Rhys Vague

Rhys Anthony Vague (born 17 January 1996) in an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). A Perth native, Vague made his State Basketball League (SBL) debut as a 17-year-old for the Cockburn Cougars in 2013. In 2014, he joined the Wildcats as a development player. In 2015, he was named the SBL's Most Improved Player as a member of the East Perth Eagles. In April 2018, he signed a full-time contract with the Wildcats.

Rhys Vague
Vague in March 2017
No. 25 – Perth Wildcats
PositionForward
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1996-01-17) 17 January 1996
Perth, Western Australia
NationalityAustralian
Listed height206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight104 kg (229 lb)
Career information
High schoolWilletton Senior
(Perth, Western Australia)
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2014Cockburn Cougars
2014BA Centre of Excellence
2014–presentPerth Wildcats
2015–2016East Perth Eagles
2017Stirling Senators
2018Dandenong Rangers
2019–presentNelson Giants
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Vague grew up in the Perth suburb of Kardinya.[1] He played his first game of basketball at the age of seven, starting at the Spearwood Hawks Junior Basketball Club before joining the Cockburn Cougars junior program.[2] He is also a product of the rich basketball program at Willetton Senior High School.[3][4] He barracked for the Perth Wildcats, idolised the players and dreamt of playing for the club.[4]

NBL, SBL and SEABL career

Cockburn Cougars (2013–2014)

Vague made his SBL debut for the Cockburn Cougars in 2013 at the age of 17.[5] He played two SBL games for Cockburn in 2013.[6] He continued on with the Cougars in 2014, averaging 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 games.[7] He also had a three-game stint with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in the SEABL midway through the year.[8]

Wildcats development player (2014–2018)
Vague with the Senators in March 2017
Vague with the Wildcats in December 2017

Following the 2014 SBL season, Vague began training with the Perth Wildcats during the NBL pre-season before earning selection as a development player.[9] He made his debut for the Wildcats on 24 October 2014 at Perth Arena. He received 45 seconds of action deep into the game against the Sydney Kings, a match the Wildcats won 84–63.[9] Vague was active for three more games during the 2014/15 season, but did not appear in any further action.[10]

In 2015, Vague joined the East Perth Eagles.[11] In 22 games for the Eagles in 2015, he averaged 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.[12] He was subsequently named the SBL's Most Improved Player.[13]

Vague re-joined the Eagles in 2016 after a championship-winning development player season with the Wildcats in 2015/16.[14] He appeared in all 26 games for the Eagles in 2016, averaging 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Vague did not appear in a game for the Wildcats in 2016/17, with the Wildcats claiming back-to-back championships. In 2017, Vague joined the Stirling Senators.[15] In 28 games for the Senators in 2017, he averaged 18.0 points, 8.29 rebounds and 3.18 assists per game.[16]

In 2017/18, Vague played in a career-high 13 games for the Wildcats, averaging 1.5 points per game.

Dandenong Rangers (2018)

Following the 2017/18 NBL season, Vague joined the Dandenong Rangers for the 2018 SEABL season.[17] In his debut for the Rangers on 14 April 2018, Vague recorded 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 107–97 win over the Sandringham Sabres.[18] On 1 June 2018, he recorded 20 points and 16 rebounds in an 80–64 win over the Mount Gambier Pioneers.[19] On 7 July 2018, he had his second-highest scoring outing of the season with 26 points against the Melbourne Tigers.[8] The Rangers missed the finals in 2018 with a ninth-place finish and a 10–10 record. In 19 games, Vague averaged 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.[8]

Perth Wildcats (2018–present)

On 19 April 2018, Vague signed a two-year deal with the Perth Wildcats, earning elevation to the team's full-time roster after four years as a development player.[5] On 17 January 2019, on his 23rd birthday, Vague made his first start of his career, recording 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes in a 97–84 loss to the Adelaide 36ers.[20][21] In March 2019, he was a member of the Wildcats' championship-winning team.[22]

Nelson Giants (2019–present)

On 5 March 2019, Vague signed with the Nelson Giants for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season.[23] In his debut for the Giants on 13 April 2019, Vague scored 21 points in a 93–78 season-opening win over the Taranaki Mountainairs.[24] On 7 June, he scored 26 points in a 102–81 win over the Super City Rangers.[25] He appeared in all 18 games for the Giants, averaging 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

On 7 February 2020, Vague re-signed with the Giants for the 2020 season.[26]

National team career

In December 2013, Vague won a silver medal with Australia at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Pacific Championships in New Zealand.[27][28]

In December 2014, Vague won a gold medal with the Australian Emus at the 2014 FIBA Oceania Under 19 Championships in Fiji.[29][30] In April 2015, he was named in a 16-man Australian Emus squad in the lead up to the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championships in Greece,[31] but ultimately missed out on the final squad.

In June 2017, Vague was named in the 12-man Emerging Boomers squad for the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taiwan. The team consisted of players under the age of 25 who were completing university studies.[32][33]

References
  1. O'Donoghue, Craig (20 April 2018). "WA product Vague signs two-year deal with Cats". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 April 2018. Vague grew up in Kardinya and spent four seasons with the Wildcats as a development player.
  2. Nico, Jessica (2 January 2019). "Hard work pays off for young Perth Wildcat Rhys Vague". CommunityNews.com.au. Cockburn Gazette. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. Pike, Chris (9 November 2018). "Vague Living Dream, Repaying 'Cats Faith". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Vague is yet another product of the rich basketball program at Willetton Senior High School and is another example of showing that there are more options to becoming a basketball professional even if you don't get into the college system.
  4. O'Donoghue, Craig (18 March 2019). "Nine thoughts on the Perth Wildcats ninth NBL title". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2019. Rhys Vague grew up in Kardinya and went to Willetton High School.
  5. "Rhys Vague earns full roster position". Wildcats.com.au. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – SBL 2013". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – SBL 2014". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  8. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – SEABL". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. "From Cougar to Wildcat in premiere performance". Fremantle Gazette. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2018. He began training with the Wildcats during the pre-season before earning selection as an official team development player.
  10. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – NBL". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. "SBL season preview – East Perth Eagles". SportsTG.com. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – SBL 2015". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  13. "2015 Award Winners". SportsTG.com. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  14. "Men's SBL Season Preview – East Perth Eagles". SportsTG.com. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  15. "Senators look to make noise despite tough preparation". SportsTG.com. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  16. "Player statistics for Rhys Vague – SBL 2017". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  17. "2018 SEASON PREVIEW: DANDENONG RANGERS". SEABL.com.au. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  18. "Rangers vs Sabres". SEABL.com.au. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  19. "Pioneers vs Rangers". SEABL.com.au. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  20. "36ers vs Wildcats". FIBALiveStats.com. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  21. "Vague learns from first start". Wildcats.com.au. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  22. O'Donoghue, Craig (18 March 2019). "Nine thoughts on the Perth Wildcats ninth NBL title". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  23. NZhoops (5 March 2019). "The Nelson Giants have signed Perth..." Twitter. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  24. "Giants vs Mountainairs". FIBALiveStats.com. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  25. "GIANTS GET THE JOB DONE AGAINST UNDERMANNED RANGERS". nznbl.basketball. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  26. "PLAYER SIGNINGS RAMPING UP AS VAGUE REJOINS GIANTS". nznbl.basketball. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  27. "AUSTRALIAN TEAMS FOR FIBA OCEANIA PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS". Basketball.net.au. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  28. "WA JUNIORS WIN MEDALS AT PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS". BasketballWA.asn.au. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  29. "AIRBNB AUSTRALIAN EMUS TEAM NAMED". Basketball.net.au. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  30. Uluc, Olgun (7 December 2014). "FIBA Oceania U19 Championships – Recap + A look at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  31. "Rhys Vague selected to U/19 Australian Squad". SportsTG.com. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  32. "EMERGING BOOMERS TEAM NAMED FOR 2017 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES". Basketball.net.au. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  33. "SEABL WELL REPRESENTED IN EMERGING BOOMERS TEAM". SEABL.com.au. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
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