Bulla Basketball Memories: Justin Schueller

Thanks to Bulla Family Dairy we are taking a look back at some of our players’ and coaches’ early days of basketball.

Melbourne United assistant coach Justin Schueller was just like any other kid growing up in Australia, trying a wide range of sports before eventually settling on basketball.

It was at an early age where the influence of his mother set him on the path which would see him quickly rise up the coaching ranks in Australian basketball.

Schueller says he learnt plenty about the sport from his mum, who was his first junior coach.

“As a kid, I tried to play every sport around,” he said.

“My mum was playing basketball at the time and that was probably my first interaction with the sport.”

“From there I kept going with it, she was my coach as a junior and that was definitely my first thought.”

“I have her to thank for showing me the game and teaching me the game.”

Justin Schueller

Like many at a younger age, Schueller had ambitions to become a player, but he vividly remembers the time where he was told in no uncertain terms that his future in the sport would be more fruitful as a coach.

While admitting it was a tough conversation to have at the time, with the benefit of hindsight Schueller said it was what he had to hear at the time.

“I was always hoping to be a player,” he said.

“I remember getting injured while playing senior basketball and jumped onto the bench with my team to sort of help out and my coach at the time was Graham Kubank, an ex-NBL guy, who said to me that I would be a better coach than a player.”

“I took offence to it at the time, but he was 100 per cent right. That was the time which really got me heading into the coaching direction, when I realised that it was my best chance of staying in the game for as long as possible.”

After coaching in Tasmania, Schueller signed up with Basketball Victoria as a high-performance coach, mentoring some of the state’s most talented players.

Schueller said the role was an enjoyable time in his life, crediting it as the main pathway which eventually saw him join Melbourne United as an assistant.

“It was awesome,” he said.

“They approached me a couple of times to come across before I finally said yes because I just wanted to finish what I was doing in Tassie before I came across, but the timing was great.”

“We had so many great young athletes to work with and then also some great up and coming coaches as well, so it was a really enjoyable time.”

“And that was how I ended up working hand-in-hand with Melbourne United and signing on as an Assistant Coach, actually came about.”

Justin Schueller (middle), Head Coach of the North Adelaide Rockets after winning a Championship

With Melbourne United in the midst of an extended off-season, Schueller has been hard at work alongside the rest of the team, as the club puts in the hard yards in preparation for NBL21.

The NBL has today confirmed the 2020-21 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season will start in mid-January, with the initial schedule to be announced by December 3. Now is the time to secure your Melbourne United membership and Stand With Us!