Finding consistency: Anthony Drmic

The NBL1 for Anthony Drmic is about building consistency in his life on and off the court.

Drmic returned to the Adelaide 36ers after having a fantastic season with the NBL1 North season with the Northside Wizards, leading them to the second round against the Gold Coast Rollers. This NBL offseason he is set to stay in South Australia to play with NBL1 Central West Adelaide Bearcats for the 2023 NBL1 season. 

“The seasons I’ve played best in the NBL are the years I’ve spent time in the NBL1,” Drmic said coming off a career season. 

“Just getting my confidence, refining my skills and getting that consistency before heading into the NBL season.

“I feel like the last couple of times that I haven't played NBL1, whether it's due to just personal reasons or injury, I haven't been able to come in and have as good an impact in the NBL.

“[The NBL1] is different for everyone, the younger guys want to get after it a bit more, add size, add strength and add stuff to their game. Whereas I feel like I'm at a point now where I just really want to just get my consistency at a high level,” Drmic said.

“I really just want to roll into the next NBL season healthy, fit and shooting the ball at a good clip.” 

Drmic and his partner Jenna have a one-year-old son who has settled in Adelaide, Drmic says being able to play in Adelaide in a high-level conference was extremely impactful on his decision to continue playing NBL1.

“For me, it was just being able to stay where I am. I feel like in some of the other NBL1 Conferences you do travel a little bit more. With Central, you kind of have a home base and everything's real close. It was a huge part of me staying here,” he said. 

“My house actually backs onto a school and that's where we practice on Mondays. So it worked out perfectly for me, especially with having the one-year-old running around now.

“It's an easy transition.  I've got Dean (Head Coach Dean Nyberg) who I've played for before and who I loved playing for. It all just kind of fell into place.” 

Drmic’s signing to the Bearcats was a major move, but not long after that Boomer and NBL Champion Mitch McCarron also put pen to paper to create a brand-new dynamic duo in Central. 

“To be honest Macca (Mitch McCarron) recruited me last offseason (with Northside). As soon as Deano (Nyberg) messaged me I said ‘look, I might be able to get Macca on board’, so I ended up being his NBL1 Agent for this transaction,” Drmic said.

“I love playing with Macca, he does score a little bit more in the NBL1 but he's a pass-first point guard which, as a scorer, you love playing with. [He’s an] incredible dude and we get to spend the offseason playing a bit of old-school RuneScape, so that's a bonus as well.” 

While Drmic didn’t promise a championship, he was confident the Bearcats will make the finals next season

“We can go on a run. I'm confident obviously we're gonna make playoffs. And then we'll see what happens from there.”

The NBL1 Central tips off on March 25, see the full fixture here.