Samson James Froling (born 10 February 2000) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). Froling played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Creighton Bluejays for one season before leaving to play basketball in Australia professionally.

College career

In January 2018, Froling committed to play

for the Creighton Bluejays after receiving offers from programs including

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. In 30 games for Creighton during the 2018–19 season, Froling averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes a game. On 1 April 2019, Froling announced he would be leaving Creighton to pursue professional opportunities in Australia.

Professional career

On the same day as announcing he had left Creighton, Froling was listed on the roster for the Dandenong Rangers of the Australian semi-professional league

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

. In 16 games for the Rangers during the league's inaugural 2019 season, Froling averaged 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. On 6 May 2019, Froling signed a three-year deal with the

of the NBL. His remaining contract with Illawarra was voided when the club was liquidated on 18 May 2020. On 22 July 2020, Froling re-signed with the Hawks on a new two-year deal. He re-signed to a new three-year deal on 25 February 2022. On 22 February 2023, Froling signed with the

Levanga Hokkaido Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The club was founded in 2006 as ''Rera Kamuy Hokkaido'', this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenou ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Creighton , 30 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .576 , , .250 , , .385 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.6

Personal life

Froling was born in

Townsville, Queensland Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, to Shane and Jenny Froling as the youngest of four siblings. His father played in the NBL for twenty years, while his mother was a four-time champion in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

(WNBL). His sisters, Alicia and Keely, have played together in the WNBL, while his brother,

Harry Froling Harrison Michael Froling (born 20 April 1998) is an Australian professional basketball player. He had a two-year college career in the United States playing for the SMU Mustangs (2016–17) and the Marquette Golden Eagles (2017–18). In 2018, he ...

, plays in the NBL for the Brisbane Bullets.

References

External links

NBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froling, Sam 2000 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Australian men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Creighton Bluejays men's basketball players Illawarra Hawks players Levanga Hokkaido players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Townsville Sportsmen from Queensland