Breakers Sign Imports
Tagged in: NZ Breakers
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American imports Wayne Turner and Rick Rickert will round out the Harvey Norman NZ Breakers‘ 11-strong roster for the forthcoming Philips Championship.
Turner, a point guard, and power forward Rickert were both college stand-outs, have NBA experience and join the Breakers on one-year deals.
The 31-year-old Turner has played more games anyone else in NCAA history, leading the University of Kentucky to two NCAA titles and twice gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
He played for the USA Junior Menís team in 1995 alongside future stars such as Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury, and had a taste of the NBA with the Celtics in his native Boston in 1999/2000, before joining the Harlem Globetrotters.
Turner played under Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis in Townsville in 2002/2003, but his immediate return was curtailed by a charge of possessing an illegal firearm back in the United States, an accusation that was subsequently dismissed.
ìHe was a stand-out at the Crocs, extremely popular and fantastic as an on-court leader,î said Lemanis. ìHe is the right sort of guy to control the talent weíve been able to assemble and Iím looking forward to hooking up with him again.
ìIn putting the roster together, our focus was on getting the mix of local players right before targeting imports, who could complement our selections and do specific roles.
ìOur imports arenít superstars who are expected to carry the team. Weíve gone for guys with the right chemistry, leadership attributes and skill in their particular areas – a point guard to guide us around the court and a big man to mix it in the paint.î
The 6ft 11in Rickert played in the 2001 High School All-American game, before excelling at University of Minnesota, where he became the first Big Ten Freshman of the Year in school history.
Rickert (24) chose to enter the 2003 NBA draft after just two years at college, but surprisingly slipped to the second round where he was eventually selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as 55th overall pick.
Pointed towards Europe to develop his game, Rickert has played in Slovenia, Greece and Spain, and had court time with the Detroit Pistons in the latest NBA season.
A member of the NBA Development team that beat the Tall Blacks earlier this week at the Boris Stankovic Continental Cup in China, Rickertís decision to head Down Under was made after glowing reports from Kirk Penney and former Breakers import Rich Melzer.
ìHe is a realistic NBA prospect and people will be surprised heís joining us instead of chasing the bigger money on offer in Europe,î Lemanis said.
ìBut it goes to show that lifestyle choices can outweigh financial considerations and his friendship with Kirk has certainly helped our cause.
ìAll in all, our scouting program has been extensive, weíre confident in our selections and Iím just keen to get them down here and into training as soon as possible.î
Turner is due in Auckland towards the end of next week and Rickert should fly in around August 20. Their signings are subject to NBL clearance.
The Breakersí first match of the season is against the Cairns Taipans at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday, September 20.
The completed 11-man roster is Turner, Paul Henare, Brent Charleton, Penney, Phill Jones, Paora Winitana, Oscar Forman, Mika Vukona, Tony Ronaldson, Rickert and Tim Behrendorff.
The three development players are Ryan Kersten, Chris Daniel and Mike Townsend.
