return, making 44 of his 88 attempts.
Tipene said he was looking forward to the challenge of stepping back in a Pioneers uniform as the club prepares to defend its 2017 national title.
“It has been a while since I have been on that home court in front of a crowd,” he said.
“In my mind, going away and playing, there is an expectation to come back and do well, so there is a little bit of pressure, but it is exciting at the same time.
“It should be a good thing to play in front of familiar people and family.”
As junior Tipene said he always wanted to pull on the Pioneers strip and was given that chance at a young age.
“I would have been about 16 through until I turned 18 with the Pioneers,” he said.
“Most of that time I was a development player, but then my last year I actually got to play a bit.
“I was one of the young guys at the end of the bench.”
Tipene then headed to the USA where he attended the Martin Methodist college in Tennessee to study and to play basketball.
He returned to Adelaide to finish his degree in sport and recreation management, plus HR management and continued his basketball career there, before again moving on.
“I decided to do my degree in Adelaide and I played in the premier league up there,” he said.
“Once I finished my degree I moved to Victoria and played in the Big V last season with Shepparton.
“I put in a fair bit of training and committed a fair bit and the results came out, which was good.
“We did not have the best year as a team, because we struggled with injuries, but there were a handful of games we lost by less than five points.
“I found the league pretty competitive – a lot of the teams we played were Melbourne based and had access to good players.
“But playing in the SEABL with the Pioneers is a big jump above that.”
To make the move to the SEABL competition full time will certainly be a big step for Tipene.
He will step into big shoes, with the departure of Matt Sutton to retirement and Jack Madgen who is chasing an AFL dream.
Add to the fact the Pioneers club is the most successful in recent years, with three national titles from the last four years, plus are current defending champions and the pressure to succeed continues to rise.
Tipene hopes to slot into the roster with few problems.
“The program has been so successful and they have kept the core group together for so long, but at the same time I am not a player to try to be selfish,” he said.
“I try to fit in and I think I will be able to learn from the older players like Tom Daly and Erik Burdon.
“I have known them for a long time, so I think it will be fine if I listen and learn and find my place in the team.
“Then hopefully we can have a successful season again.”
Regardless of the pressure, it is an opportunity Tipene is certainly relishing.
“It is an awesome feeling,” he said.
“When I was representing them as a junior, I always wanted to come back with more experience and play a significant role in the team.
“It is a great feeling and a great opportunity for me.”
