Rookie Report: New Taipan to bring the Reyne

• Reyne Smith will start his professional career in the NBL at the Cairns Taipans despite initially heading towards Europe
• Smith finished with the second most three-point makes in Louisville history with 107 triples, across 31 games
• He is part of a star-studded and revamped Cairns roster, headlined by Jack McVeigh

It was only a few weeks ago Cairns fans were lamenting a lack of offseason activity from the Taipans, but in one fell swoop, the Taipans roster has been completed, and we have a lot to digest.

While the flashiest signings came by way of their latest import recruits, an equally important addition was the signing of Australian guard, Reyne Smith.

Smith, 22, is a sniper. The Louisville graduate finished with the second most three point makes of a Cardinal in the history of the program, with 107 triples across 31 games. One of the most prolific shooters across the NCAA, his reputation thrust him into Adidas Eurocamp and NBA Summer League opportunities before and after his 2025 NBA Draft process.

If there were any major concerns around his ability to translate his play outside of college, both these environments should’ve been major proving points. In Italy, Smith went ballistic with a 28 point, 8-triple performance, and in Vegas his sole appearance netted 5-triples and 15 points overall.

Furthermore, we’re seeing Smith’s effectiveness for the Boomers right now through the Asia Cup - at 10 points per game through four games, Smith is in company with only Jack McVeigh and Jaylin Galloway as the team’s double digit scorers, in a group filled with some of the NBL’s strongest local talent.

As we dived deep on back in January, Smith’s statistical profile, performance with respect to conference, and the pure nature of his shot diet, indicate a strong potential to make a big impact in the NBL. While basketball.com.au can report there was interest from other NBL franchises, including his hometown Tasmania Jackjumpers and the Sydney Kings, a lack of aggressive recruitment led to Smith exploring offers throughout Europe before the Taipans pulled the trigger.

The Cairns Taipans small market recruiting position has continuously required them to lean on potential rather than proven production over their history, and while other teams may have had reservations around Smith’s versatility or positional size, the Taipans are enthusiastically banking on what Smith could be, as part of historically consistent recruiting trend for the program.

While import talent has generally been make or break for the club’s competitiveness season to season, what has moved the needle from good to great in their most successful teams over the last decade has been the emergence of upcoming local talent.

Over the last two seasons, that name was fellow Taswegian, Taran Armstrong. Despite being a highly regarded prospect, not many teams were willing to offer a starting point guard spot to a 21 year old, but Cairns could hand him the keys. Last season Armstrong was their offensive engine, averaging 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists. It was a platform that allowed Armstrong to receive an offer from the Golden State Warriors at the season’s end.

The same has applied to Bul Kuol, Keanu Pinder, Sam Mennenga, Sam Waardenburg and more over recent seasons. For one reason or another, these players were not deemed to be headline free agents directly out of college - for Kuol, he was a top scorer as a senior for Detroit Mercy, but playing in the lowly Horizon League left questions around his ability to play at higher levels. For Pinder, the opposite - at Arizona, his level of play was not in question, but his lack of opportunity through college left him a project, a thought reinforced by a poor rookie season with Adelaide.

Waardenburg and Mennenga were slightly more proven, and therefore slightly more lucrative signatures, but the underlying trend is simple - first year pros are less proven, and have less of a financial premium. They’re often the bang for buck play - when they pan out.

Smith’s addition to the team also fits extremely neatly into their current roster, too. Having the local foundation of Smith and Jack McVeigh, as well as Sam Waardenburg, established some exceptional spacing and scalable scoring power for the team to build around, flexible to find the best talent available for their import spots as opposed to any hyper-specific skill-set criteria.

Sometimes last season, an occasionally ball-dominant Rob Edwards could diminish Taran Armstrong’s shine, but Smith is highly proficient off the ball by comparison. With on-ball, attacking import Ashton Hagans signed at point guard position, Hagans will have the keys to initiate offence, and couldn’t ask for more generous driving lanes alongside Smith in the backcourt.

In the scheme of Cairns’ sudden spending habits and myriad of exciting additions, the gravity of Smith’s signature hasn’t had a ton of time to breathe in the minds of fans, but his addition to the roster is as important as any other on this new look Taipans squad. Whilst the team has been able to accumulate more talent than in any other recent season, it’s fantastic to see that the Taipans are still able to offer an emerging local talent a platform for immediate opportunity, and his projection as the team’s starting two-guard, as well as the fit alongside distributor Ashton Hagans in the backcourt, should provide a great setting for Smith to start his professional career.

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.