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.
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.
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