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A star on the court in the late 1970s and ‘80s, Morseu has since turned his attention to helping those off it reach their full potential.
The 62-year-old became the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in 1980 and even won three NBL championships as a forward with the St. Kilda Saints and Brisbane Bullets.
Morseu’s journey, one that began in the missions of Thursday Island, has become a beacon of hope for aspiring Indigenous athletes, and one his nephew Mills and Jawai have each gone on to replicate.
“I'm very proud of Patrick and very proud of Nathan in terms of what they've achieved and how they've excelled in basketball throughout this country,” Morseu told the NBL Rewind podcast.
“They've done exceptionally well. I'm just so happy for them, that they've taken it on and gone on that journey and achieved their dreams and aspirations in life.
“I can recall when Patrick was young, I was living in Brisbane and I would travel down to Canberra for work and would stay with Benny and Yvonne (Mills).
“We used to sit down for dinner at night and I used to tell him about what I’ve done: ‘You’ve got to beat uncle’s record with a couple Olympics’, and, ‘you have to go to the highest level’.
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“He went one better: he went to the NBA. What a wonderful journey for him.
“He's now where he is in life and he's very supportive of Black Lives Matter and thinks about change of reform in Australian basketball, and I think it’s a great thing.
“He’s got a vision and a way forward in relation to that; about establishing a foundation and organisation that will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander basketball players in this country.”
With Mills championing the cause from overseas, Jawai, too, has stepped up his efforts, with the ex-Boomers big man joining Morseu as a member of the NBL’s newly-formed Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) working group.
Aimed at providing a framework for the league to strengthen its relationship with Indigenous communities, Morseu hopes the RAP will help increase participation among Torres Strait Islanders.
“Some of the key action items out of that is about how we move forward in relation to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, especially the basketball community right throughout the country,” Morseu said.
“And (about) how we establish programs to accommodate and (create) pathways and opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids.
“Certainly some of the challenges for us to work through with the NBL is in relation to how they can partner with the community to get better outcomes and increase participation for Torres Strait Islanders.”
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Having personally steered Jawai’s journey towards basketball in 2003, Morseu hopes the 34-year-old’s new role will bring a new generation of Torres Strait Islanders to the sport.
“With Nathan’s involvement now in the reconciliation plan in the NBL, I think it's fantastic he’s getting involved in that capacity,” he said.
“He is still involved with the game and it's good for him to understand what needs to be done and (to help implement) some of the changes.
“It's important to have the elder statesmen, the frontrunners, like I am, and then the rookies coming through, like Nate, who have done exceptionally well in the NBL.
“I think they are just wonderful role models for our community and I’m very proud of them.”
