Inspiring Talk: Brian Goorjian Ignites Passion in Sydney Kings’ Alex Toohey

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There was a moment earlier in the season where Brian Goorjian sat Alex Toohey down.

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He was going through a “bad patch”, as the Kings coach put it when speaking to foxsports.com.au, and Goorjian needed to find a way to get through to him.

“He got physically and mentally fried and I had a word to him,” Goorjian added.

Toohey had fallen into the same trap in his first season with the Kings and once again, he was letting his 3-point shot define his game.

When the shots were falling, Toohey was feeling good and the rest of his game was flowing because of it. But when they weren’t, as was the case in the period before Christmas last year, he wasn’t the same player.

“That was defining if I had a good game or a bad game,” Toohey told foxsports.com.au.

Toohey started the season on the right note, going 3-for-5 from deep in the win over Adelaide while adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

But from there he made just nine of his next 38 3-point attempts and in a 86-79 loss to Illawarra in mid-November, Toohey went 0-for-4 from downtown.

It prompted that sit-down with Goorjian where he told the 20-year-old that he was so much more than just a 3-and-D guy.

“That’s not who you are,” Goorjian told Toohey at the time.

“You’re more talented than that. There are so many other ways you can affect the game.”

Goorjian went on to play Toohey for around seven minutes in the next game against Cairns before he went back to his usual 25 minutes in one of several tight losses to Melbourne United this season.

What followed was what Toohey described as “my best stretch of the season” and it took just one quarter — and one play in particular — in that United game for Toohey to prove he was back.

It was the third quarter and Melbourne was in control, leading 72-60. But in the space of 30 seconds Toohey scored five quick points to get the Kings within seven and by the end of the period, it was a one-score game.

But what stands out to Goorjian from that game is one sequence where Toohey stole the ball from Chris Goulding and then scored over Rob Loe on the other end, staring him down.

Toohey then blocked Flynn Cameron on the next possession.

“He’s back,” Goorjian remembers thinking at the time.

For Toohey, who is polite and a PR dream off the court, the competitiveness has always been there. But the way he is showing it this season has changed.

“I’ve been a little bit more animated this year and get my teammates energised as well,” Toohey said.

“I think last year I was trying to have a big game face and not show too much emotion, but this year, just playing hard and showing how I’m feeling as well.

“I think that’s a big thing to fire myself up as well, to get myself going after a big play and celebrate a little bit.”

Former league MVP Xavier Cooks, who spoke to foxsports.com.au about his teammate’s rise before being handed a provisional suspension over a potential anti-doping violation, said Toohey’s personality on and off the court are “like two polar opposites”.

“Off the court he’s the nicest, bubbliest kid,” Cooks said.

“But on the court he’s a competitor and that’s what you want.”

Alex Toohey shows his emotions with Xavier Cooks. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Toohey said he feels like he is “a bit more comfortable” being his genuine self this season, which more than anything else seems to be a product of emerging as a bigger piece of the Kings’ plans under Goorjian.

“He’s not going to be a 3-and-D guy for where this is headed,” Goorjian said, and empowering Toohey in a larger role has been key to letting the 20-year-old embrace his emotions on the court.

“He’s coming out of his shell,” the Kings coach added.

“He gets a dunk and you see that — a high-five, he’ll chest X (Xavier Cooks) and that wasn’t there before. I think it’s part of the evolution (of Toohey) … that’s an area I really think he’s grown in.”

Wednesday night could be Toohey’s last game for the Kings, with the winner of the play-in qualifier against Adelaide progressing to take on the Phoenix and the loser eliminated.

But even if it could be the end of the road for Toohey in the NBL, it is just the beginning in what hopefully will be a long career in the NBA.

Alex Toohey poses after winning the Next Generation Award. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Toohey, who won this season’s Next Generation award and was mocked at 36th overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft, said of his time in the league.

“I came into this season more confident and understanding my role was going to be elevated. So I feel like that has been the case the whole season and naturally there’s ups and downs.

“But I feel like overall the trend has been positive about my development and my play in the team. Obviously there’s going to be those bad games and those good games, but overall I think it’s been a trend forward and I feel like my shooting has taken a jump, my finishing as well.

“I think overall my defensive game has elevated as well. So happy with the season and I think it’s progressing nicely.”