FROM training with him at the Perth Wildcats and playing with him in the SBL with the East Perth Eagles, Drew Williamson never doubted that Tom Jervis could achieve the success that he has over the past 12 months and he thinks Kyle Armour can follow a similar path.

Williamson played 190 matches in the NBL between the Townsville Crocodiles, Sydney Spirit and then the Perth Wildcats where he didn’t miss a game in three years and was a key member of the championship winning team in 2010.

He has now been playing with the East Perth Eagles in the SBL for the past four seasons and that run culminated in him leading the team to their historic first ever championship with a grand final victory over the Geraldton Buccaneers.

All of that experience means that the 30-year-old is in a good position to judge talent and after always feeling like Jervis would be able to become a strong NBL player if given the opportunity, he sees similar potential in point guard Armour.

Williamson has now seen point guard Armour up close in recent seasons in the SBL as well and has no question that he could be a standout player in the NBL if given the opportunity.

Williamson rates the 25-year-old Armour as the best point guard not currently in the NBL.

And after he averaged 20.6 points, 5.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals this SBL season with the Eagles while shooting 47.1 per cent from the field, 43.2 from three-point territory and 78.9 from the foul line, it's hard to argue.

"I would say that Kyle is the best point guard not playing in the NBL in Australia," Williamson said.

"His situation is exactly like what Tommy's was. If he gets the opportunity I think his ability is there and he just needs to be given the chance to then grab it with both hands."

Williamson saw the abilities that Jervis had while he was a training player looking for an opportunity with the Wildcats and also by playing with him in the SBL with the Eagles.

In the end, the centre got his chance last NBL season with the Wildcats and he delivered with outstanding performances to not only become the league's Rookie of the Year but also be a key part in Perth's championship victory.

That didn’t surprise Williamson in the slightest and now after playing in an SBL championship with him as well at East Perth, he only expects the big man to carry on the momentum his career now has.

"I'm not surprised about the rewards that Tommy has got this year. All he needed was a chance, a foot in the door and luckily enough the Wildcats gave him that last season and he had the ability to play a lot of minutes with Matty Knight getting injured," Williamson said.

"All he needed was a chance and he got that, and all credit to him for taking that with both hands. I've played with him now with East Perth for four years and when he did train with us at the Wildcats, you could always see that there was something special about him."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin