The Sydney Kings lost front court pair Keli Leaupepe and Jason Spurgin before NBL26 started and all Brian Goorjian heard was they needed an import, instead they plucked Hunter Goodrick out of the NBL1 East and he is thriving.

The Kings did think they'd put together a well balanced roster including a front court headed up by Tim Soares and Xavier Cooks and backed up by Leaupepe, Kouat Noi and Spurgin.

Then suddenly Leaupepe and Spurgin were gone with long-term injuries and the Kings were left scrambling, but they looked right into their own backyard to Goodrick who was fresh off a strong NBL1 East season with the Norths Bears.

His numbers were good at 17.2 points and 11.5 rebounds, but not necessarily earth shattering on the back of a season in Slovakia following his college career at California Baptist University.

However, he ticked all the boxes of a big the Kings could use who would be physical, rebound, set screens and do all the hustle things needed and now, 16 games later he's a key part of the rotation.

That was emphasised in Sunday's win against Melbourne United with Noi injuring an elbow with Goodrick playing almost 14 minutes for six points and 10 rebounds as he looks back on never giving up on his NBL dream at age 25.

"For sure, I definitely thought it was possible and if I didn’t think that I probably wouldn’t be here now," Goodrick said.

"If you asked me like five months ago if I would be here I wouldn’t really be sure and I got the opportunity, and I think it was just about making the most of that.

"The main thing for me is to just keep it simple and don't overthink it. Everyone at this level is still human and my main thing is not backing down to anyone no matter how big or big their name is, and whatever happens, happens."

From the moment Goodrick walked into the Kings organisation, legendary coach Goorjian has shown nothing but full confidence in him. That's helped him know that he can just go out there and do what he does best with the full backing of everyone.

"Obviously he gave me that confidence from the moment I came in here and all of the boys knew where I stood when I came in, but I was never treated that away," Goodrick said.

"Everyone was really welcoming; they gave me confidence that I could play at this level so it's not like it's just started recently.

"Since I've gotten here I've felt super welcome by everyone and that makes my job easy just to come in and have fun, and it's pretty simple but I love doing it and I know these guys appreciate it."

Not only has Goodrick thrived with having the backing of Goorjian as coach, but also working hand in hand with former NBL MVP when he was with the Kings, and No. 1 NBA draft pick and championship winner, Andrew Bogut.

Goodrick couldn’t help but be starstruck at first, but now he is getting better every day with the help of Bogut.

"He's been huge and honestly sometimes I pinch myself that I'm talking to him and it's actually Andrew Bogut, but the first day I came in he knew my name and that shocked me a little bit," Goodrick said.

"But he has so much time for me and I can ask him a question, and he won't just give a short answer, he'll go into detail and really give me advice that I haven’t really had before.

"I just try and soak it up from him and every day learn as much as I can from probably the best big man ever from Australia."

All season long, Goorjian has been nothing but full of praise of what Goodrick has provided and why he offers just what the Kings need to not need to go out and sign someone with a higher profile to fill his role.

Ultimately he just loves the fact that the Kings have given a local product the chance to live out his dream in the NBL, and to see him grabbing that opportunity.

"I think he's a great story because we lost the two bigs before the season started and everybody was talking about getting another import, but I have a staff with Bogut, Shaun (Roger) and Billy (Tomlinson) that are really connected and smart," Goorjian said.

"There was an opportunity there for some of the young ones on the bench and we needed to find somebody here. Everyone's talking about this one, that one or the other one, and I had never heard of Goody.

"He wasn’t an All-Star in the NBL1 even though obviously he was a good player there, but we brought him to practice and all the things that we're talking about with the grit, the toughness and the communication he had.

"Now he was a player to come in and if somebody got hurt, you've got some back up.

"He's then moved from that to a rotation player that's very important for us so I love these kind of stories with an NBL1 player throwing punches, and making his way and finding his way into the league in a franchise like ours.

"That's a big step so the guys on the team believe in him and he's a really important piece in this."

Chris Pike

Goodrick proves local can be best for Kings