Head stuck in the clouds, Harry Froling appears right in his element, tossing balls up with young onlookers in an impromptu pick-up game in the Brisbane Street mall.
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Standing 212cms tall, the NBA prospect was looking forward to another visit to Launceston for good reason.
Froling had made a cameo appearance earlier this year under the Silverdome roof for the Southern Huskies.
But the gun Adelaide 36ers centre was quick to joke it was Tasmania's fresh air that prompted an eager return.
"I heard it was the cleanest air in the world," Froling said, "but I don't know how true that is, so I wanted to check."
Last time Froling had appeared at the Silverdome, he blew out a few cobwebs after months out of the game.
Arriving back from the US to first pitch his case to a number of clubs for the NBA draft, Froling shot a cool 21 points and 10 rebounds.
This time a NBL Blitz preseason clash has greater relevance than the New Zealand NBL regular season game.
"Preseason games are all about getting better and blow the cobwebs more so and it will be good to get out there again and play in the Silverdome," Froling said.
"It should be a really good atmosphere, hopefully, and a good crowd to get it done."
Froling wants to assess this future playing options, but is committed to the Adelaide 36ers for his second season.
The South Australian side were 2016-17 minor premiers before bowing out in the semi-finals and reached the grand final series before losing to Melbourne United 3-2.
But Froling said the roster is still hurting after missing the top four last season.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
"You can never write the 36ers off, so hopefully we can put it altogether," he said.
"I think we're looking pretty good in the preseason.
"We have a few things to fix, but we'll work on it."
But in a state of shock from a last-second tip-in loss from Cairns Taipans behemoth Nate Jawai at Ulverstone is in stark contrast to Saturday's opponents Brisbane Bullets.
A crushing 49-point win over the NBL All-Stars has Will Magnay confident the Bullets are looking sharp.
The club is only back in its fourth season after a nine-year hiatus from the NBL.
"We finally have our full team for once," Magnay said.
"The Boomers boys are now back, we have our head coach back, so we want to find this continuity with the whole squad and see how we match up against a real NBL team like Adelaide."
The 208cm Magnay on his first visit to Tasmania since a childhood athletics carnival said the Silverdome showdown was important for the season's preparation.
The Bullets made the playoffs last season after successive wooden spoons in their opening two seasons back.
"The closer to the NBL season, your competitiveness picks up a little bit," he said.
"You realise how close it really is to the season tip-off.
"They're preseason games, but we want to get the most out of it. You are trying to look for a win, but at the end of the day you're just trying to build better as a team.
The Taipans play the NBL All-Stars in the early game.
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Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
