Two Schoolboy debuts for Sharks

Two Southland schoolboy talents have been handed their first taste of the bright lights of the National Basketball League.

While a severely under manned Southland Sharks outfit was beaten 95-68 by the Otago Nuggets, Friday night’s round one game did provide a special moment for the Southland basketball community.

Southland Boys’ High School pupil Cairo Lee and James Hargest College pupil William Jack both took to the court in the fourth quarter at ILT Stadium Southland.

For good measure, Lee knocked down his first NBL bucket, much to the delight of family and friends watching on.

The hope for those attached to Southland basketball is that there will be many more points in years to come as the Sharks try to build some homegrown talent.

“It was everything I expected. Nerves, of course, but the game comes to you,” 17-year-old Lee told The Tribune after his debut.

Lee had just returned from Christchurch on Thursday, where he had been playing for the Southland Boys’ High School first V team at the Horomaka Classic tournament.

Lee had little time to rest before first taking to the court in the Rapid League curtain-raiser game for the Sharks, followed by an appearance in the main NBL fixture.

Both Lee and Jack are part of the Southland Basketball Association’s academy, working with academy coaches Connor Coll and Alonzo Burton.

Sharks coach Jonatham Yim was pleased for the two youngsters to get a small taste of the NBL.

“Cairo got his first basket, and we were trying to get Will one there at the end, but it didn’t go his way.

“They both came through our academy and showed a lot of promise, and today was just the start of their basketball journey,” Yim said.

The two schoolboys’ NBL opportunities came much earlier than expected, with the Sharks down on troops to start the season on Friday night.

Yim was always planning to be a little undermanned early in the season, but he conceded he was not expecting to have so many players unavailable.

Will Leger and Max Darling both missed the game with injuries, while Tobias Cameron, Brayden Inger, and American import Caleb Asberry are still overseas and yet to arrive in New Zealand.

A third yet-to-be-announced American import - expected to be Keylan Boone - will also be a late starter with the Sharks.

It was always going to be a difficult assignment with such a large chunk of the salary cap not available, although Yim wasn’t searching for excuses soon after Friday night’s loss.

“I really believe in the guys we have; I’m not sitting here and saying we are waiting for so and so to arrive. I believe in the group we have, and I know they are capable,” Yim told The Tribune.

“We knew the first three games were going to be tough, but like I said, I believe in our group.

“Honestly, that was one bad quarter [tonight], the second quarter we gave up 34 points. It’s hard to win games if you are giving 34 points in a quarter, but other than that, I thought we were pretty even.”

If the Sharks were going to be a threat against the Nuggets, big man Sam Timmins was going to have to have a major say, given Southland were well down on firepower.

And he did play his part.

Timmins racked up 14 points and six rebounds by the end of the first quarter as Southland held a narrow 20-18 lead.

He finished the game with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Friday night was Southland’s first look at new American point guard Rylan Jones.

Yim was pleased with what Jones produced in his first appearance in the New Zealand league.

Jones finished with 20 points in his 25 minutes on court.

The Sharks now head to Auckland for a double header. The first game will be against Franklin on Thursday night, followed by a showdown with the Auckland Tuatara on Saturday night.

Southland is again likely to be down on playing stocks for the tough Auckland road trip.

“I just really like to have some adversity to start the year,” Yim said jokingly, referring to the poor start to last season before eventually making the grand final.

“That’s when I’m at my best, when our backs are against the wall, and we have got to fight out of it.

“Obviously, I had so much fun doing that last year, so I thought, let’s try it again this year.”

BOX SCORE

Otago Nuggets 95: Buay Tuach (28p, 4s), Michael Henn (13p, 4r, 5a), Ethan Rusbatch (12p, 4r, 2s); Southland Sharks 68: Sam Timmins (30p, 11r, 5a, 2b), Rylan Jones (20p, 4r)