Giants Sign Kiwi Giant
Tagged in: NBL
Pete McNae, Nelson Mail
When Tony Rampton last played for the Nelson Giants, he was a rawboned 23-year-old centre — seven feet (2.13m) of elbows and angles. Eight years later, not much has changed, except his age.
The former Tall Blacks pivot today became the latest player to commit to the Giants for the 2009 National Basketball League season, confirming his intentions from his current base in Sydney, where he plays with the Spirit in the Australian league.
Rampton has starred for Taranaki in recent seasons but said yesterday he’d always hoped to get back to Nelson. He played here in the 2000 campaign, making the All-Star Five and being named the league’s outstanding forward and Kiwi MVP.
“I’d been keen to come back in previous years but then my dad wasn’t well and we stayed in Taranaki to be near him. Now the chance has come to sign again with Nelson and I’m happy it’s going to happen at last,” the double Olympian said.
Rampton was a whisker away from averaging a double-double in last year’s NBL, posting 14.2 points and 9.56 rebounds in 16 starts with the Taranaki Dynamos. Since then, he’s been laid up with a bad back injury and is playing sparingly for the Spirit, but is confident he’ll be good to go when he reaches Nelson.
“I damaged a disc and it pinched a nerve. I couldn’t get out of bed for five days and it cost me some confidence and conditioning but I’m on top of it now.
“I’m not playing much at the moment because Julian [Khazzouh, the Spirit's young centre] is playing great but you never know when you’ll be needed. I’m ready to play big minutes if they call.”
Rampton’s elder statesman role with Sydney is one of the reasons Nelson coach Chris Tupu was keen to sign him.
“We’re a young team but it gives us great balance to have a veteran player in the post with Tony and a veteran guard with Phill [Jones]. Those guys have so much experience and knowledge to share,” he said.
Recruiting Rampton also gives Tupu more flexibility with his import players. In a league with few true Kiwi big men, the Giants have filled a prime spot on the baseline and can look at other needs when they choose their American players.
“I’m 32 now and my back was bad there for a while but, if I thought I had nothing left to offer or that I wasn’t going to be able to do myself justice, I wouldn’t have signed with Nelson,” Rampton said. “I think I can still defend the post and get rebounds and I don’t have any problem with fitting in with a team of younger players and helping bring the kids through.
“Nelson’s always put a pretty good team out there and you always think a Nelson team has a shot at a championship. As you get a little older, that becomes a strong motivating factor.”
Rampton, wife Nicky and 2 1/2-year-old daughter Jade, along with a second child due in April, will join the Giants after the Spirit’s ANBL season ends.
