AJ Ogilvy is thriving under coach Shane Heal at the Sydney Kings despite often being double-teamed. Source: Philip Hillyard / News Limited
IT'S cost him financially but AJ Ogilvy's decision to sacrifice dollars to improve his game under King's coach Shane Heal is paying off big time as he goes from strength to strength in his first season in the NBL.
Heal knows if Ogilvy was still playing in Europe he could be making four or five times the $150,000 he's making at the Kings.
The coach's prediction Ogilvy would become the best big man in the League is starting to come to fruition with a series of dominant performances.
He leads the NBL in rebounds (10.2 per game), blocked shots (18 for season) is fifth in scoring (18.5 per game) with a free throw percentage of 85 per cent placing him fifth in the league.
Not surprisingly it's also helped the Kings into third position on the NBL ladder.
"Each week I've taken a stride in the right direction hopefully I can keep working towards where I know I can be as a play and where I've been previously," Ogilvy said.
"It will take a little time but with Shane's help I'm working towards becoming the player he knows I can be and help the team to be successful."
After an outstanding college career at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Ogilvy played in Turkey, Spain and Germany but was seeing increasingly less time on the court.
"It damages your ego a bit," Ogilvy said.
"I'd think I could be out there doing this and out there doing that and we'd be playing better.
"It drove me a bit crazy not being able to do what I was being paid to do. I needed a change."
Ogilvy was smart enough to realise the damage staying in Europe was doing to his game and Heal was clever enough to recognise the opportunity for both parties.
"He's a great guy and is committed to become a great player," Heal said.
"I take my hat off to him and his management. Sometimes when you take a step back financially to make an investment in his future it's a good thing.
"He hadn't played for a couple of years, he was in Turkey, Germany and Spain he was sitting at the end of the bench
"It affects you a lot because you don't get to compete as much and you slowly lose confidence."
The move to the Kings has worked well for both parties but it hasn't been an instant fix as Ogilvy struggled with the extra attention of opposition teams who were double teaming him.
"At the start he struggled because he hadn't seen it," Heal said.
"He was coming up against defenders who were taking him out of the game."
But the hard work and the commitment are paying off for Ogilvy and the Kings who host the Townsville Crocodiles at the Entertainment Centre on Friday night.
"It was a big financial sacrifice to come back here but I knew it would help my career," Ogilvy said.
"Shane and I discussed at length about how I would take the step to get back to a big club in Europe which is where I want to be.
"Somebody of Shane's play in calibre is always going to help you become a better basketballer."
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