ONE OF the most exciting young players in the country made his debut in the NBL1 South Men’s over the weekend, with Dash Daniels suiting up for the Sandringham Sabres in their 19-point win over the Ballarat Miners.

The younger brother of NBA star Dyson, Daniels has already signed on as an NBL Next Star as a member of Melbourne United next season, and is arguably a more balanced prospect than his brother was at the same age.

With the Sabres getting the big win, Daniels was immense in the result, coming off the bench to play a key role and show just how developed his offensive game is at 17 years of age, already looking a much more dangerous than his stint with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence last year.

Although the Miners were competitive in the opening frame, the Sabres took over the contest as the game rolled on, and dominated the second half en route to a big win in what was quite an upset as it was Sandringham’s third win of the season, while Ballarat has been strong this season, sitting inside the top eight in the standings.

Sandringham Sabres (106) def. Ballarat Miners (87)

Dash Daniels – 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal

In just 23 minutes of court time, Daniels made a significant impact in his highly anticipated debut match, showing that he will have no troubles playing at both NBL1 and NBL level in the coming months.

Daniels was injected into the game midway through the opening term, and looked comfortable playing for his new side, finding Tom Koppens on the perimeter, with the latter knocking down the triple to cut Ballarat’s lead down to just two.

Daniels’ first score came in the form of a free throw, after driving into the paint and drawing contact in a clear showing of his intent with ball in hand, looking much more aggressive on the drive than his campaign with the CoE.

As Daniels is still quite raw as a prospect, there were some sloppy turnovers that crept into his game early, looking slightly too eager and giving up possession, but these errors went out of his game as the match rolled on.

He made his mark from behind the arc with his first triple of the game in the second quarter, already showing confidence in his ability to pull up from long range early in the shot clock, and ability to do so will be crucial in the eyes of NBA scouts.

The third quarter saw Daniels truly begin to assert himself on the offensive end of the floor, as highlighted by two and-one plays, including a rare four-point play where he nailed the three-pointer despite the contact and converted at the charity stripe in an exciting display of his talents and composure.

Whether it was nailing standing triples or taking the defence off the dribble and driving inside, Daniels was simply exciting whenever he got the ball, and something seemed to come from his plays more often than not. He was truly showcasing his ability to score at all three levels and how far he has come on that side of the ball.

His final make of the game came in the fourth quarter, nailing the catch-and-shoot triple to extend Sandringham’s lead out to double-digits, and having played such a crucial role in getting the Sabres out in front in the third frame, headed to the bench for the final minutes to close out a tremendous debut.

He finished the contest with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, shooting 6/15 from the field and an impressive 4/6 from behind the arc, with the third quarter in particular showcasing his potential on the offensive end of the floor.