LC
Years ago
Melbourne sign Dan Trist
Dan Trist signed with Melbourne.
Melbourne United are pleased to announce the signing of Dan Trist to the line-up for the next two seasons.
At 206cm, the multi-talented forward returns to Australia after spending the past few years playing in Europe. A solid rebounder, Trist is highly skilled in the low block as well as being an efficient shooter from beyond the arc.
Most recently he's been playing in Spain with Ourense averaging 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.
Head Coach Dean Vickerman was pleased Trist had chosen Melbourne as his team to return home to.
"I remember him from his time in College where he had an outstanding career, he was also invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament where he had a terrific game there too" Vickerman said.
“I’d looked at him for a spot with New Zealand when he first came out of the College system, but he chose to start his professional career in Spain”
“I’ve continued to follow his progress every year, and now he’s ready to come home, whereas other years he hadn’t wanted to”.
“He’s a very mobile four/five who can certainly move positions, but has been playing the four a lot more than he did in College. He shoots the three-ball well but can also sprint the floor really well for a big-man too” Vickerman shared.
“There’s certainly a toughness about the way he plays the game, and a physicality that’s obviously important for us in that role”.
“He’s going to challenge for really solid minutes within our group” Vickerman said.
A College standout at Lafayette, Trist led his side to the Patriot League title, earning All-Conference First Team selection and being named to the All-Tournament team.
In 2015 he represented Australia at the World University Games in South Korea alongside fellow United guard Peter Hooley. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds across the eight games with the Emerging Boomers.
After spending his first few years pro playing abroad, Trist is looking forward to returning to Australia to make his NBL debut in Melbourne.
“I’m really excited to be returning to Australia and start my NBL career. It’s definitely something that I’ve wanted to do over the past few years,” Trist said.
“Playing in Europe gave me a great opportunity to grow and expand my game but returning to Australia is something I always wanted to do. I’ve just been waiting for the right opportunity and joining a reigning Championship team is pretty much the best situation you could hope for”.
“It’s a very mental game over there, you learn to read the game a lot and react to different styles of defence and offense, and it’s really just a great place to grow your game” he shared.
After returning from Spain last week, Trist will arrive into Melbourne in the coming weeks to suit up in the SEABL and commence his off-season preparations with the Club.
When asked what he hoped to bring to the reigning Champs this season, versatility was the answer.
“I’m a tough, smart player; I can shoot from outside and play in around the basket” Trist shared.
“I can do a lot of things, and plug the gaps that need to be plugged on the team, and I’m just going to continue to work hard and do what needs to be done”.
Dan Trist joins Chris Goulding, Peter Hooley, Craig Moller, Kyle Adnam and Tohi Smith-Milner as the teams contracted players for 2018-19.
- ENDS -
