Young, elite American basketball players are expected to set their sights on Australia's NBL if Terrance Ferguson's bold gamble to play for the Adelaide 36ers pays off at this week's NBA Draft.
Oklahoma-born Ferguson, 19, says he feels like a trendsetter as "a few" top US high school players have reached out to him about following his lead by skipping a year of US college basketball and getting paid to play in Australia.
The 201cm-tall shooting guard is expected to be a highly-coveted first round pick at Thursday's (Friday 9am AEST) draft at Brooklyn's Barclay Centre, with one analyst pointing to the Denver Nuggets grabbing him with the 13th pick.
"It was very physical," Ferguson, describing his experience as a skinny 18-year-old in the NBL, recently told reporters after working out for the Charlotte Hornets.
"It was a grown man league.
"The coach says it was much more physical than Europe."
Ferguson said last year's decision was largely made on his ability to make good money as a professional in Australia.
If he had accepted a scholarship from one of the many top colleges that pursued him, including Arizona, Louisville, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina and Baylor, he would have been an amateur for a year living under the NCAA's strict rules before he could enter this year's NBA Draft.
Ferguson's draft stock rose because NBA teams like that he spent a year playing against men in Australia's traditionally rugged league.
Asked at the NBA Combine about his favourite memory of his Australian adventure he said it was the meat pie.
"You have to put ketchup or barbecue sauce on it and it actually tastes good after that," he said.
Three Australians are hoping to be selected in the draft, with the top prospect, Melbourne-born Jonah Bolden, also out to prove playing for a US college is not the best way for every player to make it to the NBA.
The 21-year-old, 208cm-tall power forward spent two disappointing years in Los Angeles at UCLA before playing a year professionally in Serbia.
His gamble is also expected to pay off with a late first-round or second-round selection.
Isaac Humphries, a 19-year-old, 213cm forward-centre from Sydney, played two years at the University of Kentucky and could be a late second-round pick.
Sudanese-born, Melbourne-raised 24-year-old, 208cm-tall Mangok Mathiang played four years at the University of Louisville and is also a late second-round possibility.
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