A subtropical climate and active nightlife aren’t the only things that New Orleans shares with Gold Coast, Australia. They also share Robert Manson.

The marketing junior arrives at The Den from the land down under after a high school and college career marked by obstacle.

The 6-foot-7 forward from Gold Coast, a city located on the southeast corner of Queensland, has continued his own family legacy of basketball players.

In the early years of the Australian National Basketball League, his father, Ian Manson, led the league in field goal percentage for the 1982 Geelong Cats. Manson’s mother, Irene, also played at the professional level in Australia.

He attended high school in Brisbane, a 40-minute drive from Gold Coast, at John Paul College. The college – as private high schools are called in Australia – has led the nation in basketball over the last several years. As a freshman, Manson assisted in his high school’s victory in the National Schools Basketball Tournament victory.

“There are a lot of Australian kids that want to come over to America to play their sport in American schools,” Manson said. He described Australian high school basketball as less competitive than the style found in the U.S. high school system.

“Australia is pretty much a (soccer) country,” said Manson, who in his sophomore year transferred to Trinity Episcopal Day School in Natchez, Miss., as an exchange student. After that semester, he decided to remain in the United States to continue playing.

For his senior season, Manson attempted to play basketball for a Colorado high school but was denied because of a state league rule restricting international athletes from playing in two different states. Manson returned to Trinity to play his senior year but was denied once more by the Mississippi Private Schools Association, despite having played his sophomore and junior seasons there.

His senior season ineligibility, which he claims was the unfair result of politics, hampered his recruitment potential for college. “I ended up having to recruit myself,” Manson said.

For his freshman year he settled with a junior college in Baytown, Texas, called Lee College. After redshirting his first year – his second season without playing – Manson struggled to adapt to Lee’s coaching style and played sparingly his second year.

After two years off the court and another as a minuteman for Lee, Manson hired a publicist to prepare a portfolio to once again try to shop himself.

The portfolio yielded a few calls from various schools. Manson recalls that one of those calls came from Loyola head coach Michael Giorlando, although he made no immediate decision.

The final decision to attend Loyola came after a fortuitous crossing of paths between Giorlando, Manson and family friend Eddie Palubinskas, an Australian basketball legend who set a Guinness World Record for most free throws made in one hour and was a personal free throw coach to Shaquille O’Neal.

Manson and Palubinskas attended a vendor exhibition at last spring’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four tournament.

They happened to be standing next to Giorlando at a vendor booth when a conversation started about a potential recruit from Lee College. Not knowing he was standing next to Manson, Giorlando spoke positively to Palubinskas about the potential he saw in the power forward.

That twist of fate proved to be the decision maker for Manson, who Giorlando signed last July.

“Robert will provide leadership and a better inside presence for our team. We’re excited to have a player who is capable of scoring on the perimeter and in the paint,” Giorlando said at the time.

Manson, who still has three years of eligibility left, said he sees himself as an inside and outside threat on the court that can create “permanent mismatch” situations for easy post-ups. While playing for John Paul College, he ranked within the top 10 in the nation for field goal percentages. He hopes to use his range and height to put up high numbers for Loyola.

Besides a differently-sized playing court and ball, Manson says Australian basketball focuses less on individual athleticism and more on fundamentals.

He said in the United States, where “the play is more above the rim,” it’s easier for a single player to drive the paint where in Australia more passing is required to create openings.

Manson said he admires the current captain of the Sydney Kings, Jason Smith, for his innovative style of play he brings to Australian basketball.

In 2010, Manson aspires to represent his native Australia in the International Basketball Federation world championships, which are held every four years.

Steve Heath can be reached at [email protected].