Basketball New Zealand

Gareth Dawson (Photosport)

Brendan Egan, Southland Times
Southland Sharks big man Gareth Dawson will have the chance to work with one of Australia’s most successful basketball coaches after signing with NBL club the Cairns Taipans.

Dawson will head to the far north of Queensland on Saturday as the Taipans begin preparations for the upcoming season, which begins in October and runs through to April.

The 21-year-old will fill one of the two development player spots on the Taipans’ roster and will train under astute Taipans coach Aaron Fearne. Fearne has been involved with the North Queensland franchise since its inception into the league in 1999, and has played a leading role in the successful Taipans’ academy.

He has a fine reputation for developing big men and has been responsible for the progress of Nathan Jawai – who now plays in the NBA – and fellow Australian Boomer Aron Baynes.

It will be Dawson’s second year in the Australian NBL after last season with the Wollongong Hawks as a development player.

Speaking to The Southland Times yesterday, Dawson said he was rapt to sign with Cairns and believed his game would only improve in the Taipans’ setup.

“They’ve got a nice little development programme over there … I’ve heard (Aaron) Fearne enjoys working with the big guys. It will be good to pick his brain.”

He joins a Taipans team skippered by veteran Tall Black guard Phill Jones and includes talented Australian big men Dusty Rychart, Ian Crosswhite and Alex Loughton.

Dawson was one of the big improvers for Southland in this year’s New Zealand basketball league.

The big redhead’s strong play in the early part of the season saw him usurp James Paringatai as the Sharks’ starting power forward.

He eventually went on to average 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a game in just his second year in the league.

Dawson said he had loved his time with the Sharks this season and admitted he was very close to re-signing with the franchise for next season.

He hoped his time with the Taipans would further strengthen his game before next year’s New Zealand national basketball league season, which will tip off in April.

“I’ll be trying to get my name out there a bit more…

“I’m always trying to improve my all-round game. I want to keep working on my low post game and come back stronger in that department.”

The Timaru resident said he was living the dream playing basketball professionally all year round.

“It’s something I’ve always been striving to achieve. Now I’ve got it, I need to seize the opportunity.”