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New Zealand Breakers (2009-2010 NBL Season)

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  • New Zealand Breakers (2009-2010 NBL Season)

    Canadian fills Breakers' import slot

    By MARC HINTON

    New Zealand Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis believes new import Dave Thomas can be the sort of addition that can help the club take the final step in its Australian NBL progression.



    Beaten semifinalists last season, the Breakers have their sights on only one place in the 2009-10 season - the promised land of the Grand Final, and ultimately an historic title.


    Today's dual announcement of former Melbourne Tigers star and Canadian national team member Thomas as the first import signing, and Burger King's "upgrade" as the club's new naming rights sponsor helps immeasurably to that end.


    BK, perennial supporters of New Zealand basketball and a foundation sponsor of the club, will play a big part in allowing the club to pay its bills and continue to make the Auckland organisation one of the most sought after among players in this part of the world.


    And Lemanis is adamant the 32-year-old former NCAA champion with Michigan State, and twice NBL title-winner with the Tigers, will help make the Breakers an even more complete team than they were last year.
    "He's a perennial winner," said Lemanis of the 2.04m forward. "And it's not because he comes out and is a superstar. What he does is he fits into teams and finds a way to help them win.


    "He can put points on the boards - I've seen him make plenty of big shots. But he plays defence, he gets the steal, he gets the critical offensive or defensive rebound, he'll go and shut down the opponents' best player. In other words, he finds a way to contribute.


    "I think he fits very nicely with the rest of the group. One of the things I'm most proud of with our team is we do play as a team, and certainly Dave fits into that mould. Even talking to him about where I see him fitting in, his response was 'play me wherever you feel I can help coach, I'll do whatever you want me to do'."


    Lemanis will likely move Thomas between the small and power forward positions, depending on requirements at the time, and the coach is certainly excited about pairing him with long-range bomber, and new Australian Boomer, Oscar Forman in the frontline.


    "He's shown over his career he's good in both those spots, and that just helps with our versatility," said Lemanis. "We've also got Oscar there who's a three (small forward) who can play four, and I think we can cause some matchup problems for the opposition."


    The Breakers now have just one signing to make to complete their roster (their second import), though they will sit and wait a while on that one in the hope of picking up a quality centre out of the American system.


    "We need a five-man, but I think we've just got to be patient on that given the budget we have available," said the Breakers coach.


    "We'll let the summer leagues play out, let the world stage play out a bit, and I think the money around the world has come down a bit, and some of the players holding out thinking they're going to go for bigger dollars might get a bit of a wakeup call."


    Lemanis is also excited about the team's other main roster signing, 22-year-old Tall Black trialist Jeremiah Trueman who has just completed four years of college ball in the US and joined the club in Auckland this week.


    Trueman brings size (2.07m) and some other qualities that Lemanis hopes will reap benefits, not just now, but down the line for the Breakers. When you factor in that "seven-footer" Alex Pledger has come in as a development player, seven of the Breakers' 12 spots are now filled by Kiwis.


    "It's just exciting having those young New Zealanders coming through," said Lemanis. "We've had to make some tough calls on it, a la letting Phill Jones go. And I must say I'm pleased Phill's got a job in the league at Cairns, I think that's great for him.


    "But it's good for the future of the club that these young guys are coming through."


    Lemanis has been impressed with Trueman since before he left for college four years ago, and hopes he can make an impact in the league right from the get-go, when he'll likely back up Tony Ronaldson at power forward.
    "I like the way he plays the game -- he plays with unbelievable energy and gives you everything he's got. He's a genuine 6'9, he's a decent shooter out to 15 feet, and I'm really looking forward to working with him.


    "I know how good a defender he is, I know he crashes the boards hard, and that he plays technically correct and runs the floor. I'm just looking forward to seeing how good he is."


    Meanwhile Breakers GM Richard Clarke was rapt that he had been able to secure a naming rights deal with such a loyal supporter as BK.


    "We've taken our time in searching for a new naming rights sponsor and that patience and belief in what we stand for as a club has certainly been worth it," said Clarke.


    Clarke also highlighted the positive situation that the club continued to add key financial backing at a time when the world's economies were in belt-tightening mode.


    Thomas, 32, has played 34 times for his country, but most of his career has been in Australia.
    Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketb...s-import-slot/

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  • #2
    The Breakers are one of the few bright spots in what has been a very dark time for the NBL lately. That league can only hope that all of their organizations are as professional as the Breakers are.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by cheezdoodle View Post
      The Breakers are one of the few bright spots in what has been a very dark time for the NBL lately. That league can only hope that all of their organizations are as professional as the Breakers are.
      Agreed to that... I guess they've got committed sponsors willing to stick with the team..

      I'm a Breakers fan but I think the sort of merger of Sydney Kings and West Sydney Razorback... and departure of big teams such as the Brisbane Bullets and now the champion South Dragons.. helps the Breakers a lot... it benefits them...

      Also, for the last two years, acquiring accurate shooters such as Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, Oscar Foreman, Phill Jones and even Tony Ronaldson makes the team dangerous.. unfortunately, they have to release Jones and simply because of the salary cap...

      I'd be surprise if they fail to make it to the semis... the team's core remain intact and as long as Penney and Bruton remain healthy, I think they will be as strong as last season...

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      • #4
        Originally posted by donmar View Post
        Agreed to that... I guess they've got committed sponsors willing to stick with the team..

        I'm a Breakers fan but I think the sort of merger of Sydney Kings and West Sydney Razorback... and departure of big teams such as the Brisbane Bullets and now the champion South Dragons.. helps the Breakers a lot... it benefits them...

        Also, for the last two years, acquiring accurate shooters such as Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, Oscar Foreman, Phill Jones and even Tony Ronaldson makes the team dangerous.. unfortunately, they have to release Jones and simply because of the salary cap...

        I'd be surprise if they fail to make it to the semis... the team's core remain intact and as long as Penney and Bruton remain healthy, I think they will be as strong as last season...
        Rickert resigned as well, so there is your last piece to the puzzle. He came back to the team at a significantly lower salary than he made last year. Speaks volumes, considering he could have easily made six figures in Europe.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by cheezdoodle View Post
          Rickert resigned as well, so there is your last piece to the puzzle. He came back to the team at a significantly lower salary than he made last year. Speaks volumes, considering he could have easily made six figures in Europe.

          Ah ok.. thats good news... maybe he feels this team can win a championship title... though he could have earn more in Europe but I guess, the Breakers has now have more chance to win a title this upcoming season and its a great opportunity for him

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          • #6
            Originally posted by donmar View Post
            Agreed to that... I guess they've got committed sponsors willing to stick with the team..

            I'm a Breakers fan but I think the sort of merger of Sydney Kings and West Sydney Razorback... and departure of big teams such as the Brisbane Bullets and now the champion South Dragons.. helps the Breakers a lot... it benefits them...

            Also, for the last two years, acquiring accurate shooters such as Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, Oscar Foreman, Phill Jones and even Tony Ronaldson makes the team dangerous.. unfortunately, they have to release Jones and simply because of the salary cap...

            I'd be surprise if they fail to make it to the semis... the team's core remain intact and as long as Penney and Bruton remain healthy, I think they will be as strong as last season...
            The Kings and Razorbacks never merged, mate.

            I am a long time Sydney Kings fan and we never merged with that scum.

            We were ejected from the league due to the poor ownership skills of businessman and team owner, Tim Johnstone.

            I have never got over that and want nothing more than for the mighty Sydney Kings to make a return to the NBL and prove that the league made a grave mistake in ejecting our much beloved club from the league.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Sydney Pete View Post
              The Kings and Razorbacks never merged, mate.

              I am a long time Sydney Kings fan and we never merged with that scum.

              We were ejected from the league due to the poor ownership skills of businessman and team owner, Tim Johnstone.

              I have never got over that and want nothing more than for the mighty Sydney Kings to make a return to the NBL and prove that the league made a grave mistake in ejecting our much beloved club from the league.
              Hehehe I love your comment... I'm a Sydney Kings fan too before they disbanded... it seems New Zealand media misinformed everyone here.. they reported here when the Spirits were formed that it was a merger of both Kings and Razorbacks... I think the league itself has management problem.. why would they eject the most successful club south of the equator (no offence to Argentina)..

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              • #8
                Originally posted by donmar View Post
                Hehehe I love your comment... I'm a Sydney Kings fan too before they disbanded... it seems New Zealand media misinformed everyone here.. they reported here when the Spirits were formed that it was a merger of both Kings and Razorbacks... I think the league itself has management problem.. why would they eject the most successful club south of the equator (no offence to Argentina)..
                Yeah mate, All that scum did was change their name from West Sydney Razorbacks to Sydney Spirit so they could muscle in on the Kings territory and supposedly unite the city like the Kings did in the 90's until the NBL marginalised the place by bringing that scum into the NBL.

                The Kings will be back, mate. It's only a matter of time before the NBL wakes up and smells the coffee that they shot themselves in the foot by ejecting us.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Sydney Pete View Post
                  Yeah mate, All that scum did was change their name from West Sydney Razorbacks to Sydney Spirit so they could muscle in on the Kings territory and supposedly unite the city like the Kings did in the 90's until the NBL marginalised the place by bringing that scum into the NBL.

                  The Kings will be back, mate. It's only a matter of time before the NBL wakes up and smells the coffee that they shot themselves in the foot by ejecting us.
                  I think they already knew what they did was wrong and it backfired already... the Kings is gone but other major teams followed too... no teams from the major cities and Melbourne Tigers almost did the same thing as the current champion South Dragons... while the Spirit is and was a JOKE...

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by donmar View Post
                    I think they already knew what they did was wrong and it backfired already... the Kings is gone but other major teams followed too... no teams from the major cities and Melbourne Tigers almost did the same thing as the current champion South Dragons... while the Spirit is and was a JOKE...
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                    • #11
                      Breakers beat the Cairns Taipans with a margin of 20 points... 95-75 behind two of the league's best 1-2 punch guards... Kirk Penney finished the game with 32 points (8/11 from the 3-point line) while CJ Bruton with 28 points (8/9 from the 3-point line)...

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by donmar View Post
                        breakers beat the cairns taipans with a margin of 20 points... 95-75 behind two of the league's best 1-2 punch guards... Kirk penney finished the game with 32 points (8/11 from the 3-point line) while cj bruton with 28 points (8/9 from the 3-point line)...
                        go the kiwis!
                        "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
                        -El Padrino

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Saskibaloia View Post
                          go the kiwis!
                          Next week is the bigger one... against the Melbourne Tigers.. probably a preview of this season's finals..

                          By the way, its not really a Kiwi franchise.. they got two Americans and two Aussies..

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