Milner excited for return stint with Eagles

Images: Mark Filpo @codexdesignstudio

Lukas Milner will always have a soft spot for the East Perth Eagles and NBL1 West as his first stop as a professional basketballer and the way he was welcomed and embraced last year made it a natural for him to want to return in 2024.

Having grown up in Olathe, Kansas, Milner began his college life at Johnson County Community College before then joining Boise State where he spent three years and upon graduating in 2023, he had some thinking to do about what to do next.

Standing 6'10 and with plenty of post moves and a nice shooting touch and a strong frame, giving professional basketball overseas a go was a natural. It just happened to be that his first stop was joining the Eagles in the back end of the 2023 NBL1 West season.

Milner made an immediate impact in those six appearances too where he put up 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds a game while shooting at 52 per cent from the field and 55 per cent from downtown.

He did that while still getting to know his new teammates, the league and the foreign country he found himself in after a whirlwind after his college graduation.

Milner has now just finished his first season in Slovakia as well before arriving back in Perth last weekend and now again being thrown right in the deep end with the two Round 11 NBL1 West match ups for the Eagles on Friday at home to the Joondalup Wolves and on Saturday away to the Mandurah Magic.

Milner might not recognise anyone on either of those teams and didn't play the Wolves or Magic last year, but he can't wait to get out there with an East Perth in a much better position than when he arrived in 2023.

"I never got to play them last year nor do I recognise any faces. I’m just excited to play again!," Milner said.

"I’m very happy to be back, I came back wanting to play basketball and what’s better than immediately having two games. It’s a lot better than last year when I flew in and played an hour after my flight landed."

It might have only been a six-game stint that Milner had with the Eagles to close out the 2023 season, but it made a lasting impact on him so much so that once he left, he knew it was a club, a league and a country he wanted to come back to.

Then as much as he loved his recent experience playing in Slovakia, he was always excited knowing in the back of his mind he was about to return to East Perth and to continue to build on that first experience from last year.

"Absolutely, got great stories out of playing here and hope to create more this year," he said.

"It was all about the people for me! I was welcomed with open arms last season, and everyone on the team treated me like family. That goes a long way for me so that’s why I definitely had to come back for this season too!"

While it's the same club Milner is returning to in 2024, there's a lot different as well for him upon arrival at the Eagles for the rest of this season.

That includes the return to the spiritual East Perth home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre and getting to practice and play at the new Peter Campbell Basketball Arena.

Then there's the situation of the team this season too. When Milner arrived last year, the Eagles were sitting on a 3-13 record and the playoffs were out of reach so as much as he enjoyed that experience, there was a sense that things could get a lot better.

That's now happening and following a win in his first game of the season against the Wolfpack on Friday night where Milner had six points, two rebounds and two assists in his 18 minutes, the Eagles are knocking on the door of a top four position at 8-6.

The combination of the new facility and the team being a genuine contender means that Milner couldn’t be happier with the situation he's walked into.

"The feeling as a team is definitely different this year. We all know how good our team is and it’s much more exciting to play with something on the line," Milner said.

"I love it (new venue)! I was surprised to see how nice the grandstands and court paint turned out. I’m excited to see how it feels on a gameday."

The other bonus is that Milner is walking into a familiar team environment with Carl Filpo still the coach at the Eagles and familiar teammates including Lee Roberts, Taylor Young, Jerami Grace, Sebit Reath and Nick Filpo.

Last year it's fair to say he was thrown in the deep end playing his first game as a professional after college in a foreign country an hour after landing in Perth, and then just trying to get his bearings from there over the next month.

Then all of a sudden the season was done, but this time to come back to a familiar team and environment has Milner rightfully feeling more comfortable.

"Yes it is quite nice to know those guys and makes it much easier this year to transition into the team since we’ve all played together already," he said.

"Last year it took me a bit to match in, but I think this year it’ll go much quicker."

This time last year and Milner was just about to begin his life as a professional basketballer after his Boise State career, but now all of a sudden he's in a second stint down under and just completed a first season in Slovakia.

Milner played with Prievidza and was part of their playoff run which ended up seeing them lose in four games to Spisski Rytieri in the semi finals of the Slovakia-Nike SBL.

The 24-year-old played quite a significant role on that team too with 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 assists while averaging 31 minutes across the 38 games with that playoff series.

Milner learned plenty about basketball and life in that first European experience.

"I’m forever grateful for my time in Slovakia just like my time here," Milner said.

"Playing there taught me a lot about basketball and life in general. It was another great experience being surrounded by good people."