Tom Vodanovich

Thomas James Vodanovich (born 28 July 1994)[1] is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball in the United States for the James Madison Dukes between 2013 and 2017 before having a two-year stint with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He joined the Sydney Kings in 2021 and won an NBL championship in 2022. In 2020, he was named the New Zealand NBL MVP playing for the Manawatu Jets.

Tom Vodanovich
No. 32 – Converge FiberXers
PositionPower forward
LeaguePBA
Personal information
Born (1994-07-28) 28 July 1994
Wellington, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height201 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight104 kg (229 lb)
Career information
High schoolSt Patrick's College
(Wellington, New Zealand)
CollegeJames Madison (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012Wellington Saints
2018–2019Southland Sharks
2018–2020New Zealand Breakers
2020Manawatu Jets
2020BBC Telstar Hesper
2021–2022Sydney Kings
2021Auckland Huskies
2022–2023Wellington Saints
2022–2023New Zealand Breakers
2023–presentConverge FiberXers
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Vodanovich was born in Wellington and attended St Patrick's College.[2][3] In 2012, he made his debut in the New Zealand NBL when he played 37 seconds for the Wellington Saints against the Southland Sharks on 22 March.[4]

In January 2013, Vodanovich moved to the United States to attend prep school at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.[5] He played for the basketball programme through to the spring break[5] and averaged 18.5 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game.[3]

College career

In April 2013, Vodanovich committed to attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.[6]

As a freshman with the Dukes in 2013–14, Vodanovich averaged 21.1 minutes per game to go with 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. He recorded two games of scoring in double-figures and four games of eight or more rebounds. He became the first freshman to lead JMU in points in a season opener since 2008 with 11 against Virginia.[3]

As a sophomore in 2014–15, Vodanovich played 29 games with 21 starts and averaged 22.8 minutes per game to go with 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds. He reached double-digit scoring five times and grabbed at least six rebounds eight times. He scored a career-high 18 points in win over Drexel on 18 February 2015.[3]

As a junior in 2015–16, Vodanovich started all 31 games he appeared in and averaged career highs of 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game.[7] He scored a season-high 17 points against UNCW on 13 February 2016.[3]

As a senior in 2016–17, Vodanovich played 29 games with 18 starts and averaged 6.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.4 minutes per game.[7] He recorded a career-high 13 rebounds in a win against Longwood on 3 December 2016.[3] He went on to match his career high for points with 18 in a loss against Western Michigan a week later.[3]

Vodanovich graduated from James Madison with a degree in Sports and Recreation Management.[8]

Professional career

In December 2017, Vodanovich signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2018 New Zealand NBL season.[9] He helped the Sharks reach the NBL final, where they defeated the Wellington Saints 98–96 to win the championship.[10] In 20 games, he averaged 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.[4]

In August 2018, Vodanovich joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player for the 2018–19 NBL season.[11][12] He made one appearance for the Breakers during the season.[13]

Vodanovich returned to the Sharks in 2019[14] and averaged 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, including recording 23 points and seven rebounds in the Sharks' semi-final loss to the Saints.[15]

In July 2019, Vodanovich signed a one-year deal with the Breakers to join the full-time squad for the 2019–20 NBL season.[15][16] He appeared in 23 games and averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 assists per game.[13]

Vodanovich was initially set to re-join the Sharks in 2020,[17] but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the planned 2020 season was initially suspended and then modified into a small-scale, quick-fire format. As a result, the Sharks declined to enter the rejigged competition.[18] Vodanovich was subsequently acquired by the Manawatu Jets[19] and went on to claim the New Zealand NBL Most Valuable Player Award as well as All-Star Five honours.[20] He then went on to lead the Jets to the NBL final,[21][22] where they lost 79–77 to the Otago Nuggets despite Vodanovich's game-high 24 points.[23][24] In 16 games, he averaged 22.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.[25]

On 18 September 2020, Vodanovich signed with BBC Telstar Hesper of the Total League in Luxembourg.[26] He appeared in three games for Telstar[13] before their season was cut short due to COVID-19.[27]

On 2 January 2021, Vodanovich signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL as an injury replacement for Xavier Cooks.[27] In 36 games during the 2020–21 season, he averaged 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.[13] He then joined the Auckland Huskies for the 2021 New Zealand NBL season.[28][29]

On 27 June 2021, Vodanovich re-signed with the Kings for the 2021–22 NBL season.[30] He helped the Kings win the NBL championship[31] and then joined the Wellington Saints for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.[32][33]

On 29 May 2022, Vodanovich signed a two-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, returning to the franchise for a second stint.[34][35] He helped the Breakers reach the grand final series in 2022–23.[36] Following the NBL season, he had a one-game stint with Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)[37][38] and then re-joined the Wellington Saints for the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.[39]

On 21 June 2023, Vodanovich was released from his contract by the Breakers.[40]

Vodanovich re-joined the Converge FiberXers as the team's import for the 2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[41]

National team career

In 2012, Vodanovich played for the Junior Tall Blacks at the FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship and the Albert Schweitzer Tournament.[1][42] He made his debut for the Tall Blacks in 2018.[43]

Personal life

Vodanovich and his partner Jade have a daughter.[35]

References
  1. "Thomas James Vodanovich". fiba.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015.
  2. "Tom Vodanovich". sharksbasketball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  3. "Tom Vodanovich". jmusports.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  4. "Player statistics for Tom Vodanovich". NZNBL. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  5. Barton, Tim (21 November 2012). "Vodanovich preps for US scholarship". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  6. "Vodanovich off to college". Basketball.org.nz. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015.
  7. "Tom Vodanovich College Stats". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  8. Perry, James (6 December 2018). "Tom Vodanovich enjoying his basketball ride". teaomaori.news. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  9. "Southland Sharks sign another player for 2018 National Basketball League campaign". Stuff.co.nz. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  10. Anderson, Niall (5 August 2018). "Basketball: Southland Sharks beat Wellington Saints in superb final to win NBL title". nzherald.co.nz. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018.
  11. "NZ Breakers Confirm Development Players". NBL.com.au. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  12. "BREAKERS CONFIRM DEVELOPMENT PLAYERS FOR UPCOMING ANBL SEASON". laceylowdown.com. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  13. "Tom Vodanovich". RealGM.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021.
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  15. "Tom Vodanovich's Life-Changing Birthday Gift from Dillon Boucher". nzbreakers.basketball. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  16. "Breakers Sign Scotty Hopson, Change Coaching Structure". NBL.com.au. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020. As a signal to the Breakers commitment to developing New Zealand talent, Shamir has also presented a contract to Tall Blacks and Southland Sharks Power Forward Tom Vodanovich who celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday.
  17. "Tom Vodanovich re-signs with Southland Sharks for 2020 season". Stuff.co.nz. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
  18. "2020 Update - Sharks confirm NBL plans". sharksbasketball.co.nz. 16 May 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020.
  19. Egan, Brendon (11 June 2020). "Otago Nuggets select Jordan Ngatai first in NBL Showdown draft". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020.
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  26. "BBC Telstar Hesper is happy to welcome Tom Vodanovich and Christian Williams". bbctelstar-hesper.lu. 18 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020.
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  28. "Auckland Huskies Sign 2020 NBL's Most Valuable Player". aucklandhuskies.co.nz. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020.
  29. Hinton, Marc (17 December 2020). "Auckland Huskies win the race to sign 2020 NBL Showdown MVP Tom Vodanovich". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020.
  30. "Tom Vodanovich Re-Signs with Sydney". NBL.com.au. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  31. "Kings Win First Championship in 17 Years with Record Crowd". NBL.com.au. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
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  35. Hinton, Marc (29 May 2022). "Coming home: Tall Blacks forward Tom Vodanovich signs 2-year deal with NZ Breakers". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022.
  36. Woods, Dan (28 February 2023). "Vodanovich on the Verge of NBL History". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023.
  37. Sayson, Homer D. (16 March 2023). "Tall Black Tom Vodanovich arriving to replace Franklin as Converge import". Spin.ph. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  38. Ventura, Sid (19 March 2023). "Vic Manuel well and truly back as San Miguel Beermen see off Converge FiberXers in PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals". espn.com.au. Retrieved 19 March 2023. Vodanovich was impressive in his lone PBA game, showing offensive versatility and range with six 3-point shots.
  39. "Tom Vodanovich Re-Signs for 2023". saints.co.nz. 26 January 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
  40. "Vodanovich Released From Breakers Contract". NBL.com.au. 21 June 2023. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
  41. "New faces out to steal thunder from Brownlee, RHJ". PBA.ph. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
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