Star point guard Jarrad Weeks will return to the Shark Tank for the 2020 Sal's New Zealand NBL, today putting pen to paper for a third season.
SIT Zero Fees Southland Sharks Head coach Rob Beveridge announced his marquee player's signing at ILT Stadium Southland tonight and is delighted the pair will reunite for next NBL season.
"He was the first kid I called when I got this job. I love Jarrad, he's such a fantastic human being.
"I've coached hundreds of players and have been doing it for a long time, he's up there with my all-time favourite players that I've coached," Beveridge said.
Weeks has fast become a fan favourite, last year being voted as the number one Fan Favourite Shark of the last ten years. His energy and leadership on and off the court made him an obvious off-season priority for the club.
"I'm excited to come back down. We've had two great years and I'm sure we'll make it a third."
"Obviously with Juddy (Flavell) leaving last year I wasn't sure what was going to happen but with Bevo coming in, the great community down there in Southland, the best facilities and the best crowds in the NZ NBL so from that point of view it was a very easy decision to come back."
"I have a huge amount of respect for Bevo. He gave me my chance at the NBL which seems like a lifetime ago when he signed me for the Illawarra Hawks and we had a good relationship back then and we've had constant talks no matter where each of us were in the world, doing our own things in basketball so I'm very excited to be back on board with Bevo."
"He is just a good guy. That's where it all starts. He genuinely cares about his players and he instills a lot of confidence in all his players across the full roster. And when you take that confidence on to the court he gives you a lot of trust and he knows who he has on his team and their strengths. Put all that together and I think it's going to make for a really great Sharks' season this year," Weeks said.
The 2020 Sal's NBL tips off on 9 April with the Sharks opening the season on the road with a road double-header against the Franklin Bulls and Manawatu Jets. The first home game at ILT Stadium Southland is on Friday 24th April against the Jets.