Denver, Colo.- Former Metropolitan State University of Denver men's basketball players Mitch McCarron and Nick Kay have taken their talents from college in Denver back to their homeland of Australia to play professionally for the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). These two former teammates and very good friends, have switched things up and are now on opposite sides of the court.
McCarron, a guard for the Cairns Taipans and Kay, a forward for the Illawarra Hawks, have been facing each other in the NBL for the past year. However, the two have teamed up again but this time on a much larger court than the Auraria Events Center.
Both McCarron and Kay were selected to the All-Australia Team which traveled to China and played a three-game series against team China. The games took place Beijing, Guangdong and Jilin from July 5 through July 9 in which the Aussie team went 1-2.
However, this is not the end of the McCarron, Kay era, as they both also were selected to the 20-man Australian Boomers selection camp for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. This camp will help determine the 12-man squad that will represent Australia in Lebanon for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup later this summer. So we might not have seen the last of this duo.
Since these two are such good friends on and off the court, we decided to ask them some questions about basketball, the pros, life after MSU Denver and of course, each other.
What is it like playing against your friend and former teammate?
Kay: I thoroughly enjoy playing against Mitch. There is an uplifting feeling of enjoyment in playing a friend where you are able to talk some smack, see how the other guy has improved and catch up after the game. The real enjoyment of it however is in the competitiveness of it, a big thing learned at Metro. Going into battle with the chance to get bragging rights. Every switch, every rebound, every steal gives you the opportunity to get one up on each other and doing it to give your team the chance to win makes it all the better. Once the game is over and we are off the court we are back to being mates. The success of the other player is acknowledged and the friendship resumes where it left off, just with a few digs from the winning guy.
McCarron: It's been fun to be honest. He's obviously had a great start to his career, and I'm happy to see him doing well. We usually end up smiling or laughing after bumping into each other on the floor, I think it will always be that way.
Likewise, this summer you both have been able to play together again, what has that been like?
Kay: To have the chance to play on the same team again was a lot of fun. When you train and play on the same team for so long the chemistry on the court is tough to forget and when we went over to China and played together it felt like we had never stopped. It was good to have Mitch on the same team again, although it didn't take long for him to start stealing my rebounds again.
McCarron: It was good to play together again, China is always an interesting experience. Hopefully we end up teammates again one day!
Basketball has taken you many places in the world, what is your favorite place to play?
Kay: My favorite place to play is still Denver. My four years over there was tough but so rewarding. Having the altitude was always a huge advantage to have. I've enjoyed being back in Australia and playing but Metro is an experience I will never have again.
McCarron: It's hard to say, everywhere is so different. The singing crowds in Spain was something you typically only find in Europe, but I also love hearing a fired up crowd in Cairns.
If you weren't playing basketball, what would you be doing? What do you think the other would be doing?
Kay: I would be in the health field, most likely a chiropractor. It's tough to think what Mitch would be doing if he wasn't playing basketball. I think he'd be involved with sport in marketing now but I wouldn't be surprised if he coached either.
McCarron: I have no idea! I've always really been into video games, but I could also see myself trying to climb the ranks of the sales industry. I always thought Nick was going to be a chiropractor, but he apparently dipped on that. The way he was lifting after senior year with Will Sinclair, I assumed they were going for part-time bouncer positions. Could be something to keep an eye out for.
Tell us the funniest story about Mitch/Nick from MSU Denver?
Kay: First time Mitch drove in the States was one of the funniest things I've been a part of. Driving on the opposite side of the road in Australia, Mitch has a tenancy to hug the lines and make sure his side of the car was far from the dotted lines. This was not well received by other drivers on the freeway or me in the passenger seat. Although a little worried for my wellbeing, I was in full hysterics as he was flipped off and honked the whole way back to the regency from Metro. As he pulled up the gate, out of reach of the buzzer, he decided to step out and open the gate. However he forgot to put the car in park and as he step out of the car it began to roll forward. His solution to this was to keep his foot on the break as he stepped out of the proceeded to open the gate only to perform what can been recognized as a perfect arabesque. Flustered he forget he was in America as he drove into the regency on the wrong side of the road and proceeded to wave the oncoming driver to the wrong side to pass him.
McCarron: I don't know if it's the funniest, but it's funny to me. Nick loved to throw-up during conditioning, couldn't get enough of it. I'll give him credit though, he always came back to the line for the next sprint. Its freshman year and we've had a few nasty Wednesday mornings (the worst day during pre-season). Nick runs over for his first spew of the day and Coach yells out "get off that trash can!" Nick's just echoing throughout the gym while we all wait for the next sprint, while coach is trying to convince him he doesn't actually need to throw up each time we finish a sprint. This turned into a weekly one-way conversation, it got to be pretty funny by the time we finished pre-season. I'd never seen a guy who was as fit and sick at the same time, I was kind of impressed.
Who is the better driver?
Kay: As suggested above, ME!
McCarron: I've only played golf once or twice, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt…
Who is better at pick-up lines?
Kay: Mitch would have the better pick-up lines.
McCarron: I think he has a good website or something, he always had them ready to fire. I tried to copy him but I couldn't nail the delivery. Definitely send him a message if you're looking for some snipers.
What would be your scouting report when playing against Nick as a player?
Kay: Be there on the catch and take away the easy opportunities. Keep him off the offensive boards. Definitely more than that but that's a basic and shorthanded version.
McCarron: Loves a shot fake, loves a right hand hook. Don't say out loud that you're daring him to shoot 3's because he decides to go ahead and shoot 100% for the game regardless of his percentage before the game.
How did Nick answer to this question: "What video game can you beat Mitch at?"
McCarron: He probably said Sudoku. If he said anything else I would go back through all of his answers today and make sure he wasn't lying in those too.
What video game can you beat Mitch at?
Kay: There is a huge list but the one that will annoy him the most is Mario Kart.
Kay and McCarron will face off in the first game of the 2017-18 NBL season on Friday, October 6 in Cairns, Australia.
