Australian big-man Harry Froling has agreed to a deal with the Illawarra Hawks, sources told ESPN, completing a comeback to basketball two-and-a-half years after he was the victim of a one-punch attack that threatened to end his career.
Froling will sign a two-year deal, sources said: the first season will be as a Nominated Replacement Player (NRP), with a team option on the second year.
In January, 2023, Froling was the victim of a one-punch attack outside a nightclub in Wollongong. The then Brisbane Bullets big-man fell back and hit his head on the pavement, suffering multiple injuries -- including a skull fracture -- that would require emergency surgery to evacuate bleeding in his brain. The injuries Froling sustained threatened to end his basketball career and severely alter his day-to-day life but, after a long rehabilitation process, the 6'11 big-man is now back in the professional ranks.
The 27-year-old spent the back-end of the 2024-25 NBL season training with the Hawks, before playing at the NBL1 level in an attempt to prove his worth during free agency. In five games thus far for the Melbourne Tigers in the NBL1 competition, Froling is averaging 23.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
The Hawks are the defending NBL Champions and, while they were able to bring back core pieces from their title-winning roster, Justin Tatum's team lost a substantial amount of its big-man depth. Lachlan Olbrich was taken with the 55th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, while Sam Froling suffered an achilles injury in the 2025 NBL Championship Series that will likely have him out until January.
The elder Froling, Harry, who spent a year with the Hawks during the 2021-22 season, will initially step in as an injury replacement for his brother.
Prior to his forced hiatus from basketball, Froling was widely regarded as one of Australia's most intriguing emerging players. He won the NBL's Rookie of the Year award as a member of the Adelaide 36ers in 2019, and averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over his two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets from 2020 to 2023.
Froling joins a Hawks team that re-signed the bulk of its local talent early in the off-season, with Sam Froling, Daniel Grida, Mason Peatling, and Todd Blanchfield signing new deals to return to a team that already has Tyler Harvey, Will Hickey, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.
The team will lose multiple players from its championship campaign. Imports Trey Kell and Darius Days both signed deals in Japan, while sources say Hyunjung Lee is in the process of cutting ties with the team to pursue NBA and NBA G-League opportunities.
The Hawks remain in active talks with American free agent Matt Hurt, sources said. Hurt is coming off a season with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, where he was an MVP finalist.