Pickings were rather thin this week as I scanned box scores and reports to ascertain the NBL Rookie of the Week.
Even the reliable Richie Edwards was quiet by his standards gathering 8 rebounds and 10 points but shooting just 3 rom 9 from the field as the Canterbury Rams lost 76-59 to the table topping Hawks.
In the same game the Rams gave a debut to 16-year-old Shou Nisbet. This comes just a few weeks after Tai Wynyard, also only sixteen, debuted for the Super City Rangers. Unfortunately Nisbet only troubled the scorers in the foul column but more productive days lie ahead for the NZ Under 18 rep – and hopefully the Rams!
Taranaki Mountain Airs guard Nash Oh earned a rare start scoring 8 points as they destroyed the Super City Rangers 126-90. The afore mentioned Wynyard scored 9 points for the Rangers on the back of 100% shooting from the field (4 from 4 including 1 from 1 three point effort).
The Nelson Giants had two games in the round. They beat the Otago Nuggets 83-79 in Dunedin but lost 94-83 to the Sharks in Invercargill.
Finn Delaney and Gus Riley acquitted themselves well for the Giants on the southern trip. Riley had 7 points (3/3 fgs) against Otago, Delaney 5pts/5rebs against Otago and 8pts/5rebs against the Sharks.
Nothing terribly exciting about the numbers posted above but I feel the following are worthy of closer scrutiny.
Finn Delaney played 54 minutes across the two games for the Giants as he continues to fill the void left by Mika Vukona. Those big minutes combined with a total of 13pts/10rebs/1 block make him a worthy recipient of the NBL Rookie of the Week Award.
Special mention of Tai Wynyard who continues to make an impression in his debut season. 9 points, zero missed shots, 3 boards and a block would be a handy return for many of the forwards in the NBL.
A little more meritorious when you are only in year 12 at school!
Don’t be surprised if he makes the extended Tall Blacks training squad come July.
LACEY LOWDOWN 