"WHEN I can, I will dunk everything around the basket" - American Gregg Thondique says he will bring an athletic game to the Minerdome, with plenty of running the floor, rebounding and dunking when he gets the chance.
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He has the highlight reel to back this up.
Ballarat Miners confirmed on Tuesday that Thondique, the player they had been chasing, finally had the visa approval needed to bring him to Australia.
The GMHBA Miners are working to have Thondique in town and training with the team later this week before their South East Australian Basketball League season resumes on Saturday on the road against Bendigo.
It helps that Thondique has already played alongside Miners co-captain Roy Booker. They joined forces in Israel in 2011 and their team fell one game short of a championship match.
Booker was confident Thondique would gel quickly with the Miners - and be a popular player with MARS Minerdome fans.
"He plays hard, he's very athletic and he's a good person, too," Booker told The Courier.
"I think he'll be a good fit for the way we play and how everybody gets along.
"He speaks well. My teammates will like him.
"I wish we could have got him earlier."
*Watch Thondique's highlight reel below
The Miners have made an inconsistent start to the season but are one game out of the east conference top four. Booker said it was a blessing that they were still on the heels of fourth-ranked Dandenong just when they were bringing Thondique into the team.
Thondique is a replacement import for Kodi Augustus, who was cut from the Miners' roster in the mid-season break for failing to fulfil his club community-based duties.
Miners coach Eric Hayes liked the way Thondique played and what he could offer the team before he found out the American had played with Booker.
Thondique was on a short-list that Hayes could consider, having not long finished up a season with Angers in France.
"When we started looking for another player, he was the one I really liked. When I was told he had played with Roy, I though that's a nice thing if they work well together," Hayes said.
"...He suits the way we play. He gets up and down the court quite well, so he'll be quite handy for us."
Thondique, like Booker, has extensive international experience. His career includes stints in France, Belgium, Spain, Uruguay.
While this will be Thondique's first time playing in Australia, he has family living in Melbourne and was excited about the prospect of them watching him play.
Hayes will wait to assess Thondique and what the miners must do to work him into the team before confirming if the new import would play in Bendigo this week.
The Miners' resumed training last Thursday in their break.
