When he left three years later, Swanson had that, his future wife, and a high school assistant coaching job. His life would never be the same.

Swanson first travelled across the Pacific with Concordia College in 2003 for a month-long basketball tour.

"We flew into Adelaide, played a couple Adelaide teams," he recalls.

"Then we played Warrnambool Seahawks, we beat Warrnambool, and I played pretty well so that was a good sign.

"A year later or so, I got offered a contract to come play in Warrnambool and I was like 'oh absolutely'. I wanted to keep playing for as long as I could."

Current Warrnambool Mermaids mentor Lee Primmer and his family left a lasting impression on Swanson, who spent one year in the south-west as an import.

He was an all-star in his only season in Seahawks colours, averaging 25.1 points per game, 13 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

"I really lucked out, as far the community and people go. The Primmers took me under their wing," he says.

"I stayed with them maybe the first three months I was there. They were just outstanding. Every time we go back - we haven't been back for two and half years or so - I always go and see them.

"All the time. Lee and Sue and their three daughters are one hundred per cent like family to me because of all they did for me and how welcome they made me feel.

"Warrnambool is a great situation. I was there for a year and moved on to play at Shepparton and then at Southern Peninsula the year after that before we came home."

Swanson met his wife Jessica, nee Crawley, while suiting up for the Seahawks and the couple have three children together in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

They fly back to Australia regularly to visit Jessica's family, who are based in Terang.

Swanson's days of on-court dominance are over, but his passion for the game is stronger than ever in coaching.

Upon returning to America, the 39-year-old started as a high school assistant in the state of Washington, before landing a head coaching gig at Payson High School in Arizona.

Things moved fast and Swanson soon found himself on staff at Boise State University - a division one college - before gathering a decade of division one experience at North Dakota State University, San Jose State University and Ohio University.

Nowadays, the ex-Seahawk can be found teaching the next generation at division two school Northern State University, a college just a two hour drive from his hometown in Minnesota.

"It's one of the top division two schools in the country," Swanson says.

"We've led attendance in division two for the last 12 years. We average like 4000 fans a game.

"This year we won our third straight conference tournament championship and then our season was cut short.

"We made it to the division two NCAA tournament. We were actually on the road - down in Missouri - when they cancelled everything (due to COVID-19).

"It was a tough situation having to tell our seniors - we have three seniors - that their careers were over. It was a tough, tough situation."

Swanson says he's lucky and is grateful of the opportunities he's had in coaching.

He can't imagine a career without basketball.

"I don't really know (when I caught the bug for coaching). I do know basketball has always been such an important part of my life," Swanson says.

"I honestly could not tell you what else I'd be doing right now if I wasn't coaching basketball. It needs to be a part of my life.

"I assume I kind of realised that when I was in college and went to Australia to play. I don't want to do anything else. I need to be involved somehow. I've really lucked out as far as what I've done and where I've been.

"It's funny you say moving around a lot - my eight-year-old has lived in all four time zones in America. He doesn't understand how crazy that is - it's nuts.

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"I've just been really lucky because when we were at Ohio, my kids got to come to Hawaii for a tournament. They got to come to Jamaica, they got to come to the Virgin Islands. I'm just really lucky and feel blessed it's worked out."

And life in South Dakota while the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic?

"It's fine," Swanson laughs.

"I don't know how long my wife is going to last if I keep up my pacing around the house that I've got going on (while working from home).

"It's started to get warmer here, I think it's about (10 degrees) at the moment, so we went on like a six-mile bike ride.

"It's supposed to get even nicer as the weeks go on, so we'll be outside a bunch. We've just bought a new house on the other side of town, with a bigger yard, and driveway and a basketball hoop, so my boys are just pumped."

Swanson will remember his one-year stint in Warrnambool forever.

The club, the people and the standard of play left a lasting impression.

"I think life in the United States, as far as where I've been, is similar to where I went in Australia," he says.

"The biggest thing that struck me was that I had to learn to drive on the left side of the road. I loved my time there."

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