Corban Wroe

Early life and career

Wroe was born in Townsville, Queensland but moved to Brisbane as a youth, spending 2005 to 2008 attending Southern Cross Catholic College. During this time, he represented the Brisbane Capitals' under age groups, represented Queensland South at the 2007 Australian U16 Championships and 2008 Australian U18 Championships, and helped the Australian Emus win the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament.

In 2009, Wroe moved to Canberra on an Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship and also attended Lake Ginninderra Secondary College, the affiliate school of the AIS. Wroe had a busy schedule in 2009, first representing Australia early in the year at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, where the team won gold. He later represented Queensland South at the Australian U18 Championships, and played eight games for the AIS SEABL team, averaging 4.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Then in December, he represented Lake Ginninderra at the Australian Schools Championships.

In 2010, Wroe continued on with the Australian Institute of Sport, having graduated from Lake Ginninderra. Early in the year, Wroe won his second gold medal with the Emus after the team won the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. He later re-joined the Emus for their China tour in June, helping the team finish the Jiaozuo tournament with a 7–2 win/loss record, and attended a team camp in August in preparation for the 2010 FIBA Oceania U18 Championship. He ultimately did not make the final team for the penultimate tournament. Wroe also played for the AIS SEABL team in 2010, averaging 2.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 12 games, represented Queensland at the Australian U20 Championships, and was named the 2010 Junior Male Player of the Year by Basketball Queensland. In addition, Wroe also participated in the 2009 Nike All-Asia Camp and the 2010 Nike Global Challenge.

Wroe spent one more year at the AIS in 2011 and was part of the Emus' training camp squad preparing for the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He ultimately failed to make the final roster again. He did, however, sign a national letter of intent with the University of Hartford in the United States to play for coach John Gallagher and the Hawks in 2011–12.

Freshman year

Wroe came into Hartford as just the second Hawk in program history to hail from Australia. Entering his freshman year, he was described by coach John Gallagher as a tough defender who could be relied upon to disrupt the opponent's offensive flow. His maturity and awareness on the offensive end made him a natural leader on the court at the guard position. He played in 31 games for the Hawks in 2011–12, making three starts and averaging 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game. In just his third college game, he scored a season-high 10 points against Mount St. Mary's. He was named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or greater.

Sophomore year

Wroe's maturity and leadership shown during his freshman year earned him co-captain honours for the 2012–13 season. He was one of three players to start and play in all 31 games in 2012–13, as he averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 8 points on 16 February 2013 against Albany. For the second year in a row, he was named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or greater.

Junior year

As a junior in 2013–14, Wroe earned America East All-Defensive Team honours and was named to the All-Academic Team. He was also one of 10 NCAA men's basketball players to receive a Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete award. As team co-captain for a second season, Wroe was one of two players to start and play in all 33 games. He averaged career-best numbers in scoring (6.3 ppg), rebounding (3.2 rpg) and minutes (25.3 mpg), while his 57 total assists were a career-high and ranked third on the team. He scored a career-high 21 points on two occasions, recording the mark in two of the final three games of the season. His 21 points against Stony Brook in the season finale all came from three-pointers, hitting 7-of-9 on the night. His academic prowess was recognised again, earning America East Commissioner's Honor Roll honours for a third time for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Senior year

As a senior in 2014–15, Wroe earned America East All-Defensive Team and All-Academic Team honours for a second straight year. He became the first player in program history to earn two America East All-Defensive Team nomintions. He significantly stepped up his three-point game during his senior season. Combining to make just 33 threes over his first three seasons, he converted from long range 49 times in his final season to finish eighth among America East leaders in threes per game. Wroe put up solid numbers on both ends of the court in 2014–15, as he ranked second in scoring with 9.9 points per game while adding 4.1 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game and a team-leading 41 steals. On 19 January 2015, Wroe scored a career-high 23 points in a 65–63 win over UMBC.

Wroe graduated from Hartford with a long list of academic accomplishments and a degree in health sciences. Earning America East Commissioner's Honor Roll laurels all four years for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, he became the second player in program history to earn repeat America East All-Academic Team honors. In addition, Wroe capped off his career by becoming Hartford's first-ever repeat Division I AAA Scholar-Athlete Team member, as he received the accolade in both 2014 and 2015. In preparation for leaving college, Wroe signed with Mummu Athlete Management.

Townsville Heat (2015)

In May 2015, Wroe returned to Australia and joined the Townsville Heat for the rest of the 2015 Queensland Basketball League season. On 6 June, he recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Toowoomba Mountaineers. He recorded a second double-double on 26 June with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Ipswich Force. His final game for the Heat came on 11 July, as he scored 16 points in a 78–70 loss to the Cairns Marlins. He departed the Heat following this game to join Melbourne United for a two-week training stint and the chance to travel with the team on their China tour. In eight games for the Heat, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

2015–16 season

On 4 September 2015, Wroe signed with the Perth Wildcats as a development player for the 2015–16 NBL season. Wroe appeared for the Wildcats in five of the team's first six games, filling in to cover for early season injuries to Damian Martin and Casey Prather. He travelled with the team to Adelaide for the season opener against the Adelaide 36ers on 10 October, making his debut in the 79–66 win, recording two assists and one rebound in two and a half minutes of second quarter action. He scored his first career points on 25 October in just his third game, finishing with two points and a then season-high 11 minutes in a 106–99 win over the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong. With the return of Martin and Prather to the line-up, Wroe was no longer required to travel with the team. However, another injury to Martin sustained on 4 November forced Wildcats' managing director Nick Marvin to elevate Wroe to the full-time playing roster for the duration of Martin's injury, requiring him to step up his play to back up starting guards Jarrod Kenny and Jermaine Beal. On 11 November, he scored three points against the Illawarra Hawks, knocking down his first career three-pointer. Martin returned from injury on 27 November, pushing Wroe back to his development player role. On 12 December, Wroe scored seven points against WA's under-20 men's team in an exhibition match. Wildcats' assistant coach Jamie O'Loughlan highlighted the performance of Wroe at the point guard position, stating "He played that true point guard role, he communicated very strongly with the guys in the huddles and organised them into what we wanted to run both offensively and defensively." On 15 January 2016, he signed with the Stirling Senators for the 2016 State Basketball League season.

On 5 February 2016, Wroe played a season-high 18½ minutes off the bench against the Sydney Kings, replacing the injured Casey Prather in the line-up. While unable to score, Wroe recorded three assists, one rebound and one steal to help the Wildcats win 95–81, booking themselves a place in the playoffs for a 30th straight season. In the Wildcats' following game on 10 February also against the Kings in Sydney, Wroe topped his season-high mark for minutes played with just under 21 minutes off the bench while finishing with statistics of 5 points, 3 assists and 1 rebound in what was a 103–77 loss. Wroe's extended minutes came following the team's decision to not suit up regular starters Martin, Beal, Prather and Nathan Jawai. Four days later, in the team's final regular season game, Wroe had a 2-point, 2-rebound, 1-steal performance in just under three minutes of action at home in a 100–84 win over the Adelaide 36ers. The Wildcats finished the regular season in second place with an 18–10 win/loss record, and played the third-seeded Illawarra Hawks in the semi-finals, a series the Wildcats won 2–1, with Wroe earning game time in Game 3 and hitting one of two free throws. With the win, the Wildcats moved on to the NBL Grand Final, where they defeated the reigning champions the New Zealand Breakers 2–1 to claim their seventh NBL championship. Wroe again saw game time in Game 3 of the series, playing out the final minute of action to finish on the court as the Wildcats claimed championship victory. He appeared in 19 of the team's 34 games in 2015–16, recording totals of 17 points and 15 assists.

Stirling Senators

On 18 March 2016, two weeks after becoming an NBL champion, Wroe made his debut for the Stirling Senators in a 101–98 loss to the Lakeside Lightning. In 32 minutes of action off the bench, he recorded 11 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. He went on to miss the team's next five game before appearing in his second game of the season on 16 April, recording 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in a 107–103 win over the Perth Redbacks. On 18 June, he had a season-best game with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a 110–95 win over the Goldfields Giants. The Senators finished the regular season in sixth place on the ladder with a 17–9 record, and faced the Willetton Tigers in the quarter-finals, where they were defeated 2–0. In 22 games for the Senators in 2016, Wroe averaged 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

2016–17 season

Following the 2016 SBL season, Wroe re-joined the Wildcats as a development player for the 2016–17 NBL season. He was active for the Wildcats first three games of the season, but then deactivated for the team's next two. With injuries to point guards Damian Martin and Jarrod Kenny, Wroe was tasked with stepping up to cover the team's guard losses heading into Round 4. He made his season debut for the Wildcats on 28 October against the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong. In 29 minutes as a starter, he recorded two points, two rebounds and one assist in an 81–76 loss. Martin returned to action for the Wildcats' following game against the Adelaide 36ers in Perth on 5 November, but sustained another injury mid-game, which led to Wroe playing extended minutes off the bench. In 22 minutes, Wroe recorded five points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in a 106–103 win. He started for the Wildcats in their next game against the New Zealand Breakers on 13 November, but was struck to the head during the 87–86 overtime loss and was unable to train the following week because of concussion. As a result, he was ruled out of the Wildcats' 17 November game against the Sydney Kings. Upon returning from the concussion on 27 November, Wroe continued to play decent minutes while backing up Kenny. He returned to a development player role in January following Martin's comeback. Due to the heavy minutes that he played prior to the concussion, Wroe was deemed a restricted player for the 2017 SBL season. However, following an appeal from the Stirling Senators, his restricted player status was lifted on 31 January 2017—the SBL Commission deemed that the five games he did not play in at the start of the season should be included when calculating his minutes-per-game average i.e. five games with zero minutes. The Wildcats finished the regular season in third place with a 15–13 win/loss record, and played the second-seeded Cairns Taipans in the semi-finals, a series the Wildcats won 2–0, with Wroe earning game time in Game 1. With the win, the Wildcats moved on to the NBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Illawarra Hawks 3–0 in the best-of-five series. The Wildcats claimed their eight NBL title, while Wroe became an NBL champion for the second consecutive year. Wroe saw game time in Game 3 of the series, once again playing out the contest (the final 23 seconds) to finish on the court as the Wildcats claimed championship victory. He appeared in 16 of the team's 33 games in 2016–17, averaging 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.

Return to Stirling (2017–present)

On 17 March 2017, two weeks after becoming a dual NBL champion, Wroe played in the Stirling Senators' 2017 season opener. In just under 31 minutes as a starter, Wroe scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting in a 94–87 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks. On 29 April 2017, he recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in an 82–79 win over the Goldfields Giants. On 5 May, he had a 16-point effort in a 103–87 loss to the Joondalup Wolves. On 26 May, he had an 18-point effort in an 87–73 win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns. On 15 July, he scored a season-high 23 points in a 105–95 win over the South West Slammers.

Personal

Wroe is the son of Michael and Tracey Wroe, and has two siblings, Simon and Breya. His mother is a former general manager of the Brisbane Capitals, and current general manager of the Townsville Heat.