Sebit (Seb) Reath started playing basketball at 13 years old, as a way of spending time with his older brother, who he was attached-at-the-hip with throughout his childhood.
Little did he know, the decision to make the switch from his beloved soccer, opting to prioritise brotherhood, would lead him around the world with the career of his dreams.
The 23-year-old, originally from Sudan, grew up in Brisbane before moving to Perth and told the Mail that after an impressive stint playing college basketball in America, he had signed on as part of Mandurah Magic's NBL1 team in 2022.
"One of my close friends who has seen me play for a while reached out to me about Mandurah Magic and told me about the culture there, and that I would be a really good fit.
"They're a great bunch of guys, we have a good cohesion and environment."
Seb said he started taking basketball seriously when he was 16, getting into state basketball teams and taking spare time to train with his older and younger brothers.
"When I turned 18 I got a scholarship at Lee College in Houston, Texas. It was such a great experience, I learnt a lot there - it taught me more about the game."
Seb's signing makes him the third Reath to be playing NBL1 this year, with his older brother Duop signed with Illawara and his younger brother Chuatwech signed to Kalamunda.
"When we are all together we do everything together - we train together, go to the gym together.
"I love doing things together with them. We usually play in different places - when my older brother was in America, I was here - when I got to America he was in Europe."
It isn't just basketball that makes Seb tick - he is currently enrolled at UWA, where he studies engineering.
"I'm in my third year of an engineering degree, which is five years. Next year I will start my masters, which I'm planning to do online so I can pursue my basketball more."
Seb said it was easy for him to juggle study and sport, with American College preparing him well for the task.
"I feel like America helped a lot. Going to the States and being a student athlete teaches you how to balance everything - being a student playing at a pretty high level.
"I'm back to basketball fulltime and I'm planning to go as far as I can."
As for his season goals, Seb said he wanted to "make an impact".
"We're a group of guys who have the same goal - we are going to go out there and work, that's where it starts."
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
