Julian Khazzouh
| No. 14 – Sagesse | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center / Power forward |
| League | Lebanese Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
23 February 1986 Melbourne, Victoria |
| Nationality | Lebanese / Australian |
| Listed height | 209 cm (6 ft 10 in) |
| Listed weight | 109 kg (240 lb) |
| Career information | |
| Pro playing career | 2004–present |
| Career history | |
| 2004–2005 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
| 2006–2008 | West Sydney Razorbacks / Sydney Spirit |
| 2008–2009 | Hanzevast Capitals Groningen (Netherlands) |
| 2009–2010 | Ironi Ramat Gan (Israel) |
| 2010–2012 | Sydney Kings |
| 2012 | Asseco Prokom Gdynia (Poland) |
| 2012–present | Sagesse (Lebanon) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Julian Khazzouh (born 23 February 1986) is a Lebanese-Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for Sagesse of the Lebanese Basketball League.
Career
At age 18 Khazzouh was discovered by the NSW Institute of Sport and he went on to become a member of the Australian Schoolboys team in late 2003. He was signed as a development player by the NBL's West Sydney Razorbacks in 2004, playing his first game for the club in 2005, his only game for the 2004–05 season in which he played just one minute. From 2005–2007, Khazzouh played for the Parramatta Wildcats in the NSW Waratah League.
Khazzouh turned down an offer from Metro State College in Denver, Colorado to play professionally for the Razorbacks in 2006–07. In that season he finished second in the NBL Rookie of the Year voting behind Joe Ingles of the South Dragons.
The Razorbacks were renamed the Sydney Spirit for the 2008–09 NBL season but the change in name didn't bring a change in fortune for the club. Attendances at the State Sports Centre were poor with the game against the Cairns Taipans in Round 21 only drawing 920 fans. Khazzouh, along with Liam Rush (who left for Sweden), left the Spirit 13 games into the season, moving to Holland to play for Hanzevast Capitals Groningen in December 2008.
In 2009–10, Khazzouh played for Israeli Basketball Super League team Ironi Ramat Gan.
After having their licence revoked by the NBL in 2008, the Sydney Kings returned to the league for the 2010–11 season and one of their first signings was Julian Khazzouh. The Kings themselves would have a poor season, finishing last with an 8-20 record but Khazzouh would have a breakout season. He averaged 17.4 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the season and was rewarded with being named in the All-NBL first team. Despite playing for the last place NBL club in 2010–11, Khazzouh was a hot favourite for the NBL's MVP award though ultimately he would finish second in the voting behind Wollongong's Gary Ervin.
2011–12 was another successful season for Khazzouh. He won the NBL's Player of the Week award four times. The first in Round 1, followed by winning the award for rounds 3, 16 and 17.
In October 2012, Kazzouh joined Lebanese powerhouse Sagesse in the Lebanese Basketball League.[1]
NBA
Following the 2010-11 season, Khazzouh travelled to the United States for trials with NBA franchises, though it was expected by Kings general manager (and former coach) Bob Turner that he would return for the 2011–12 season.[2]
In December 2011, halfway through the 2011–12 NBL season, Khazzouh was invited to the Golden State Warriors NBA pre-season camp. After attending Warriors training sessions all week, Khazzouh played the last 1:24 of the Warriors first pre-season game and scored 2 points against the Sacramento Kings in a 107-96 win.[3] Khazzouh was one of four players waived by the Warriors on 18 December 2011.[4]
Khazzouh joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2012 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.[5]
Australian national team
Khazzouh was a squad member of the Australian national team in 2009.[6]
References
External list
- Profile at Eurobaket.com