Melbourne development players are United in quest

• Campbell Blogg and Tom Koppens have been re-signed as Development Players for Melbourne United
• Blogg and Koppens have known each other since primary school
• Koppens played minutes in three of the five games during the NBL Grand Final series

The life of a development player can be tenuous at best — an often revolving door of young players trying to establish themselves as NBL contributors with minimal playing time or continuity.

At Melbourne United however, the re-signing of home grown ‘DP’s’ Campbell Blogg and Tom Koppens is demonstrating the organisation's decision to invest long term in young talent, and the dividends are starting to become evident.

Blogg and Koppens’ basketball careers have intertwined since Year 6 in the Sandringham domestic competition, and as far as they’ve come in the sport, they haven’t had to go very far at all. Playing Youth League and NBL1 with the Sandringham Sabres, the close mates would eventually get mentored under the guidance of Rhys Carter and David Barlow.

Both also Melbourne United assistant coaches, their pathway through the Sabres embedded them in the United ecosystem, and it wasn’t long before the young pair would get their chance to impress in an NBL environment.

“It was a sliding doors moment. How quickly things can click together. To be under Rhys [Carter] and [David] Barlow, we had no idea they’d go to Sandy and give us that opportunity in front of Dean Vickerman,” Koppens said.

“They had some open scrimmages at United before preseason. I went to a few of those, and played well in those. Still played NBL1 under Barlow, and I saw Cam doing the training player thing and I knew that was something I wanted to do, so I stuck to it, and got an invite to be a training player.”

Both starting in a training player capacity, the pair’s consistency in the gym and increasing NBL1 output saw them get preseason opportunities, followed by development player contracts, and eventually glimpses of regular season playing time.

“It’s hard to come into a team and be completely yourself, but everyone’s so nice and encouraging. It’s a big thing for United, they pick players that are team first, no egos, so it makes it easy to be yourself. I’ve been working hard in the gym on my body and skills, like my shot, the last couple of years I’ve been in the gym with Barlow and putting in a lot of work," Koppens shared.

"I’m feeling probably the best I’ve ever felt. I feel I’m ready to contribute when my name is called. I know the best ability is availability, so I make sure I’m ready physically and mentally."

For Koppens in particular, all the work behind closed doors led to some high stakes opportunities across NBL25. On a deep United roster, playing time through the regular season is often sparse, but in the middle of the team’s Grand Final series against Illawarra, Coach Vickerman demonstrated immense trust in the forward, throwing him out for minutes in three of the five games in the series.

“He told me at shoot around in Illawarra the day of the game in the morning that I was going to give Delly a bit of a chop out for a few minutes here and there, so I realised ‘this is real now, I have to lock in’," he said.

“I was pretty nervous leading up to the game but once we started shooting around and the game started, you’re just playing the game, you don’t really focus on the crowd or anything, it’s just like a normal basketball game. Just tried to provide a bit of energy, spark, and if the opportunity arises for me to make a play, I back myself to make the right one.”

Whilst Koppens was providing key defensive minutes on the NBL’s biggest stage, his best mate was unfortunately nursing an injury, after sustaining a dislocated shoulder earlier mid-season during an intra-squad scrimmage game.

“I was pretty gutted, especially coming up to that finals period where I knew we were going to make a run for the championship, and I could be called to contribute at any time, but things don’t always go as planned,” said Blogg.

Where a season-ending injury might render a development player disposable under different circumstances, United have doubled down with his re-signing.

“Having that trust and knowing that they’ve got my back with my rehab means a lot,” Blogg said.

Now four months removed from surgery, and two months away from full clearance, he has been working hard in the gym with United’s staff to improve his game. Putting aside the disappointment of being sidelined, it’s proved an opportunity to develop his body and skill-set.

“I couldn’t run for about six weeks given how fragile the procedure was, and I wasn’t allowed to sweat for the first 10 days, so after those 10 days I immediately went into the gym and worked on my legs. Me and the strength and conditioning coach Jay put together a plan to build that lower body so I can be better on the defensive end, run faster and jump higher," Blogg said.

"I’ve actually loved it — obviously no one wants a long term injury but sometimes they’re great for working on your body. I’ve put on some good weight.

“I’ve been at Hoop City every day since I’ve been able to, just getting reps on reps. Watching guys like Chris Goulding at training, I just want to take after him. He’s a world-class shooter, and I aspire to get to that level, so I’m getting my shot as consistent as possible. My shot’s feeling the best it ever has.”

Prior to his injury, Blogg was similarly making an impact in his limited in-season opportunity — despite only 31 minutes across the season, Blogg knocked down five three pointers. While he’s working on getting his shot from good to great, it’s the defensive end where he’s most focused on getting better.

“When I first came to United, I was mainly a shooter. Where I’ve seen the most growth, and where I still need the most growth, is on the defensive end, earning the trust of the coaches to go and lock somebody up and fitting into our team defence. We’re a defensive team," he said.

Now going into their third and fourth years with the club, and with a couple of harrowing Grand Final series losses within their brief experience, the pair are keen to keep building on their games and carve out greater roles at the NBL level. Whether through the highs or lows, it’s an experience that has been compounded by their mutual company and support.

“Cam’s like a brother to me, we’re very supportive of each other. The main thing is you can take it really seriously, but at the same time have your mate there and enjoy it and have a laugh. We have such common goals on how we go about things, so it’s been really important and key to my development. I’ve always got him to talk to, and we’re always experiencing the same stuff, so it’s like an extra support layer. I was pretty flat when he hurt his shoulder but he’s been working really hard with his rehab,” Koppens said.

“Where we’re at is a testament to hard work, and focusing on the controllables. Even for our families, it’s a big event when we all go to the home games. It brings family together. To do it with your best mate is a dream come true for us.”

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.