The latest census records 214 young Aussies on the list of NCAA basketball teams - and that is only at division 1 colleges.

In athletics the number stands at 130 and with more heading that way soon - once the pandemic travel story eases things up a little.

And there are at least nine Tasmanians amongst those two sports alone.

In women's basketball the list includes Aishah Anis, Taylor Mole and Olivia West while Tre Armstrong, Taran Armstrong and Reyne Smith feature on the men's rosters.

In athletics three rising distance talents Harvey Chilcott, Samuel Field and Ruby Smee are learning their trade on the college circuit.

First and foremost, it is of course a wonderful opportunity for these young athletes to access a double benefit - an all expenses paid university education and a high-quality sporting experience on a week-in week-out basis.

And it's hard to find a reason to question why any of them would pass the chance up - for neither of these is available at home.

But the question that should be asked is why this remains the case.

With these sort of numbers - plus all of those in other sports already in the States along with those who choose to stay at home of similar quality and aspiration - surely there is a case for a tertiary sports program in Australia.

A few niche sports have always been university-based in Australia and, COVID-permitting, there are annual once-off sporting encounters among our tertiary institutions at an Australian university games - now called Unisport Nationals.

But while the latter have become much more serious affairs in recent years, they remain a single opportunity each year for participation and competition.

They only vaguely resemble the end-of season championship affairs in the US - and absolutely nothing like the fully-fledged rounds of lead-up competitions.

There are 10-plus years to go until Australia hosts its third Olympic and second Paralympic Games. Setting up a proper university-based sports system in Australia wouldn't be easy - but there is every indication that the demand for it could be there.

And it's not just Australians who are flooding to the US college system - the numbers of New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders are also substantial.

There are all sorts of reasons why Australia as a nation needs to be asserting itself within Oceania - this could be a fine avenue to do that - at least in part.

But back to basketball where clearly the US college system is providing a factory not just to produce the next generation of players for its own purposes but doing the heavy lifting for the rest of the world.

The reality is that after soccer, basketball is the biggest and most extensively played team sport across the globe.

It seems there are oligarchs and commercial operators in myriad countries prepared to fund teams and even leagues. For sure the sport is popular, but this may also be the case because player lists can be smaller than in many other codes.

Regardless, there is thus a point to the US college-system operating the way in which it does - providing the base talent for competitions not only in North America but on just about every other continent bar Antarctica.

While the pandemic might be currently providing a barrier to more fluid player movement throughout the world, it seems that there will be no shortage of talent for quite some time to justify major basketball league competitions here, there and everywhere.

It would be interesting to ascertain if there are any in-depth studies about the destinations one, two or three years later of graduates from US colleges in sports like basketball.

In track and field, at least anecdotally, it's pretty clear. The really good ones go on to ply the meet circuit. A bigger cohort try their luck in road running - where there are generally more dollars available to a wider range of athletes.

But in athletics the majority move on to another phase of their lives altogether - many using the skills their mostly free-education has gifted them.