“I found basketball to be the most team orientated on and off the court. You can build great relationships with your teammates more so than football, and I just think that basketball has a completely different feel to it than other sports, a kind of swagger.”

Originally from Shepparton, the aspiring guard has had a stellar rookie season, averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and almost three assists.

But possibly the most impressive aspect of Bartlett’s game this year has been his consistency, a characteristic sometimes thought to be missing in developing players. Only once in 12 games has he failed to score at least twelve points.

This reliability is the result of an important lesson learnt from Coach Russ Parker.

“Russ taught me that when things are not going my way, that I need to find something else. When I am not shooting well I need to turn to assists and rebounds and defence, because there are many aspects to the game that contribute to the team, and it is just a matter of trying to focus on the ones you do best for the team.”

His game two weeks ago against Dandenong capped off his season to date, scoring 25 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

Bartlett’s input has helped turned around a side that had only 5 wins last year, as the Braves have matched that mark already this season. But you also get the feeling the guard isn’t satisfied simply adding to the team’s success.

“At the start of the season my goal was to help my D-League team to win more games than they did last year, so it looks like I was a positive to the team. In the future I would like to play more time in SEABL and prove that I can play in this league.”