MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - I have to admit I completely missed it.

Over a decade ago when a close friend was involved with the Werribee Devils, working with Cecil Exum, there was greatness always nearby.

Without fail, Exum's son Dante would be present, ball attached to his arm, getting involved anyway he could or just entertaining himself playing the game he loves by himself.

He was such a happy-go-lucky young kid it was hard to imagine him as one of the planet's best basketballers.

In a lot of ways it still is. He doesn't appear to have an egotistical bone in his body, just a young man grateful and wide-eyed about the situation he's in - which of course is now the 5th pick in the NBA Draft and a future star of the Utah Jazz.

Card game
You have to give credit to Exum's support crew for the way they advised him through this process.

I'll never forget Dante's incredible display at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship - particularly against Spain in the Quarter-Finals - and the Exum camp gambled that NBA general managers wouldn't either.

He had offers to play in the NCAA, NBL and to workout against other potential draftees in the lead-up to today's draft.

I'm sure plenty of GMs wondered at some point what Exum was trying to hide, but he kept revealing enough to keep tantalising them with how special he is.

It was a tightrope to walk and they did it well. Let's hope Dante can now walk the walk where it really counts - at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and then his first NBA season.

I'm sure he'll take it all in his long and laid-back stride.

Big bad bustling Bairstow
Of course, Dante wasn't the only Aussie in the spotlight today, with Queensland's Cam Bairstow picked by the Chicago Bulls in the second round.

Cam's story is quite simply one of hard work, effort and want over natural talent. Not that the big fella isn't a skilled player, but there are plenty of 6ft 9in guys around the world with his talent level.

What most don't possess is his heart, something that became plainly obvious during last year's World University Games, where he started at centre for the undersized Aussies.

Together with the brilliant Jason Cadee, Bairstow spearheaded his team to the silver medal by consistently out-working much bigger and more credentialed opponents.

That performance gained him a spot at the FIBA Oceania Championship and he carried that through to a brilliant senior season at New Mexico.

While he didn't play much for the Boomers against New Zealand last year, he is almost a prototypical big for coach Andrej Lemanis' system - strong enough to guard bigger opponents and mobile enough to contain smaller players on switches and rotation.

Learn from Matt's Knightmare
I've said before that Bairstow's game reminds me so much of Matt Knight, one of the most underrated basketballers Australia has ever produced.

While Knight's unfortunate run with injuries has snuffed out a number of chances to wear the green and gold, it's probably fair to say he wasn't brought into the program as early as he could have been.

With the Boomers big man stocks ravaged heading into the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and Knight coming off a WCC All-First Team season, it would have been great to get him international experience then instead of picking more experienced but less talented players who rarely saw the court.

The story was the same the following year for the FIBA Oceania Championship, but that's easy for me to say with 20-20 hindsight.

So while I'm not criticising the selectors from those years, I am saying to the current coaches that now is the time to get Bairstow into the team, because he will be a glue player for the Boomers for years to come.

Wildcat tamed
Knight's great buddy Damian Martin made the big step of getting engaged last week, backing up from the Perth Wildcats NBL title in April and signing a new deal in May.

No doubt he hopes to make the squad for Spain 2014 and claim a medal to make this a year to remember for the 29-year-old who is arguably our country's most admired player.

I was walking through the hotel foyer at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey wearing an old Wildcats shirt when a familiar accent called out, "Nice t-shirt, mate."

From that Damo and I struck up a friendship and as much as he comes across as an all-around nice guy on the court and in public appearances, he really is, especially when it comes to night-time guided tours of Perth!

Just as importantly, his bride-to-be Brit - cousin of Brad Newley - is a quality person too, so heartfelt congratulations to Aussie basketball's new first couple!

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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