Sharpshooting college King inks deal with Sydney

The Sydney Kings have secured the services of another Australian collegiate star for NBL25, and have inked Portland’s Tyler Robertson to a three-year deal, with the final season containing a club option.

Melbourne-born Robertson has spent the past five seasons representing the University of Portland in Division I of the NCAA, and averaged a career-high 16.9 points per game in his final season with the program.

He played high school basketball alongside fellow Kings signing Keli Leaupepe under Brian Goorjian’s brother, Kevin, and was labelled by Derek Rucker as an archetypal wing signing for the legendary coach.

Robertson has labelled the chance to play under Goorjian as a key reason for his signing with the Kings.

"The opportunity to play for Goorj, who is obviously the national team coach, is an amazing opportunity and one I couldn't pass up," Robertson said.

"Further to that, already having a connection and familiarity to the Goorjian family, along with the success Brian has had wherever he's coached, it just felt like that right for this stage of my career.

"After having a few conversations with Goorj and wanting to impact wherever I went right away, I just felt his system - which suit the way I like to play - was right.

"I'm excited to work alongside him and the rest of the club in helping them get back to where they should be and that's the top of the NBL summit."

Goorjian says the addition of Robertson to Sydney's roster will add another element of versatility to the squad.

"Tyler is a multi-purpose player, who we think is only just starting to scratch the surface of his huge potential," Goorjian said.

"He's multi-skilled and due to his height, can play numerous positions on the court - not only can he create but he can score in a variety of ways which is a great asset to have.

"He gives us a different look than other guys do on this team and as he's already 23 years old, we feel like he can come in and have an impact on winning straight away.

"We're very excited to have him and I have no doubt he can be a great player in this league for a long time."