IN a team that is chock full of young talent, James O’Donnell stood out for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (BA CoE) with a huge double-double in the loss to the Central Coast Crusaders on the weekend.

In Round 5 of the National Basketball League (NBL)1 East Men’s, the CoE faced off against the Crusaders at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium on Friday night.

The CoE were looking to get themselves on a winning streak after sustaining consecutive losses over the past few weeks, while Central Coast was craving consistency after typically following wins with a loss.

Although the first half was dominated by the Crusaders, the CoE side fought back in the third term, reducing the margin from 14 points to five at the final change. However, they could not do any more damage to the deficit and ended up falling 85-80.

Despite not getting the result he wanted for his team, O’Donnell caught the eye with some monster numbers for the CoE.

Central Coast Crusaders (85) def. BA CoE (80)

James O’Donnell – 24 points, 20 rebounds, one assist

One of the most exciting forwards in the country, O’Donnell showed the potential that has plenty of recruiters excited as he develops in the NBL1.

Combining well with fellow young gun Luke Fennell on the offensive end, the big man was productive with ball in hand, posting an equal team-high 24 points, proving a formidable force inside the paint and playing a key role in the third-quarter turnaround.

From the field, he was efficient when shooting the ball, with nine makes on 13 attempts. He did most of his work close to the basket, although he has a handy mid-range mechanic that frees up up a bit further back.

His points total could have been even bigger, shooting just 6/9 from the charity stripe, but was still offensively impressive regardless.

There was no one that controlled the skies better than O’Donnell, who pulled down a whopping 24 boards against the Crusaders.

Of the CoE’s 54 rebounds, the athletic forward was responsible for 20 of them, including eight on the offensive end late in the game to keep producing scoring opportunities when his side trailed.

His sheer strength and size were too much for Central Coast’s bigs, who conceded plenty of possessions to the youngster.

O’Donnell has some serious potential in Australian basketball, and put it all together with an outstanding showing in the ANZAC Round.