Former Nicholls Swingman Anatoly Bose Signs With Sydney Kings
SYDNEY, Australia - Former Nicholls State standout Anatoly Bose will have a chance to continue his basketball career in front of a hometown crowd after the Sydney, Australia, native signed with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League, the premier professional basketball league of Australia, on Wednesday.
Bose joins one of the most dominant teams in recent NBL history. The Kings have appeared in five NBL Grand Finals in the last eight seasons, winning three championship titles in that span.
"I am thrilled for Anatoly and his family," Nicholls coach J.P. Piper said. "This is like a kid growing up in New Orleans and signing with the Saints. The Sydney Kings have a great coaching staff and a tradition of winning. It is great for Anatoly to be able to go home and begin his professional career. With the impending NBA lockout, professional opportunities in any country will be hard to come by. That makes this opportunity even more special, given the shortage of jobs and the number of qualified players out there willing to go play anywhere. This is a proud day for the Nicholls basketball program."
Bose finished his college career as one of the most consistent scoring threats in the nation, leading the Southland Conference and ranking eighth among NCAA Division I players with 22.1 point per game. Bose also grabbed a team-high 164 rebounds, and averaged 5.9 rebounds per game en route to First-Team All-Southland Conference and first-team All-Region 23 honors. After the season, Bose was one of only 64 players invited to the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Bose scored 20 or more points in 21 of 28 games his senior year, including three games with 30 or more points. During his four-year career, Bose recorded 50 20-point games, including 41 in his final 58 career games, spanning the final two years of his career. Bose became just the third Colonel in school history to ever surpass the 2,000 career point mark, reaching the milestone March 2, before concluding his career with 2,050 points.
Bose will be in Australia later this month looking to qualify for a spot on the Australian National Men's Basketball Team as it prepares for a two-game series against the Chinese National Men's Basketball Team in June and a three-game Olympic qualifying series against New Zealand in September.