Wildcats great Paul Rogers is loving life but missing professional basketball in the quiet town of Denmark

After a professional sporting career spanning almost two decades, some athletes would be ready to try something completely different. But Australian basketball great Paul Rogers still lives and breathes the sport that has given him so much since he was a lanky teenager all those years ago. The truth is he misses the hustle and bustle of high-level competition. Rogers has lived in Denmark since 2010, and with his wife Rennae they are raising a young family surrounded by things they love. Basketball has always been Rogers’ passion and now, more than a decade on from his retirement from professional sport, the 213cm colossus is still finding ways to stay on the court. A physical education teacher at Denmark Senior High School, Rogers heads up a special basketball program at the school. He also finds time to coach several basketball teams in Denmark and Albany and he plans to start a private coaching business this year. Meanwhile, his own children Layla, 15, Indy, 13, Lachy, 11, and Kendall, 8, are beginning their basketball journey. “Basketball was a huge part of my life and it’s one that I really miss if I’m honest,” Rogers said. “When you are doing it, you never consider that it is going to come to an end and then when it does there is a big hole in your life that you have to try to fill. “I feel like I’m really lucky that I’ve been able to transition into another cool job and I’m able stay in touch with basketball through my coaching, but I still miss the days of being in the locker room and getting to test yourself physically every day. “Two of my kids play basketball pretty seriously, they play for Raiders and one is involved in the State performance program. “Lachy is only 11 and he is quite big and I think he’s pretty talented, but they’re all playing it because they love it and it’s fun that’s the main thing at this stage.” Rogers said he had always felt Denmark was a basketball town since he visited his former teammate Luc Longley. “I came here for the first time with Luc Longley in 1999 before the Olympics. He brought me down for a bit of a holiday and I’ve never wanted to leave since,” he said. “I’m loving life here and we’ve got lots of fantastic basketball players here. “I’m part of a basketball program that has been running since 2000, it’s not just about producing really good basketball players, it has a lot of really positive outcomes for kids and it’s a great program and I’m indebted to the two guys that set it up and started it. “I’m also starting a private coaching business this year. “I feel like there is a bit of a space there for kids to really work hard on their fundamental skills and their shooting. “I’ve got a shooting machine coming from America that is pretty state of the art. It will be the first one down in the Great Southern region and available to anyone that wants to use it to improve their game. “That’s probably where I really see myself in the future, trying to hone and work on individual kids to get them to be the best they can.” Rogers was named in the Perth Wildcats 40th anniversary team earlier in February, due recognition for a stellar career with one of Australia’s most successful sporting franchises. The star-studded anniversary team, comprising a starting five and reserve five, was chosen by a 10-person selection panel of Australian basketball greats as the Wildcats celebrated their 40-year anniversary. Wildcats star Bryce Cotton was named in the starting five alongside club legends Ricky Grace, Shawn Redhage, Andrew Vlahov and James Crawford. Captain Damian Martin was part of the reserve five alongside Kevin Lisch, Scott Fisher, Nick Kay and Rogers, while Trever Gleeson was named coach. A towering centre that had two stints with the club, Rogers built an impressive basketball CV during his time in Perth, winning National Basketball League championships in 2000 and 2010. In the triumphant 2000 season, he was named both the NBL and Wildcats most valuable player. Rogers captained the club for three seasons and felt honoured by his selection alongside Wildcats legends. “It’s an awesome club and the fact the Wildcats have won 10 championships is just amazing,” he said. “Since I’ve been there, (there’s) a real culture of winning and that’s been driven by guys like Mike Ellis, Ricky Grace and Andrew Vlahov. “Just that lineage of winning and the fact we’ve been to the finals every year for 30 plus years is testament to that culture that is there. “When I came I really loved it, it felt like a family club to me. “I think it’s changed a little in the last few years and it’s become a lot more big business, but that’s just the evolution of the club and that’s where we had to go. “We’ve gone from half filling or three-quarter filling the Challenge Stadium to getting this 15,000 seat arena that is nearly full every game.” Rogers made his NBL debut for the Adelaide 36s in 1992 and then moved to the US for college basketball before he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1997. He played with the Lakers in the summer league, alongside late NBA champion Kobe Bryant, but never featured in an NBA match. The powerful centre had stints playing in Spain and and was part of the Australian Boomers gold medal winning team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He was also part of the Boomers team that lost the bronze medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Rogers was twice named in the All-NBL first team before retiring in 2010. “I feel like I’m the luckiest person ever,” he said. “I didn’t really know what I was going to do when I was leaving school and to have the experiences that I’ve had, being able to play all over the world and live in other countries, go to the Olympics and Commonwealth Games and world championships, it’s just mind blowing when I look back. “The great thing is almost none of the kids at school know that I even played. Lots say ‘did you use to play basketball?’ and that’s funny and kind of cool that it’s in the past but then something like this award comes up and makes you feel special for five minutes.” Rogers stays in touch with lots of former teammates but said he doesn’t make it to many Wildcats games. “When it’s on TV, me and my son like to watch it,” he said. “I’m also on the panel that selects the season MVP, the Gordon-Ellis Medal and I’ve been on that for a few years so four or five times a season I have to vote on the game so that keeps me involved. “I’m not the best spectator to be fair, I get grumpy and jealous and I really miss it and I wish it was me out there. “So I’ve got to try and live vicariously through my kids.” Rogers said it was amazing to watch young Australian players like Josh Giddy dominating in the NBA. He described Australia’s bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics as a breakthrough moment in the history of the sport. “We punch well above our weight as a nation in basketball, we always have, and we just have to continue that,” Rogers said. “The bronze medal is a wicked little thing for our sport in this country and hopefully it boosts everyone on to bigger and better things. “I came very close to one, we came fourth and it’s something you never get over, so that was a huge relief and a great feeling afterwards. “I was talking to Andrew Gaze on the phone after watching him (on the TV coverage) and he said ‘you’re a big part of this, enjoy being a Boomer today’. That was pretty cool.”