Return of the King: Noi re-signs

Kouat Noi made his return to USC Rip City last night, in a heartbreaking one-point loss to the Northside Wizards. In his return to the NBL1 North, he scored 34 points with 15 rebounds and five assists alongside the new-look Rip City.

But the past nine months have been arguably the greatest of Kouat Noi's young career.

From claiming the NBL1 North MVP, leading his USC Rip City to the 2022 NBL1 North Grand Final Series and becoming a pivotal piece in the NBL23 Sydney Kings championship, Noi has claimed some remarkable silverware lately.

"Rip City has some of the best NBL1 facilities in the country and I have built a great relationship with the staff there - from volunteers, coaches and strength and conditioning staff," Noi told the Sydney Kings on why he decided to return for a second season with the club.

"I believe being here, I can take my game to another level just like I did last year."

The Newcastle junior will head into the NBL1 season on the back of a brief stint in Israel with Ironi Kiryat Ata.

"Israel was beautiful but I didn’t have access to the facility I needed to get better, that’s why I returned back to Australia," said Noi.

"I'm still hungry to improve and being back home I believe I will improve even more."

Improving across the board, as well as claiming more silverware, are the 25-year-old's goals during the NBL1 season, before returning to the harbour city - to help the Kings claim their third straight title.

"We [Rip City] have a better team than we did last year - we’ve added some key players into the roster who are hungry to prove themselves this year," the Sudanese-born forward said.

"I believe we have the squad to win it all - which is our team's main goal.

"[Personally] my goal is to win back-to-back MVPs and get better as a player, which all starts with my body. I want to get stronger and leaner.

"By taking that to another level this off-season, I'm confident all other aspects of my game will follow."

Feature image via: JDR Creative