Willetton product Cameron Tovey has called time on his National Basketball League career but is yet to decide whether he will return to play for the Tigers in the State Basketball League.

Tovey announced his decision to retire on Thursday, citing persistent injuries as the major reason for hanging up the boots.

He remains committed to the Wildcats’ title push over the next month but will then turn his attention towards his career away from basketball as an accountant.

Tovey was a key member of Willetton’s 2010 SBL championship team, averaging 21 points a game and scoring 31 points in the grand final win over Lakeside.

He said he would need time to let his body recuperate after the current NBL season.

But at just 27 years of age, there is potential for the talented swingman to extend his career with the Tigers in the second-tier competition while working a full-time day job.

Tovey is yet to rule out a return to his roots.

“I haven’t really thought about that kind of stuff yet,” Tovey said.

“The body’s probably not in a great spot for anything at the moment but I’ll take some time off once we do what we have to do for this year and see where everything’s at.”

Tovey was originally recruited by the Wildcats in 2005 and moved to Sydney for two seasons, where he represented the Kings in the 2008 grand final.

He then spent two years with Townsville before moving back to Perth to re-join the Wildcats in 2010.

Tovey soon replaced Stephen Weigh in the starting line-up and was a key member of the team that reached the grand final last year before falling to New Zealand.

While he knows his time in the national league is nearly up, Tovey wants to end on a high with his first national championship ring.

“I would love to finish in that fashion,” Tovey said.

“That’s the next goal. I’m not done, I’ve got some games ahead and that’s our focus.”

Tovey has battled a host of injuries since returning to the Wildcats three years ago and succumbed to a hip complaint in January, missing six games.

In his 241 NBL games so far, including 107 with the Wildcats, Tovey has averaged 5.6 points per game at 42.6 per cent from the field.

He has also averaged 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 steals as a hard-working, if not flashy, member of his various teams.

Tovey said the decision to retire after eight years as a professional was a tough one, but he had become certain it was the right move over the past few days.

“Obviously the body has been an issue this year, and there is a lot of work required to get it back to a position where it can play at an elite level, and a lot of training required to get back to being a really good contributor,” Tovey said.

“This will take a lot of effort and a lot of time and I don’t think I have the drive or motivation to do that, and I think it’s the right time for me to move on.”

The Wildcats defeated Wollongong at Perth Arena in the opening game of a best-of-three series last night and are hot favourites to progress to their third grand final in four seasons.

Article by Shayne Hope
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)