Reay Signs With Giants
Tagged in: Competitions, In The News, NBL
Pete McNae, Nelson Mail
One taste of the National Basketball League wasn’t enough for forward Christopher Reay, the 2.02m forward becoming the second contracted player to commit to the Nelson Giants for the 2009 season.
He joins Phill Jones as a cornerstone signing for the Giants, with Jones likely to start his 17th NBL season at shooting guard while Reay will man the power forward spot.
The 24-year-old from Texas has a Kiwi father, making him eligible to play in the national league as a domestic player.
He arrived for the last seven regular season games in this year’s campaign and made an immediate impact with 16 points and 11 rebounds on debut against Auckland. Reay finished his short stopover averaging eight points and five rebounds a game.
Giants coach Chris Tupu believes Reay only scratched the surface of his talent in his six weeks in Nelson.
“Christopher was a good find for us. He’s got a great work ethic, he’s very smart and he’s the kind of player Nelson really warms to . . . not flashy, but very gritty and committed.
“Plus he’s only 24 so he has a lot of game to add.”
Reay has married in the off-season and hopes to bring his wife to Nelson, where he already has family links through great-uncle Mac Crampton.
Tupu said Reay made it clear after the Giants were beaten in their semifinal match in June that he hoped to return to the NBL with Nelson.
“He told me this was a good situation and a good league to improve his game in. He’s a very low-maintenance guy and a player we’d love to bolster our frontcourt for a long time. Everyone likes him and that’s a great place to work from.”
With Jones and Reay onboard, Tupu is busy trying to fit pieces around them. He has an offer tabled with Chris Daniel’s agent and is hoping the Singapore-based guard will clarify his future by the end of the month. It’s also possible that Nelson could roll out two 2.13m (7ft) Tall Black centres if both Tony Rampton and Alex Pledger agree to sign.
There will be roles for young locals including Ben Wright, Josh Bloxham, Bronson Beri and Sam Dempster, while 2.02m Nelson College 14-year-old Michael Karena is a tempting prospect but might need more seasoning.
The import positions will remain vacant until Tupu has his Kiwi squad in place, although plans to bring back Josh Pace appear to have been stymied with the former MVP joining Nenad Vucinic in Estonia.
The status of this year’s import duo of Michael Harrison and Jamil Terrell is uncertain with the very promising Harrison likely to have European commitments while Terrell could be the odd man out if Rampton and Pledger join Reay in the frontcourt.
