Taipans add DJ Hogg to the mix

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans have found their second import for the 2022-23 season, with 6’9” American forward DJ Hogg signing a one-year deal and reuniting with Tahjere McCall after winning the G League Championship together in 2021.

The 25-year-old joins Cairns following a successful campaign with Cholet Basket, where he averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists and made the play-offs in France’s Pro A League earlier this year.

Dennis “DJ” Hogg jr. attended Texas A & M University, where he committed as a Top-50 recruit from Plano West High School. He reached the Sweet 16 as a freshman with 6.2 points and 2.9 assists, and improved to 12.0 points, 5.1 boards and 3.4 assists as a sophomore.

As a junior, he helped the Aggies to the Sweet 16 for a second time in three years – the school’s first time achieving the feat and went on to declare for the Draft.

Hogg played for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2018 NBA Summer League and was briefly signed by the Philadelphia 76ers before joining their G League side, the Delaware Blue Coats.

His rights were traded to the Wisconsin Herd in 2019 and he went on to sign with the Lakeland Magic in 2020. Alongside McCall, Hogg won the G League title and averaged 11 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in their playoffs campaign.

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde said that Hogg comes from a class of proven success that will transfer to the NBL, even in his first year down under.

“DJ is a high-level scorer, 6’9” with deep NBA range who can play out on the wing. His size and skillset will allow us to play him in multiple positions with multiple line-ups,” said Forde.

“DJ was part of that G League Championship winning team with Tahjere McCall and Robert Franks in 2021. I first watched that team to scout their point guard, but since then we’ve signed Tahjere who has thrived in this environment, and seen Rob excel in the NBL. So, I have no doubt DJ will make the same impact here for the Taipans.”

Coach Forde also admitted that Hogg’s existing friendship with playmaker McCall helped seal the deal as he looks to create chemistry in his new-look team.

“That relationship with Tahjere helped greatly in the recruiting process, as DJ had a lot of suitors from overseas that we had to go up against. We recruited him hard and painted the vision we are striving for. His enthusiasm only made the process more rewarding,” he explained.

“DJ has shown his style of play can transfer over onto the international stage after the season he had in France. He had great year there, but I hope we can get even more production out of him by creating more scoring opportunities.

“He’s a very smart player, and in conjunction with his length, makes for a great help defender as he averaged a block a game just by being in the right help position. So having multiple rim protectors on the court at one time can allow us to take some more risks defensively.”

Hogg joins Tahjere McCall, Lat Mayen, Jonah Antonio, Sam Waardenburg, Keanu Pinder, Bul Kuol, Majok Deng and Mirko Djeric on the roster. The Taipans have one restricted (import) and one non-restricted (local) position available.