Where's the first place outside of the US that coaches are looking at for college ready talent?

It's fair to say that the most reliable place outside of the United States of America to find eligible, ready-to-contribute talent for Division I college basketball is the Australian Institute of Sport(AIS) in Canberra. Evidently the Aussie rules for playing in the USA are working.

In his first year stateside, Vanderbilt's Andrew Ogilvy is second on his team and the SEC in scoring, averaging 19.5 points a game. Head west and Saint Mary's is paced by the play of Aussie guard Patrick Mills who is averaging 15.5 points a game. Also, in the PAC 10, Washington State wouldn't be as competitive, if it weren't for the play of junior centre Aron Baynes’ play in the post. Finally, for the past three seasons, Baylor has relied on the talents of guard Aaron Bruce.

The common theme for all of these players is that they all went through Coach Martin Clarke's junior Olympic program at the AIS and enjoyed a smooth transition into US college basketball.

The AIS is now fully accredited by the NCAA, whose rules against foreign players are now crystal clear: Prior to playing at the Division 1 College level, if you receive any money, sign a contract or play on a team considered professional (i.e. has a pro’ on it), you're subject to a penalty even if you don't personally receive money.

The only other country that has anything similar to the AIS is France, which has the Paris based INSEP, where both Tony Parker and Ronny Turiaf played. Turiaf starred at Gonzaga, while Parker jumped straight to the NBA. However, Parker would have been eligible to play in college.

The AIS features a college atmosphere in a high school environment. The facilities are the best in Australia, with players housed and practising on campus. The players shoot five mornings a week before school and they return for an individual or small-group session at least once during the day around classes. A regular day concludes with a team session from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There is also time-management study skills, nutrition and injury management.

The Australians also train and compete internationally, which builds even more confidence in their game. Clarke said, "“Playing international competition against men is also a huge asset for the players' ability to adjust. So too is the fact they are already in a college dorm-like atmosphere, so there isn't a problem when they go to a U.S. college. They've already been away from home, so they don't have the normal freshman issues."

The pool for the Aussie talent is still relatively small in comparison to the USA, because basketball isn't the national sport. It has to get in line behind the "footies"(football, rugby and Australian Rules Football) as well as cricket and anything aquatic. However, there are currently 14 AIS graduates players on college scholarship in the United States.

Additionally. with Luc Longley and former number 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut, having progressed to the NBA, flying halfway across the world to get a ready-made player, who is amateur, eligible and has NBA potential, will be worth any coaches jet-lag fatigue.