Basketball fans who haven't heard of Andrew Bogut must have been living under a rock for the past few years. The big Australian was selected with the first pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks after a stellar career at the University of Utah. 

Although not expected to deliver Milwaukee to the promised land immediately, as was expected by former number one picks such as Lebron James, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan to name but a few, Bogut has proven that with hard work and commitment (and even a generous genetic line which gave him his seven foot height), Australians can indeed make an impact in the world's premiere basketball league. In fact Bogut can claim the honour of being the only rookie to start in the 2006 playoffs.

On the flip side of that coin, however, sits Luke Schenscher. Another Australian big man, Schenscher took a different route to his virgin appearance in the NBA playoffs. Schenscher attended Georgia Tech for four seasons and was not drafted by an NBA team. He was selected as the number 11 pick in the NBA Development League (NBADL) draft in 2005 by the Fort Worth Flyers and named to the All-NBADL second team for 2005-06. 

It was on the back of this strong performance that Schenscher was picked up by the Chicago Bulls on a 10-day contract getting him some NBA court time and a chance to show scouts what he could do at the NBA level. Bulls head coach Scott Skiles liked what he saw. 

"Luke's legitimately over seven-feet tall,'' Skiles commented. "He's got good hands. He has some nice moves around the basket, a hook with either hand. He plays hard." 

Skiles was impressed enough to sign the big red-head up for the remainder of the season.

When late April rolled around and the regular season pretenders went on vacation, the two big Aussies were about to enjoy their first experience of playoff basketball in the NBA. Not since Luke Longley was loping up and down the pine next to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and company, have Australian basketball players reached this level.

Although both the Bucks and the Bulls were knocked out in the first round by perhaps the Eastern Conference's most powerful teams (Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat), the experience gained by Bogut and Schenscher is invaluable and caps solid first seasons for both players.

The history of the two talls has its contrasts and makes for a good comparison. It also shows young ball players that the NBA is a reachable goal no matter what your circumstances.

Bogut has indicated that it was his father Michael who was the big factor in driving his career to the levels he has now achieved and the levels he aspires to.

"He's worked hard all his life," said Bogut. "When I was 11, I would play pool against my father for ages. And I would get so (angry) if I lost I wouldn't talk to him and he would understand. That's my competitive nature. Whenever I would play anything I would get so mad."

Although there are naysayers who aren't wary of mentioning the fact that Bogut was cut from junior teams in Australia in his younger years, he used this as motivation and worked harder after those setbacks.

"It really made me work hard to be better than everybody else. I worked harder than any young player in Australia," said Bogut.

Eventually, the now 21 year old was offered a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) -- the breeding ground of Australia's best young players -- and was selected in the Australian junior men's team in 2003. Bogut helped this junior Aussie team win gold at the Junior World Championships in Greece in 2003 and then went on to further his career with the Utah Utes in the NCAA.

Bogut won every major NCAA award during his tenure as the Utes big man (including the coveted John R. Wooden Award for the college player of the year in 2005), and displayed some silky skills for a seven-footer with his sweet shooting and adept passing skills.

The 2004 Athens Olympics saw Bogut explode onto the world scene holding his head high competing against the world's best. In 2005, he declared himself eligible for the NBA draft and became only the second ever non-American to be picked first (Yao Ming from China was the first in 2002). Not even alleged eye problems as mentioned to the press by Utes coach could stop his charge to the NBA.

Bogut has already achieved moderate success in the NBA, averaging nine points and seven rebounds in being named to the 2006 All-Rookie first team. The hope amongst Australian basketball administrators is for this success to become greater and more widely acknowledged so Bogut can become one of Australia's new sporting icons.

It is inevitable that Bogut will be at the forefront of promoting basketball in Australia, a country saturated with other sports such as its four different football codes and summer sports like cricket and tennis. As Yao did in China, Bogut will become the new face for marketing the game in Australia. 

Schenscher, although now a minor contributor for the Bulls, did not always have the expectations of the Australian basketball community that Bogut received. The curly-locked, red-headed, seven-footer was the first high school player ever selected in the senior Australian national team and also led the AIS squad through 1999-2001. He was named the AIS junior athlete of the year in 2001 (the AIS is home to a myriad of sports -- not just basketball). Schenscher left the AIS shortly before the arrival of Bogut.

Schenscher was the final man cut from the Australian 2004 Olympic team, missing out to a veteran centre with a host of experience. This setback and, following his decent college stint at Georgia Tech, being left without an NBA contract after the 2005 draft allowed him to have pre-season stints with the Denver Nuggets and the Sacramento Kings. Although he didn't make enough of an impact to warrant a spot on the regular season squads for either team, Schenscher was finally exposed to NBA-caliber talent and knew he had the skills to make it onto a team's rotation.

Legendary Australian National Basketball League (NBL) coach Brian Goorjian, although being one of the selectors to cut Schenscher prior to the Olympics, is not shy of singing his praises -- even if it includes mentioning superstar centre Shaquille O'Neal.

"He's the sort of player who's probably more suited to the NBA, where he could end up guarding... Shaq or Yao Ming," Goorjian said of Schenscher. "He's a good passer, he's got nice touch and he's a very smart player."

The future of basketball in Australia is looking bright thanks to these two young Australians from very different backgrounds. With one already a household name in the USA, and undoubtedly worldwide given the appeal of the NBA, and the other taking the long road to the NBA, they could not be further apart. 

However, the fact that two of our homegrown talents are now showing kids that Aussies can make it in the best league in the world means the exposure of basketball is again on the rise in Australia. If Basketball Australia plays its cards right, they will use the success of Bogut and Schenscher to promote the sport and once again lift it to the status of a prime time spectator sport in Australia.