Sunbury’s Courtenay Wragg is making the most of her opportunities in the basketball world.
The 17-year-old, who has represented Vic Metro on several occasions, is starting to make her name known around the biggest women’s basketball competition in Australia, the Women’s National Basketball League.
She is one of eight players picked for the Melbourne Boomers’ development squad for the upcoming WNBL season.
For Wragg, it still doesn’t seem real.
“My coach [at Bulleen Boomers] has pushed me to try out for a lot of sides with my junior basketball finishing at the end of this year,” she said.
“You need to get to know people and take any opportunity which comes.
“One day after junior training my coach said I should try out for the development squad, which was holding try-outs afterwards.
“I made the top 25 and then later got an email saying I’d made the squad.”
Being part of the squad means she’ll have the opportunity to train with the main side, which includes Australian players, with a small possibility of getting on the court in the WNBL season.
“Training starts in August and we train with the main squad,” Wragg said. “We’re waiting until the WNBA girls come back … it’ll be pretty cool to train with [Phoenix Mercury player] Tess Madgen.
“They’ll train three times a week and we’ll have at least two training sessions a week with them.
“In every home game, three of the development girls suit up and are part of the squad for the day.
“They have a full team so I doubt we’ll get on the court, although some of the older girls may get on the court late in one-sided games.”
The point guard has put hard yards to get to where she is now, after starting at Sunbury and moving to Bulleen Boomers in under-14.
“At the start [travelling from Sunbury to Bulleen] felt like forever,” she said.
“It was hard with school [she is in year 11 at Penleigh Grammar] and having two hours travel a day.”
Wragg has started thinking about what comes next with US college basketball, SEABL and Big V all options.
Presently she is playing for Bulleen Boomers in Big V state championship.
“I’d like to play SEABL,” she said. “[US] college is an option [after finishing school] but if I can get chances from Boomers or other sides in Australia I’d rather stay here.
“If I get the opportunity to play WNBA, that would be amazing.
“But I’d need to make a team for Australia first to get noticed.”
