NBA eyes don’t faze young Hawk

Rising Illawarra Hawks youngster Lachlan Olbrich says the high number of NBA scouts projected to attend the NBL Blitz won't faze him.

Olbrich’s signing with the Hawks this offseason didn’t garner much fanfare, but NBL expert Liam Santamaria praised the former UC Riverside big's talent on a recent episode of The Marketplace.

“This guy is a potential future NBA player, and he is flying well under the radar as an off-season signing,” Santamaria said.

With upwards of 25 NBA scouts expected to attend the Blitz on the Gold Coast next month, Olbrich will have a chance to showcase his talent to the world.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MVP ? <br><br>We caught up with Lachlan Olbrich after his big <a href="https://twitter.com/Nbl1Central?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nbl1Central</a> championship<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/tET3e6tn2r">pic.twitter.com/tET3e6tn2r</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1690974527411691521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While he acknowledges the attention the Blitz will have, the 19-year-old isn’t going to adjust his mindset with NBA teams watching.

“It’s super exciting but it’s not going to change the way I play. I’m always going to put everything out on the court and do the best I can for the team,” Olbrich told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Olbrich is coming off a standout NBL1 Central season with the West Adelaide Bearcats, where he made the All-Star Five after averaging 21.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Illawarra’s NBL Blitz campaign begins on September 18 against Melbourne United.

Click here for the full story: Blitz intel: Your guide to the young guns hitting NBL centre stage