Centre of Excellence athletes Jacob Furphy, Luke Fennell, Emmett Adair, Emilija Dakic, Jade Crook and Roor Akhuar were acknowledged in Canberra on Thursday as they move to the next stage of their career.
Alongside the CoE cohort, the final graduating NBA Global Academy class were celebrated and addressed by Technical Director, Marty Clarke.
It was a bittersweet occasion for coaches & staff alike as the athlete’s progress to a new chapter.
David Herbert, former Head Coach of the Women’s program acknowledged talented duo Dakic & Crook via video message.
“The leadership, the ability to work hard, the work ethic has been outstanding and the daily training environment went to a new level this year and it’s partly due to these two,” said Herbert.
Dakic has been at the CoE for the past two seasons and been a consistent leader through camps and the COE team in the NBL1 East. In 2025, Dakic is averaging 9.90 points, 4.90 assists and 5.00 rebounds per game and provided an aggressive spark.
The Victorian guard has already represented Australia twice at junior national level, winning gold in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup as well as participating in the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup. She will make her third appearance at the upcoming FIBA U19 World Cup in Czechia.
“The first time I saw Emilija was doing a yo-yo test, and she not only beat all the ladies on the court, but also the men and proceeded to win the test,” added Herbert.
“That showed your character in one moment. To see you develop now on the court, the confidence you bring and the leadership you bring is phenomenal.”
6 '3 Albury product Jade Crook has impressed over her years at the CoE and for Australia as versatile centre / forward.
She’s been a part of four gold medals campaigns from five tournaments at the junior national level. She first featured at 2022 FIBA U15 Women’s Oceania Championship followed by the U16 Asia Cup (2023), U17 Oceania Cup (2023), U17 World Cup (2024) and was named in the All-Star five for the Sapphires 2024 Asia Cup championship campaign.
“The effort Jade Crook provides every day will hold her in good stead for the rest of her life. Both of them have been incredible, the way they apply themselves to all facets of the program,”
“With Jade heading to Colorado and Emilija with Florida and I have no doubt they will be successful in whatever they pursue,” added Herbert.
From the CoE men, Jacob Furphy, Emmett Adair, Roor Akhuar and Luke Fennell were acknowledged.
Head Coach Robbie McKinlay spoke to the character and energy the graduates provided in their time in the program.
“When JAF (Furphy) started at the CoE, he accepted a scholarship on the Sunday, was in Canberra on Tuesday. That Wednesday morning, I was in the office early and JAF and Emmett were already on the floor shooting,” said McKinlay.
“I took a photo and sent it to their parents and said, ‘these two are going to be fine in this program’. They’ve carried that same intent into their career and it’s been impressive.”
Tasmanian Jacob Furphy has been a standout during his time at the CoE, leading the NBL1 men’s and representing Australia through every level since joining the program in 2023.
His junior national team career includes two campaigns with the U17 Crocs in 2022, claiming gold at the FIBA U16 Asia Championships before being selected as a bottom-ager in the FIBA U17 World Cup.
Furphy’s development continued with a Crocs gold medal in the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship and added another gold to his trophy cabinet with the U18 Emus at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup.
The maturity of the 6’5 guard is evident with reps at the senior level with the Boomers FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and Trans-Tasman Throwdown in 2025.
Like Furphy, Emmett Adair has showcased some serious talent through his CoE development and was rewarded with a Boomers debut in the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Traralgon.
Across the junior years, Adair clocked two gold medal winning campaigns for Australia with the Crocs and Emus. In the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship, Adair averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Backing this up a year later, Adair averaged 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to be named in the All-Star five and claim the tournament MVP award in the 2024 FIBA U18 Asia Cup.
Roor Akhuar showcased strength on the court and through adversity in his time at the CoE. Akhuar burst onto the junior national scene at the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2024 and showed incredible potential in the green in gold before a broken leg sidelined him through 2024 – 2025.
“Roor, one the happiest guys I know and one of the toughest guys I know. What Roor has gone through in the last 12 months is unique,” McKinlay added.
“His dedication to rehab is a true testament to him as a young man and he should be immensely proud of himself.”
Akhuar currently averages 8.88 points and 4.88 rebounds per game through this stage of the NBL1 East season, providing depth for the CoE off the bench.
Victorian born Luke Fennell has developed with the CoE for the past three years, whilst spending time in between as a development player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the NBL.
At the junior representative level, Fennell won gold across multiple tournaments including the U18 FIBA Asia Cup (2024), Albert Schweitzer Tournament (2024) as well as a U20 National Championship for Victoria.
“Luke (Fennell) was acknowledged last year prior to shifting to SEM Phoenix, but the leadership he’s shown to come back and support the group, particularly with three graduates in guiding this program in the right direction.”
“It's been a pleasure coaching these guys and we look forward to watching their success in the future.”
Fennell will suit up again for the green and gold for the U19 Emus in the FIBA U19 Basketball Men’s World Cup in Lausanne this June.
The four will set themselves for the NCAA in Season 25/26 with commitments to schools across the USA.
Furphy has committed to the highly successful University of Connecticut program and Adair will head to Loyola University in Chicago as a three-star prospect.
Luke Fennell will join Syracuse University and Akhuar to Fordham in New York.
From the NBA Global Academy cohort, Australian and international players bid their farewell as the final group to run through the program.
This included Australian junior national players Mading Kuany, and Nash Walker as well as Western Australian giant Jongkuch Mach who will transfer to the CoE program for the upcoming semester.
