More Than Meets the Eye to Ayre Homecoming

Photo: South East Melbourne Phoenix Media

After battling tooth and nail to earn a spot in the NBL – and then remain in the competition – new South East Melbourne guard Ben Ayre looks to have found himself a new home, at home.

The Melbourne-born sparkplug initially left Victoria to join up with Skagit Valley in Washington, then moved onto Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, for his final two years of college eligibility.

Stints with the Adelaide 36ers, BC Mazeikiai in Lithuania and the Cairns Taipans have followed. Aside from a solitary season with the Nunawading Spectres in 2019, Ayre hasn’t called Melbourne home in almost a decade.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??????? ???? ??? ??<br><br>Phoenix colours definitely look good on you! ? <a href="https://t.co/A9WEGguXa2">pic.twitter.com/A9WEGguXa2</a></p>&mdash; South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1653563224288276480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The trend of players returning to their hometowns or, at the very least, their home states, has skyrocketed ahead of NBL24. Along with Ayre returning to Melbourne, the likes of Makuach Maluach, Mitch Norton, Keanu Pinder and David Okwera will be suiting up in new colours next season.

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Even young talents like Klairus Amir, Keanu Rasmussen and Ben Henshall have elected to move home to begin their professional careers. Amir was playing high school hoops in the United States and has returned to Sydney, while Rasmussen heads home to Adelaide following two years at UC Riverside.

Ayre says while there may be an emerging trend of players returning home to ply their trade, it likely has little to do with any preconceived plan that teams are looking local when weighing up new signings.

“I can’t speak for other guys, but for me it wasn’t like I was going into free agency and saying 'I want to go home',” Ayre told NBL Media.

“It just kind of happened with the fit at South East, and it just happens the Phoenix are in my hometown.

“I was really just looking for the best fit for my game, and the club that could utilise me the best, and it just so happens that it was in my hometown.

“When you look at the guys who have gone home … if you zoom out and look at the fit for the team, the clubs need them and it just so happens they are from that town.

“There could be a trend there, it could be a thing, and I don’t know if clubs are sorting out bringing hometown guys back, it could be a factor.

“Speaking for me, if this exact club with the same people was in a different state, I think I would still end up being at this club and in this situation.”

Ben Ayre began his NBL career with two appearances as a development player with the Adelaide 36ers in NBL20.

The style that Ayre plays the game with quickly endeared himself to Cairns fans while he was making his mark in Far North Queensland, and he seems to be quickly establishing himself as one of the most likeable players in the NBL.

Phoenix head coach Mike Kelly has described Ayre’s mindset as the benchmark for his side’s new signings, saying “we want them to be that gritty, tough, chip on their shoulder like Ben Ayre”.

Incoming NBL CEO Dave Stevenson also regards Ayre as one of his favourite players in the competition, as stated in an recent interview with Jack Heverin.

The high-quality shooting and defence the 27-year-old brings to the table has been well-documented over the past two seasons, and after his first full free agency experience, he says it would have been easy to fall into a level of malaise surrounding his own ability.

“I’ve always been in that mindset of trying to see what opportunity is open for me to go and fit in, and kind of trying to convince teams of what value I can bring to them,” Ayre said.

“It was different to now sit down and be on the other side of that and have teams pitch to me about where I fit in with them.

“In these moments with people telling you ‘this is how good you are’ or ‘this is what you do great’ …  it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are this and the work could maybe stop and that you’re established in this area or that area.

“It’s a lot of 'what you do good'.

“It was cool to see my market value and what teams like in me, but now it’s my job to go and double-down on those things, and then progress my game in areas teams who, through that process, told me I was lacking and would like me to improve in.

“Just having those conversations gave me an opportunity to see where my value is in the league and see the things I’m not necessarily seen as high value in so I can go and improve on those things.

“It was a really good learning process for me, and I think it will make me a better player.”

Although Ayre’s basketball journey has taken him all over the world across the last eight years, he has quickly become synonymous with everything that is good about the Cairns Taipans.

The energy, the shooting, the grit, grind and defensive intensity. These are pillars on which Ayre has created a name for himself in the NBL, and these are pillars on which the Taipans built their exceptional NBL23 season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ben Ayre is on fire ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/XSG2PRvIJE">pic.twitter.com/XSG2PRvIJE</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1588472304891097088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That’s why it is still slightly strange to see him wearing the black and green of the Phoenix, as opposed to the vibrant orange of the Taipans.

“It was a bit of a timing thing,” Ayre said of his departure from Cairns. “They wanted some time to construct their roster and see where I fit into their mould up there, and where I fit around the rest of the league.

“It’s just how the business goes. They were looking for some time and that allowed me the opportunity to go into free agency and see where I fit, whether that was back with them – because that was a possibility – or whether another opportunity came about.

“There was no bad blood, the conversations were great, ‘Fordey’ is still my guy.

“They’ve done a great job up there, and I was so happy to be a part of what’s been created up there and I don’t doubt they’re going to continue to create that amazing culture.

“It’s good and exiting that I got this opportunity, and it’s special being in the hometown as well. That’s just a bonus.

“More importantly the team and the club is great to be a part of, and we’re trying  to build on what we’ve got.”

Ayre and the Phoenix will open their NBL24 season against Melbourne United on Thursday, September 28.

His first chance to take on his former club comes in Round 2 on Thursday, October 5.