BASKETBALL
By TOM HAYES
LOCAL basketball product Jade Melbourne made a rare return to her hometown of Traralgon last week.
Melbourne, who is currently in between duties for her two professional clubs, made a short pit stop to the Latrobe Valley before leaving for Canberra to start the WNBL preseason.
“I’m only here sporadically, so like five days here, five days there. I text a few mates to catch up and that’s it,” she told the Express last week.
“It’s good to hang out with mum and dad, Sophie and Ava my two sisters, family time is so valuable just because I don’t see them much.”
She brought something special however for the trip home – her bronze medal from the Paris Olympics.
Melbourne mentioned that even when her family visited her in the US or France for the Olympic Games, she only got as much as a hug and a 10-minute chat after a game.
Especially at the Olympic Games, Melbourne said that it was much harder to see her family during the competition.
“When I was in Paris, I probably spent like five hours with them, max,” she said.
Speaking with the Express at the start of the year, Melbourne mentioned her goal was to play for Australia at the Olympics, stating: “representing my country is the pinnacle for me, there’s no higher honour”. Tick.
She still remembers the phone call she received while in Las Vegas from Australian women’s basketball coach Sandy Brondello letting her know she was going to the Olympics.
“That moment was so cool. I FaceTimed mum and dad and it was 2am over here, but I was hoping they were awake,” Melbourne said.
Speaking on her Olympic journey, Melbourne labelled it as “the best two weeks of my career”.
Australia was under the pump immediately, and Melbourne felt it, following their shock loss to Nigeria to start the tournament.
“The pressure of the tournament was extra crazy,” she said.
The following week, Melbourne and the Australians played the host nation, France in their second group game. Needing to win every game from here on out, the Opals faced an uphill battle in front of a 27,000-strong crowd.
“And 26 and a half thousand of them are going for France,” Melbourne added.
Making the knockouts, Melbourne believed anything was possible.
“Winning the quarter final was perfect, because you were playing for a medal regardless,” she said.
After losing to the eventual gold medal winning nation, the US, Australia defeated Belgium in the bronze medal match.
“The whole experience was surreal, a cool group of girls, we had so much experience in it, it was a lot of fun,” Melbourne said.
“Stressful two weeks, but also the most rewarding and fun.”
“I think just being in that environment, it’s literally like a year’s worth of learning in two weeks.”
Melbourne left Paris with a wealth of knowledge, as she headed back to the US to complete her second WNBA season.
Returning to Washington for the second half of the WNBA season, Melbourne already felt a shift in her game.
“I’d already felt learnings I had made at the Olympics translate to the second half of my WNBA season,” she said.
“I know exactly what I have to do over the next six months to become a better player in the WNBA.”
Speaking of, becoming a starter is Melbourne’s latest goal she wants to achieve, after completing her “highest honour” of representing Australia at the Olympics.
“I’d love it to (be at) Washington. I had a great year, how it happened was all abrupt and I didn’t think I was going to be a Washington Mystic… but it worked out being the best thing that could’ve happened in my career,” she said.
The Mystics are currently going through a rebuild, which has allowed Melbourne to play through her mistakes and learn from them, helping her ability to grow and develop.
“Who knows what could happen in the trade period. I know first-hand how it all works now. I hope I’m at Washington for a few more years, because I love the city,” she added.
Melbourne also has the FIBA Women’s World Cup in mind, which isn’t until 2026 in Germany.
One thing is for certain, Melbourne believes she deserves to be at the highest level.
“One thing I’ve learnt is that I belong in the league,” she said.
She questioned her ability throughout her first season with Seattle Storm, only playing minimal minutes, or sometimes none at all. But after a competitive season, she knows where she belongs.
“After this season, I can compete with these guys, I belong in this league, it’s also made me hungrier to potentially become a starter – that’s one of my goals,” she said.
Returning to the WNBL in the coming months, Melbourne will be a part of a new-look University of Canberra Capitals side.
The Capitals have made a plethora of changes ahead of the 2024/25 season, including multiple list changes and the return of head coach Paul Goriss.
“It’s going to be weird walking into a new team when you’ve been there for so long,” Melbourne said.
“It was perfect for me to go back there considering the big year I had, it was important to be somewhere I’m comfortable.”
The Capitals haven’t played finals in the last two seasons, and Melbourne hopes to get them there once again.
“I want to become a better three-point shooter, work on my reads out of the pick and roll – that’s something that Washington want, and that’s something that I can naturally do (in the WNBL) because I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot more,” Melbourne said of her individual attributes.
The 2024/25 WNBL season gets underway on Wednesday, October 30 when Geelong United take on Townsville Fire. Keep an eye out for Moe’s Jaz Shelley playing for Geelong.
The Capitals start their season days later, visiting Sydney Flames on Sunday, November 3.
Coming back to Australia as a student of the WNBA game, Melbourne transitions into a teacher of sorts when with the Capitals.
“It’s so weird. I still feel like I’m a young player and just getting started,” she said.
“It’s great for me to be a leader early days, last year I was co-captain, not sure what it’ll be like this year.
“The more we can share knowledge together the better, and there’s going to be things I want to learn of my teammates, and there’s going to be things that they want to pick my brain on just because I’ve been to the Olympics and the WNBA for two years and learnt so much,”
This upcoming season, she hopes to continue to be a mentor, with many of the girls on the roster hoping to find themselves on WNBA rosters, just like Melbourne did.
Melbourne left for Canberra last Thursday (October 3) to begin her WNBL preseason.