New Imports For Stars
Tagged in: NBL
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The long and the short of it is that the Youthtown Auckland Stars will field import players for the first time in three weeks when they travel to New Plymouth to take on TET Taranaki Mountain Airs on Saturday.
The long … Corey Hallett (2.08m) arrives direct from NCAA Division I Monmouth University where he started on the Hawks’ 12-win/18-loss squad.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Hallett brings a sweet shooting touch from the perimeter as well as a post presence to the Stars. Hallettís arrival is timely with NZ Tall Black Casey Frank serving a one-game automatic suspension after being ejected from the Starsí win over the Century City Wellington Saints.
Hallett will be pressed into immediate service and be expected to counter the inside presence of the Airs veteran Link Abrams. His size should be a much-needed boon to a Stars squad that had been undersized and struggling to counter some of the Dominion Finance NBL‘s bigger inside players like the Hawksí Andrew Rice and the Heatís Tim Behrendorff.
The short … Brandon Cole (1.83m) arrives from NAIA division John Brown University where he set holds the all-time record for career three-pointers for all US university divisions.
Originally from Arkansas, Cole has spent his entire basketball career countering his diminutive size by developing a quick release on his shot and an aggressive and skillful court presence. His arrival fills the void on the Stars for perimeter shooting and should ensure defenses donít have the chance to collapse on a rampant Lindsay Tait.
Like Hallett, Cole will put straight to work and have to make immediate adjustments to basketball life in NZ. He will have a slight advantage over Hallett having had half a season in Germany to familiarize himself with international rules.
He can be expected to pick up some of the scoring slack left by Aucklandís previous imports, Tashaan Forehan-Kelly and Daniel Lambert, who left after they became dissatisfied with their contracts.
Coach Kenny Stone will be working overtime this week incorporating Cole and Hallett into the vital team chemistry that is a trademark of the Stars.
