Toohey For the Price of One - Tuesday's Brotherly Battle

Brotherly love will be taking a backseat in NBL1 East this weekend, as within the wider war to be waged between Canberra and the CoE, a sibling battle will be taking place on the court.

In a re-scheduled game will feature Alex and James Toohey are preparing to lock horns once again when their two sides meet on Tuesday night in a clash that could not only have ramifications around the dinner table, but also on the league table at this early point in the season.

Alex’s Centre of Excellence side is absolutely flying at the top of the ladder with a 13-1 record, with Toohey coming off a Foot Locker Player of the Week award recently.

James' reigning champion Gunners on the other hand, has bounced back from a 1-3 start to return to the Finals picture with a 8-4 record going into Round 12. 

A win for the Centre of Excellence will see them extend their lead at the top of the table, but the older Toohey – James – says a win for the Gunners could prove decisive for their season.

“It would be massive for us, for sure,” James told NBL Media.

“We had a slow start to the season which was pretty evident. We started to build some momentum and to knock off what we consider to be the top team in the league would do wonders for our confidence and the overall position of our season.

"I think they’ve got the height on us, they’re probably faster and they train a lot more, so it’s going to be a bit of a battle.

“We definitely have experience on them with some savvy vets, so if we can knock down some shots and make it a close game anything can happen in the end.”

That experience piece has been a huge part of the commentary surrounding the CoE’s chances of winning it all this season. They may be flying now, but how will they fare when the pressure mounts up and the going gets tough?

Alex has been a star performer for the side this season on both ends of the floor despite being just 18 years of age. He along with the likes of Rocco Zikarsky, 16, Ben Henshall, 18 and Alex Condon, 18, has led the team with a level-headedness that belies his age.

He says whatever experience the playing group lacks, their coaching team more than makes up for.

“I think experience is a big thing, but our coaches are very experienced and they’re some of the best coaches in the league. They’ve been able to pass on what they know to the guys everyday in training,” he said.

"We have guys from different parts of the world that have played different playstyles before and being able to come in and showcase that against different competition is a big part of us. Everyone brings something different.

“We might not be as experienced in the age aspect, but no one trains as much as we do, no one trains as hard as we do, and I think all the experience we have is what we’ve done together as a program.”

Outside of the impacts the win may have for both clubs, the story is the battle of two brothers for many. 

“Mum and Dad are really excited for the game,” Alex said.

“Last time we played they sat exactly on halfcourt and didn’t want to pick sides. I think deep down they knew they were going for me, even though James would want to think they were going for him.

"We’ve got some family coming down for it and it’ll be really exciting to get out there and go and beat him again. Mum and Dad, I think they love it when we play each other,” James added.

"As the favourite child, they’ll support me, so Alex will have to deal with that.“I’m sure they’ll be happy with either result.”

With Alex being six years younger than James, it’s easy to draw comparisons with how their careers have gone so far.

James returned to Australia following five seasons playing at Saginaw Valley State in the American collegiate system and, over the course of five seasons, represented the side 133 times – including 82 starts. Alex, on the other hand, is within touching distance of beginning his college journey with Gonzaga.

While James humbly understates the impact he’s had on his brother’s basketball journey so far, Alex says their backyard battles taught him valuable lessons in sport, and in life.

“I was more dominant against him in the younger years, and I definitely made him cry a couple of times in the backyard, but that’s a long time in the past.

“I probably had more of an impact on him when he was a bit younger. Since he’s been at the AIS I haven’t been around him too much.

"I try and give him a little bit of wisdom from my time in college and just my time playing, but I think most of the credit goes to the coaches of the programs he’s been through. I’ll take a small slice of the cake, but most of the credit is to the coaches in his late development.”

"I think it taught me a lot of mental resilience,” Alex reflected on his childhood playing against his brother.

"Losing sucks and being able to put into perspective that they might be older than you, but at the end of the day if you can go against that every day and keep pushing and keep working at it you’ll eventually crack it.

"When I did get to that stage where I could start to beat him it really paid off and showed that some people might be older, might be stronger, but there can be ways to get around that.“Being able to understand that I learned a lot from him, and now I’m teaching him a few things he probably didn’t even know, it’s cool how that cycle works.”

(Supplied: Alex and James Toohey playing against each other last season)

With Alex set to head to Gonzaga in the not-too-distant future, this could well be the final time the brothers play each other in an NBL1 setting – meaning ultimate bragging rights are on the line.

That being said, the impact of playing not only against James at such a high level, but being able to compete against bigger, older, more experienced bodies has had an impact on the burgeoning career of the younger brother, and he believes he’s not the first person to benefit from the platform provided by NBL1.

“Realising this is probably the last time I’ll play him in an organised game is really special,” Alex said.

“The foundations I established here will stay with me forever and I think that everyone who comes out of this program – this is where they really learn how to play.“Guys like Tyrese Proctor, Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, if you break it down this is where they really established themselves.

“I’m excited to get to the next level and hopefully reward the coaches with some good games, some good wins, help the team over there and let the coaches know they’re definitely a part of this journey and the whole program has a bunch of real estate in my journey ahead.

The Canberra Gunners and Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence clash tomorrow night at 8pm AEST, live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.