Breakers Bag Bruton, Boucher
Tagged in: NZ Breakers
The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers have confirmed Brisbane Bullets CJ Bruton and Dillon Boucher will join the club for next season and beyond.
While contract details are still being finalised and are subject to NBL approval, the double-barreled signing of the two internationals has blown away Breakers general manager Richard Clarke.
“It’s great to have Dillon come back to the club and we’ve secured two excellent multi-faceted guys, who are genuinely keen to help take the team to new heights and win a championship with the club,” Clarke said.
“They’re experienced at NBL and international level, having been to World Championships and Olympic and Commonwealth Games, they’ve won a championship in recent times and they’re world-class players, particularly on defence.
“Securing them gives Andrej Lemanis and our coaching staff a fair degree of flexibility and they’re now looking at options for filling the remaining two spots on the 10-strong roster for next season.”
With the addition of Bruton and Boucher, the Breakers have eight players signed for the 2008-09 season, with Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Phill Jones and Paul Henare and Australians Tony Ronaldson, Oscar Forman and Tim Behrendorff the others.
Both part of the Bullets team that eliminated the Breakers from their first Hummer Championship NBL playoffs, Bruton averaged 18.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in 35 minutes, playing in all 30 regular season games, while Boucher averaged 3.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in 21 minutes.
Bruton, a former Boomers guard, led the ANBL in three-point percentage last season, converting 46.8 percent, while also shotting 47.6 percent from the field and 81.0 percent from the charity stripe, while Boucher shot a healthy 47.1 percent from the field.
CJ BRUTON FACT FILE
Career: Perth Wildcats (Australia-NBL, 1994), Indian Hills CC (USA-NJCAA Div. 1, 1995-97), Brisbane Bullets (Australia-NBL, 1997), Wollongong Hawks (Australia-NBL, 1998-2000), Sioux Falls Skyforce (USA-CBA, 2000-01), Marinos (Venezuela-LPB, 2001), Canberra Cannons (Australia-NBL, 2002-03), Sydney Kings (Australia-NBL, 2004-06), Brisbane Bullets (Australia-NBL, 2007-08). Selected number 53 in the second round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Calvin Bruton Junior is the son of NBL legend Cal Bruton, a former point guard and coach of the Perth Wildcats. Like his father, CJ was born in the United States. He was considered one of the best junior college players at Indian Hills but was then declared ineligible to compete in the NCAA because he had previously played professionally for the Perth Wildcats in the NBL.
He won back-to-back NBL titles with the Sydney Kings in 2004 and 2005 and was named to the 2006 All-NBL first team before adding another NBL title with Brisbane in 2007. CJ was an Australian Olympian in 2000 and 2004 and won Commonwealth Games gold in Melbourne two years ago.
