Tornadoes basketball boom recruit has landed, waiting on approval for debut

The American, who is a seasoned media performer, cracked a joke about never having done a presser before and later shared her passion for painting portraits.

Then she gave coach Sarah Veale a big hug while posing for a photo.

It indicated that Oliver is all in for the Tornadoes this NBL1 South season.

The Torns are now crossing their fingers the paperwork can be done swiftly so she can play in their double-header this weekend.

Veale said that included the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) playing licence.

"Obviously we're hoping that she'll be approved to play. It's just that one little final tick to get," the coach said.

The Tornadoes face Waverley Falcons at Elphin at 6pm on Friday.

They then host Dandenong Rangers at Ulverstone's Thunder Stadium at 6pm on Saturday.

Launceston fell to Hobart Chargers 71-62 in their season opener last weekend despite leading by 13 points at half-time. They were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter.

Oliver, who hails from Dallas, Texas, is in Australia for the first time and arrived in Launceston on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old had an impressive college career with NCAA Division 1 powerhouse Baylor and then Washington, and has mostly played in Northern Ireland (Ulster University) under her first professional contract.

Veale last week described her as "an athletic scorer who is tough and plays bigger than she is".

Oliver said she connected with the Tornadoes through her agent.

Australia was on her bucket list but she had to look up Tasmania on a map to find out where it was.

She said she enjoyed great support from home in the US as her mum hosted "watch parties" where sometimes 10 to 15 close family members watched the live-stream of games.

Oliver will get to team-up with fellow import Lore Devos, a Belgian national team player.

Veale said Devos was still playing in Iceland and would likely be over by the end of April at the latest.

They will help lead a young Torns outfit which features Macey Crawford and Lucy Aherne.

Oliver is aware she'll be a leader from the get-go and looks forward to that challenge.

"I'm excited because I do have a lot of experience playing back home in colleges and playing for the number one team in the nation at the time," she said.

"I'm excited to lead in a way that I've been put in positions like that (before) to guide younger girls and display what I know I can do.

"So it's just instilling confidence if I can anywhere and just playing my role in any way I can."

Oliver said she graduated with her Masters in Business and Entrepreneurship in 2023.