Ayre to the throne: JackJumper set for Boomers debut

The incredible journey and rise of Ben Ayre will reach new heights this week, with the electric guard set to make his Australian Boomers debut.

Starting his career at Nunawading, Ayre went on to play US college hoops at Skagit Valley College and Newman University, before returning to Australia and signing a development player contract deal with Adelaide.

After making just two appearances for the 36ers during the NBL20 season, Ayre took his talents overseas once again, this time to Lithuania's BC Mažeikiai, where he averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

With no other NBL offers on the table, Ayre accepted a training player position with Cairns for the 2021-22 season.

After recovering from a knee injury, Ayre was elevated to the Taipans' roster for the first time on April 1, 2022.

Then in just his sixth appearance for Adam Forde's side, Ayre scored a team-high 20 points to go with 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 triples in a 92–80 loss to Melbourne United, becoming just the third player that season to produce that stat line, along with Bryce Cotton and Jaylen Adams (who won MVP that season).

After playing eight games that season for the Snakes, Ayre signed a two-year deal with the club (second year team option), leading to him making 27 appearances during the NBL23 campaign.

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A two-year stint with South East Melbourne (who he played 46 games for) followed before penning a deal with Tasmania ahead of the NBL26 campaign.

This strong play saw Basketball Australia confirm on Wednesday that the JackJumper will be elevated from training squad member to Dean Vickerman's 12-man team that will take on New Zealand in Hobart on Thursday night.

One who knows about the dedication of the 29-year-old, who has also played professional in New Zealand (Wellington) and Germany (Baskets Oldenburg), is Tasmania coach Scott Roth.

"A quick story about him [Ayre], where a few weeks ago he heard he was on the Boomers list and he basically shook his head like I'll never make that team," Roth said in a recent post-game press conference.

"But I said, "It's a heck of an honour. Just keep working ... about two weeks later, I get a phone call at night and he told me he had made the team. I said, 'you're damn right'."

Ayre, who will replace South East Melbourne's Owen Foxwell (managed) in the team, credited his rise to the environments he's been a part of.

"It's a great honour to be recognised and make a leap in my career," Ayre said.

"I just really like playing basketball and am very grateful to be around a lot of great players and learn from everyone. Being at Cairns and South East and now Tasmania, I think my development is just a testament to the people I've been around.

"I've made a big leap here [in Tasmania] I think off the court with the coaching staff mainly just being in my ear every day and just teaching me stuff I haven't really learned before. It's just a testament to the people I've been around and I'm just really proud and happy."

Thursday's FIBA World Cup Qualifier with New Zealand tips off at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.

The Boomers team, which includes nine NBL players, will then travel to Wellington for a second game with the Tall Blacks on December 1.