Former University of Hartford Basketball standout Corban Wroe scored big as he signed with the Perth Wildcats.
The Wildcats are a professional team of Australia where they play in the National Basketball League (NBL) and were league champions of the 2014 season. He signs as a developmental player who trains with the team throughout the season. At each home game, two developmental players are selected to play with the team.
Wroe, a four-year player at Hartford, and member of last year’s leading six seniors, is a 6-foot-2 shooting guard and defensive specialist. He was a three-year captain for the Hawks, who displayed amazing work ethic and developed a lethal shot from 3-point range by the time he reached his final season.
After converting only 33 shots from long range in his first three seasons, Wroe went on the score 49 3-pointers in just his senior season alone.
He is the only player in the program’s history to win two America East All-Defense Team honors and cemented himself as a standout on the defensive side of the ball.
He finished last season with a team high 41 steals, along with 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 9.9 points a game.
The Perth Wildcats has signed Corban Wroe as a development player for 2015/16. More http://t.co/qdAINZFBym #RedArmy pic.twitter.com/CtqRmJ8ahO
— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) September 4, 2015
What truly makes this milestone for Wroe so sweet is the fact that he is a native of Townsville, Australia. Now he will not only be playing for a professional team, but also playing at the high level of competition in his homeland.
Hartford Hawks basketball coach John Gallagher spoke about his former player and said, “Corban prides himself on making programs better. I know he will do this for the heralded Perth Wildcats in the NBL. The toughness and grit Corban showed every night in college will now be on display in Australia’s most elite pro league.”
There is much reason to speak so highly of Wroe and his work ethic as he is packaged with accolades throughout his basketball career.
Earning America East All-Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll laurels all four years for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, he became the second player in program history to earn repeat America East All-Academic Team honors.
Wroe also capped off his career by becoming Hartford’s first-ever repeat Division I AAA Scholar-Athlete Team member, as he received the accolade in both 2014 and 2015.
Wroe graduated this past May, earning his health science degree from the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions.
Wroe returned to Australia after graduating and then soon started playing for the Townsville Heat of the Queensland Basketball League.
In eight games, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
With numbers like that already, he is on a road to succes.
They aren’t the highest numbers to put up, but this shows there is more room for improvement. This goes to show that if one works hard, anybody can make it.
Who knows? Wroe can do so well in the NBL that he may get looked at in the NBA.