In addition to fourty-one Kiwis on NCAA Division I basketball scholarships a whole swag are attending Div II and Div III schools, NAIA universities and Junior colleges.
It doesn’t stop with USA schools as Kiwis are also shining at universities in the Philippines and Canada also.
By my reckoning 122 New Zealand basketball players are based at overseas tertiary institutions
For the full story click here
The Lowdown Team of the Week includes Angus McWilliam who also earned a Student-Athlete of the Week Award at the University of California Riverside.
Freshman Kruz Perrott-Hunt makes the line-up for the first time as does sophomore Taki Fahrensohn. The performance of the week however belonged to the more experienced Yanni Wetzell – a senior at No 20 ranked San Diego State University.
Yanni Wetzell, senior at San Diego State University
Only nine miles separate San Diego State University and San Diego Christian University but the gap in class is much greater as SDSU moved to 11-0 with a comprehensive 92-48 win. Yanni Wetzell needed just 19 minutes to compile 17 points (7/10FG), 6 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist and a block.
Takiula Fahrensohn, sophomore at University of Portland
Taki Fahrensohn was in great form for Portland scoring 15 points shooting 4 from 7 from beyond the arc. The former Auckland Grammar guard also had 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal as the Pilots beat Florida A&M 66-60. His points and rebound numbers were both career highs.
Angus McWilliam, sophomore at University of California Riverside
Also putting up career high points was Angus McWilliam. The Cantabrian forward posted 13 points (6/10FG) and 6 rebounds and a block although UC Riverside Highlanders (7-4) went down 70-56 at Washington State. The performance helped McWilliam earn Student-Athlete of the Week at UCR.
Kruz Perrott-Hunt, freshman at University of South Dakota
Kruz Perrott-Hunt had a season best seven assists against zero turnovers and added 5 points, a block and a steal as South Dakota beat Mayville State 96-60 to improve to 9-3. It was a fifth straight start for the freshman out of Rosmini College.
Daniel Fotu, sophomore at St Mary’s College, California
Dan Fotu scored 9 points and pulled down a career high 9 rebounds in a solid 25 minute performance as St Mary’s Gaels improved to 10-2 with an 89—77 win against Cal Berkeley.
The Gaels closing in on a Top 25 ranking.
Matt Freeman, senior at University California Santa Barbara
Matt Freeman produced 7 points (3/6FG), 8 rebounds and 2 assists as University California Santa Barbara hung tough at Idaho State to win 74-68.
Bubbling Under
Miami fashioned a 78-77 thrilling win against Temple with Sam Waardenburg filling all the stats boxes. The former Rangitoto College forward had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, I steal and a season best 3 blocks in 35 minutes as Miami moved to 7-3 this season.
Max de Geest enjoyed his first start for Long Beach State, the Cantabrian ending up with 11 points in the 87-76 loss to USC. The freshman shooting guard also dished 3 assists.
Another Cantabrian, Jackson Stent, produced 5 points, 3 rebounds and a pair of steals for Houston Baptist but the Huskies went down 96-84 at Rice University.
Tobias Cameron, son of newly appointed Tall Blacks Coach Pero Cameron, came up with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists as Abilene Christian routed the University of Howard Payne 105-36.
The 2019 Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam wrapped up on Saturday at HoopQuarters with Blue Chips and Gauchos getting the wins with almost identical score lines.
Gauchos beat Birdmen 106-102 whilst Blue Chips got the better of Railsplitters winning 103-102.
There were plenty of heavy scorers in both games topped by Southland Sharks guard TinasheMatambanadzo (42pts) and Rosmini College wing Sean Murphy (35pts).
Blue Chips 103– Sean Murphy 35, Dru Leo Leusage-Ape 24, Nick Barrow 17, Ollie Hayward 8
Railsplitters 102– Jaga Mete 33, Levick Kerr 18, Josh Leger 16, Alex McNaught 14
Gauchos 106– TinasheMatambanadzo 42, Denhym Brooke 19, Jaga mete 14, Dontae Russo-Nance 11, Ollie Hayward 10
Railsplitters 102– Jaylen Gerrand 26, Dom Kelman-Poto 24, Joel Vaiagina 14, Zack Riley 12, Ryan Laumatia 9, Reihana Maxwell-Topia 8
The Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam is supported by HoopQuarters, SAS and ABSL.
24 points apiece from Amiee Book and Kendell Heremaia earn them a place in the Kiwi NCAA Div I Team of the Week. Also recogniised are Charlotte Whittaker, Shalae Salmon and Akiene-Tera Reed.
Amiee Book, sophomore at California State University Fullerton
Amiee Book knocked down 24 points and snared a career high 9 rebounds as Cal State Fullerton won a high scoring affair against Cal Baptist 97-93.
Book is second on the CSUF scoring list averaging 13.1 points per game and shooting the three-ball at a handy 37% (16/43).
Kendell Heremaia, junior at Fordham University
Also scoring 24 points was Fordham University co-captain Kendell Heremaia. Fordham beat Southern 65-52 and it was another stats stuffing performance from Heremaia who also logged 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block in 28 minutes of action. The former St Peter’s School, Cambridge standout is averaging 12.1 points per game and a team high 8.3 rebounds. Heremaia also leads the Fordham three-point shooting making 23 from 57 at 40%.
Shalae Salmon, senior at Brigham Young University
Shalae Salmon pulled down a team high 11 rebounds, including 6 at the offensive end, as BYU went down 66-55 to Boise State. It’s the fourth time in seven games that the Wellingtonian has pulled down 11 or more boards this season. She followed that with 14 points and 6 rebounds in the 71-57 win against Utah Valley. Salmon, with six starts from eight games, is second on the BYU rebounding list averaging 7.4 boards per game.
Akiene-Tera Reed, junior at Virginia Commonwealth University
Akiene-Tera Reed top scored for Virginia Commonwealth in the 62-49 win against Old Dominion. Reed scored 17 points (6/11FG) and added 3 rebounds and a couple of steals. Last season’s Atlantic-10 First Team selection has been a little hampered by a hand injury this season but despite missing three games still leads the VCU scoring averaging 11.9 points per game.
Charlotte Whittaker, freshman at University of Colorado
Charlotte Whittaker was once again in good form for the high flying University of Colorado Buffaloes who moved to 9-0 with a 96-70 win against Denver. The freshman forward added a career best 9 rebounds (5 of those off the offensive glass) to sit alongside 10 points (5/8FG). Whittaker has averaged 10.5 points per game in her last six outings.
Bubbling Under
The Kiwi playing in the highest ranked American college basketball team is Tara Manumaleuga. The 2018 New Zealand U17 representative recorded 3 points and 4 rebounds for Arizona Wildcats as they eased past Tennessee State 77-42. Arizona, with a 10-0 record are ranked #18.
Katelin Noyerposted 6 points plus 2 rebounds and 2 assists as Fresno State thumped Laverne 111-56 to improve to 8-3 this season.
Kaylee Smiler, a freshman at BYU, scored three points in the win against Utah Valley.
Ahead of the Sky Sport Breakers home encounter with the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday it is interesting to note that four of the players are closing in on significant milestones.
Corey Webster needs just a single assist to become the 6th Breaker to tally 400 career assists.
Tom Abercrombie requires 3 rebounds to register 1,500 career rebounds. He is second on the all-time Breakers rebounding list behind Mika Vukona who pulled down a whopping 2,356 rebounds and set a mark that will not be passed for a long time.
Following on from his 150th NBL appearance against the Brisbane Bullets, Jarrad Weeks needs to score 10 points to total 1,000 NBL career points.
A couple of baskets will see Finn Delany become the 24th Breaker to score 500 points for the club.
Against Brisbane Bullets (home last Monday)
In scoring 23 points Corey Webster became the first Breaker to pass 200 points this season – he currently sits on 215 points at 19.6ppg. He is 8th on the NBL scoring list for the current season and in addition is 6th on the leading assists list averaging 4.3 dimes per game.
Tom Abercrombie’s 19 points was his highest score of the season.
There have been plenty of good performances in the past week from Kiwi women in college – a senior, three juniors and a freshman make the Team of the Week.
1 Tegan Graham (Colgate University)
Given her first start of the season Tegan Graham grabbed the opportunity with both hands as Colgate Raiders beat Niagara 85-72. The former Wellington Girls College star filled the stats line with a season high 5 assists to go with 8 points, 5 rebounds, a steal and a block.
Reveling in the responsibility Graham hit 14 points and corralled 8 boards three days later when the Raiders booted Siena 88-51. Her 8 rebounds was a career best.
2 Kendell Heremaia (Fordham University)
Fordham Rams leading rebounder (averaging 8.3 rebounds per game) Kendell Heremaia came up with 10 boards as Fordham won the Battle of the Bronx beating Manhattan 51-45 and followed that with nine more in the 67-54 win against Georgetown. Heremaia was at her stats stuffing best against the Hoyas adding 10 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.
3 Akiene-Tera Reed (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Akiene-Tera Reed, the Virginia Commonwealth leading scorer, scored a team high 14 points (6/14FG) but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Rams going down 69-55 to William and Mary. The Rams wing added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of steals.
4 Charlotte Whittaker (University of Colorado)
Forward Charlotte Whittaker scored 10 points (5/9FG) for Colorado in their 74-50 win against Texas Southern. That was four games in a row the ex-St Andrew’s College forward had notched double figures. The sequence came to an end in the 62-53 win against Xavier with Whittaker posting 6 points and 4 rebounds – the Buffaloes are still unbeaten stampeding along with an 8-0 record.
5 McKenna Dale (Brown University)
Starting guard McKenna Dale posted 12 points (4/8FG) 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal as Brown toppled Bryant 56-50 It was Dale’s third double figure scoring outing this season – Brown now 4-6 in this campaign.
Bubbling Under
Shalae Salmon filled most of the positive stats categories with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a block but BYU Cougars lost 60-52 to Arizona. The cougars have slipped back to .500 with a 3-3 record.
Three-from-six from beyond the arc gave Kayla Manuirirangi 9 points bit Tulane University slipped up against South Alabama going down 62-53.
Back after a bout of glandular fever Amiee Book scored 7 points as Cal State Fullerton beat San Diego 72-67 on the road.
The inaugural high school ‘Battle of the Bridge’, hosted by the Sky Sport Breakers, was won by City Side who defeated North Shore 66-51.
Played ahead of the Breakers v Brisbane Bullets NBL clash at Spark Arena on Monday evening the game featured the best young high school players from Mt Albert Grammar, Auckland Grammar and St Kentigern College representing City Side. North Shore featured top players from Rosmini College, Rangitoto College and Westlake Boys High.
Shalom Broughton led the way for City Side with 18 points, the Schick Nationals MVP well supported by his St Kentigern teammates Levick Kerr and Alex McNaught. Auckland Grammar point guard Connor Ngan was also prominent as were the Mt Albert Grammar duo of Nate Wilson and Sataan Tawera.
Westlake Boys star Sam Mennenga, signed to play NCAA Division I basketball at Davidson College next year, top scored for North Shore with 15 points while Rangitoto’s Zack Riley and the Rosmini duo of Jayden Boucher and Reihana Maxwell Topia provided good support.
Played in front of the Sky Sport cameras, and a healthy crowd, Riley was the first to score and his teammate Josh Kooiman rounded out the first quarter scoring but in between triples from Ngan and Broughton helped City Side to a 21-15 first quarter lead.
Jaga Mete and Kerr extended the City Side lead to double digits before Mennenga replied with a brace of baskets and when Sean Murphy scored the last three points of the first half North Shore trailed by the narrowest of margins (31-30).
Boucher and Riley gave North Shore the lead immediately after the break but it was short lived as Tawera, Broughton and Ngan (8 points in the quarter) took City Side to a handy 47-40 three-quarter time lead.
Kerr and Josh Leger extended the City Side advantage and although Maxwell-Topia and Mennenga scored a couple of neat inside baskets North Shore were unable to cut into the City Side advantage. Fittingly Kerr, McNaught and Broughton, key players in St Kent’s National Championship winning campaign, put the lid on the win combining for 14 points in the closing ten minutes.
City Side 66– S Broughton 18, L Kerr 11, C Ngan 11, A McNaught 8, S Tawera 6, N Wilson 6, J Mete 4, J Leger 2, L Vea, K Evans
North Shore 51– S Mennenga 15, J Boucher 6, R Maxwell-Topia 6, Z Riley 6, S Murphy 5, J Kooiman 4, M Williams-Dunn 3, J Thompson 3, H Payne 3, E Mandeno
The latest Kiwi Team of the Week in NCAA Division I men’s basketball features a player who had career best shooting night, one with a career high rebounding count, a season high points haul for another, a former Tall Black with +26 in the +/- column and a first three-point shot attempted and scored in three years from another former Tall Black!
1 Matt Freeman (UC Santa Barbara)
“I consider myself one of the team leaders and to be that, I need to make free throws down the stretch. Tonight I did and this was a big win for us,” reflected Matt Freeman after he had made four free-throws in the final 8 seconds to guide UC Santa Barbara to a 64-60 win at Cal State Bakersfield.
Freeman finished with a career high 19 points on 4 from 5 shooting from beyond the three point arc and 7 from 7 free-throws.
2 Sam Waardenburg (University of Miami)
Sam Waardenburg had a good night as Miami University secured an impressive 81-79 victory at Illinois in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The former Rangitoto College standout added a season high 12 points to 8 rebounds in 34 minutes of playing time. Waardenburg was an efficient 4 from 7 from the field including 2 from 4 from beyond the arc.
3 Izayah Le’afa (Sacramento State University)
Izayah Le’afa was a massive +27 in plus/minus as Sacramento State eclipsed UC Merced 72-36. The former Tall Blacks point guard finished with 8 points (2/4 3PG) and 6 rebounds as the Hornets improved to 5-1.
4 Angus McWilliam (UC Riverside)
It’s been a good week for Angus McWilliam. In his first start of the season he went close to a double-double with 10 points and a career high 9 rebounds in the 74-40 win against Cal Lutheran.
A couple of days earlier Riverside slipped up against Cal Baptist going down 79-67 but McWilliam still managed 8 rebounds and 6 points in the loss.
5 Sam Timmins (University of Washington)
Washington improved to 7-1 with a 90-80 victory against Eastern Washington. Sam Timmins secured 6 rebounds and scored 11 points (4/6FG) which included his first three-point shot attempted – and made – since his freshman year in 2016-17! The former Otago Boys big man added a block for good measure.
Bubbling Under
Jackson Stent was a major contributor for Houston Baptist with 12 points (6/8FG) and 4 assists but the Huskies fell 113-90 to Stamford and remain winless after seven games.
Portland University fell agonizingly short against Seattle falling 73-71. Former Auckland Grammar shooting guard Taki Fahrensohn went 3 from 6 from deep for his 9 points.
In a very one-sided affair Abilene Christian overwhelmed Dallas Christian 102-43. Tobias Cameron grabbed the opportunity of some additional court time with 7 points and 4 rebounds for Abilene.
San Diego State remained unbeaten when a three on the buzzer propelled them to a 59-57 win against San Jose State. Yanni Wetzell scored 8 points for the 10-0 Aztecs.
Freshman guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt, making his third consecutive start for South Dakota, scored 7 points and also dished 3 assists as the Coyotes beat Mount Marty 94-79 to improve their record to 7-3.
Some Sky Sport Breakers numbers and milestones following the loss in Cairns on Friday night..
Upcoming
Corey Webster needs 4 assist to become the 6thBreaker to tally 400 career assists. In addition he needs just 8 points to become the first Breaker to pass 200 points this season – he currently sits on 192 points at 19.2ppg.
Jarrad Weeks needs to score just 4 points to total 1,000 NBL career points.
Finn Delany requires 18 points to become the 24thBreaker to score 500 points for the club.
v Cairns Taipans (away)
In his 150thNBL game Jarrad Weeks scored a season high 15 points.
Tom Abercrombie became the second Breakers player, after Mika Vukona, to pull down 1,100 defensive rebounds.
Brandon Ashley completed his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Playing just his third game for the Breakers Glen Rice Jnr came close to a triple double recording 30 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
v Illawarra Hawks (home)
Another fine crowd of 8,474 at Vector Arena was the highest attendance of the season. It is the sixth highest crowd in Breakers history.
Finn Delany recorded his first double-double for the Breakers adding 10 rebounds to a season high 20 points in just his third game back after injury.
Despite missing the last couple of games due to illness Amiee Book still makes the NCAA Kiwi Women’s Team of the Month for November. She is joined by Kendell Heremaia, Shalae Salmon and a couple of Tall Ferns, Akiene-Tera Reed and Zoe Richards.
Amiee Book (Sophomore)
The 2018 Big West Conference Sixth Player of the Year has missed three of Cal State Fullerton’s early season games but when she has been on deck she has averaged 14 points per game. The former Waimea College guard scored a career high 27 points against both Southern Utah and Loyola Marymount and is shooting 44% (16/36) from beyond the arc.
Kendell Heremaia (Junior)
A co-captain at Fordham University Kendell Heremaia is certainly leading by example. The former St Peter’s School, Cambridge and Waikato standout is leading the Rams in rebounds (8.0rpg) and is also averaging 11.9 points and 2.9 assists per game. Her shooting numbers are good at 86% (12/14) from the foul line and 42% (17/41) from deep. She matched her career high of 19 points in Fordham’s latest win against Lehigh.
Akiene-Tera Reed (Junior)
An All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection last year the 2018 Tall Fern has missed three games due a hand injury. Akiene-Tera Reed has still averaged 11.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for Virginia Commonwealth Rams. Reed is shooting a remarkable 71% from beyond the three-point arc although admittedly it is a small sample size – 5 from 7 attempts.
Shalae Salmon (Senior)
Shalae Salmon made it consecutive double-doubles with 10 points and 11 rebounds (5 offensive boards) for BYU in their 67-50 triumph against Utah State. The game was played in front of 5,800 fans at the Marriott Centre, the second largest crowd in programme history.
The Wellington Girls College alumni is averaging 8.2 points and is second on the team in rebounding with 7.2rpg for the Cougars.
Zoe Richards(Senior)
The Otago Gold Rush forward is averaging 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds for Eckerd College having scored in double figures in all four games the Tritons have played this season. Showing the type of form that earned her Tall Ferns selection this year Richards scored a season high 18 points (9/11FG) against Georgia Southwestern recently.
Bubbling Under
Charlotte Whittaker (Freshman)
Charlotte Whittaker has had a growing presence in her first season at Colorado. The Cantabrian has just had three straight games in double for the unbeaten Buffaloes (6-0).
She has a season best 15 points and is averaging 8.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Michelle Nicholls (Junior)
Michelle Nicholls is in her first season at Purdue Fort Wayne having transferred to the Mastodons after two years at La Salle. Scored a season high 18 points against UIC and is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Tegan Graham (Senior)
Tegan Graham is averaging 7.4 points and 2.5 assists for the 6-2 Colgate Raiders. The former Wellington Girls College standout scored a season high 16 points against Canisius.
McKenna Dale (Junior)
McKenna Dale missed all of last season at Brown University due to injury. The former Junior Tall Fern is averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds since her return for the 3-5 Bears.
Eva Langton (Junior)
Eva Langton averaged 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds for Texas A&M International. The Taranaki guard has attempted ten three-point shots and made six (60%) in her seven games for the Dustdevils in November.
LACEY LOWDOWN 