Even with Ben Simmons departing after one year in college (and firing off recriminations against the NCAA in his wake), the Oz-to-US hoops’ pipeline continues to gush. Aussies dot big schools (such as Kentucky's Isaac Humphries, above) and small, and have even come to define entire programs such as St Mary’s in California. American coaches everywhere laud the team-first ethos of Australian basketballers.

Among the many services he rendered for Aussie hoops, Andrew Gaze was a pioneer in the collegiate space. His lone season at Seton Hall in New Jersey in 1988-89, playing for future NBA coach PJ Carlesimo, brought an unprecedented spotlight to NCAA basketball in Australia.

“It was different for me. I was something unique over there, because they weren’t accustomed to international players,” Gaze says. “Now we’ve got over 200-something [Australians] between the men and the women at the various ranks.”

Gaze had hoped to play a second season at Seton Hall, but the team’s success – they made a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament final – brought scrutiny to the mature-aged foreign star (Gaze was about to turn 23) who had dabbled in the semi-professional NBL. The NCAA is notorious for its arcane rules, and Gaze decided not to pursue an appeal for another year.

“The silly part about the whole thing is, hand on heart, I was going over there because I wanted to play for PJ and have a basketball experience, but the no.1 reason I went there is because I was struggling to finish my degree,” he says.

“It was legitimately a chance for me to go over there – and in the time it was summer here – get two semesters of education. The basketball was important, but if it was not for the academics, I would never have gone. I was comfortable – I was playing for Australia and fulfilling my dreams.”

In light of Simmons’ gripes about college basketball, which were the main point of a recent TV documentary about him, Gaze’s situation seems almost quaint. College basketball has been a useful way station for Aussies on their way to NBA, as Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut or Luc Longley would attest. But in the case of Simmons, or Dante Exum, who passed on a chance to go to college, there’s a new reality at play.

Simmons may have been a poor messenger – his complaint came off sounding self-interested more than anything else – but there was a fair point to be made. If promising basketballers don’t want to go to college, they shouldn’t have to. Former AIS coach Ian Stacker, who helped develop many of the best young Aussies in the US, made a strong case for a more diverse pathway.

While our kids head over straight over there, we've witnessed a curious case of the pipline in reverse. Top American prospect Terrance Ferguson, a likely NBA first-round pick next year, bypassed college to come to play in the NBL for Adelaide. If he finds success, could more follow?