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OK, this guy is second in the SEC in scoring at 19.4 points a game. He’s also No. 2 in field-goal percentage, so he’s taking good shots.

Here’s a combination you don’t see every day: He ranks 10th in rebounding (must be a big man) and also seventh in free-throw accuracy (but one with an exceptional touch). For good measure, he’s ninth in blocked shots.

This is a resume for a SEC player of the year candidate.

And, oh, yeah, he’s a freshman.

One more thing. He’s from Australia.

Andrew “A.J.” Ogilvy’s rookie college basketball season has been a parade of g’days and g’nights.

Tonight, Vanderbilt introduces its precocious 6-foot-10, 250-pound freshman to Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Averaging 19.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, Ogilvy is a prime reason why the Commodores are 16-1 and poised to give the Vols a run for the SEC title.

He scored 25 points in his SEC debut last week against South Carolina, the ninth 20-point game of his young career. Nobody has yet held Ogilvy to single digits.

“I didn’t know he’d be this good this quickly,’’ said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. “His adjustment was zero.’’

How this gift from Down Under landed in Nashville is an interesting story. It starts pre-Vandy, when Stallings coached at Illinois State and one of his assistants was Ray Giacolleti.

Fast forward to 2006. Giacoletti was head coach at Utah and combing Australia for a successor to center Andrew Bogut, who went from Utah to the NBA.

Giacoletti liked Ogilvy, but ran out of scholarships. So he tipped off pal Stallings.

After sending two assistants to Australia, Stallings went himself. Ogilvy visited Vandy, Utah, UNLV and St. Mary’s and picked the Commodores.

Any chance of sneaking up on the SEC was blown last summer when he starred for the Aussies at the FIBA Under-19 World Championships.

“He’ll be an Olympian for Australia (this summer),’’ said UT coach Bruce Pearl. “Not the 18-and-unders, the national team.’’

Ogilvy’s instant impact further underscores the fact that global basketball is a shrinking world. You can get from there to here and do it in a hurry.

The NBA scours the globe for rising talent. Foreigners are nothing new to the college basketball, either.

UCLA made the Final Four in 2006 and might do so again this year with two starters from Cameroon. Nobody is more traditional than Bob Knight, but he has started a Brazilian import this year at Texas Tech.

Some day, Tennessee might as well.

To date, the Vols have had a 1,000-point scorer from Canada in the 1960s, Bobby Croft, and a rugged rebounder from the Bahamas in the ‘80s, Ian Lockhart.

Pearl thinks it might be time to find an Ogilvy to drape in orange.

“I’m going to make an effort,’’ Pearl said, “and try to take advantage of some connections I have.’’

Players like Ogilvy prove the effort is worth it and Australia might be a good place to start.

In 2005, 7-footer Luke Schenscher helped Georgia Tech reach the NCAA title game. This year, Aussies are playing key roles at Washington State, Nebraska and Baylor. Their common bond is being developed at the Australian Institute for Sport.

“They spend 40 to 60 hours a week working on the bodies, working on their skills, working on their basketball,’’ said Pearl. “The NCAA has legislated 20 hours for basketball in season here and eight hours in the offseason.

“In America, we used to preach a work ethic. It was part of the thing that made this country what it was. If an accomplished pianist only practiced piano eight hours a week, they’d never get to Carnegie Hall.’’

Analysts already project Ogilvy as a first-round pick in the next NBA draft. So he’s on his way to basketball’s Carnegie Hall.

Tonight’s gig at Thompson-Boling Arena may be his one and only.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.