BURGER KING BREAKERS PLAYER PROFILES

2009-10 SEASON

2 - Tony Ronaldson

The legendary Ronaldson is the longest serving player in the NBL, having last season eclipsed the NBL playing record of Andrew Gaze. Ronaldson, or ‘Bear’ as he is affectionately known, will start the season with 634 games to his name in what will be his 21^st season in the league with yet another milestone looming as 10,000 points are likely to tick over midway through the season.

The 203cm centre/forward has played 634 matches and scored 9828 points (at 15.5 ppg), appearing in seven NBL Grand Finals and being part of two Championship-winning teams in 1992 and 1996. No player has won more NBL matches than “Bear”, a former Australian Boomer, double Olympian and a gold medalist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Adelaide-born, he is renowned as one of the game’s great ironmen, having missed only 15 matches due to injury in 19 NBL seasons, including a run of 324 consecutive games. Great under the basket, a gun three-point shooter and a smart defender, the 37-year-old’s leadership and experience is proving invaluable at the Breakers, where his contribution across all statistics is underlined by his professionalism and work ethic.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off			Def		Total
61	668		266		40%		250		86		34%	194		132		68%		62			178		240
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg	TO pg		Pts pg
146		238		11		23		112		750			3.9		3.9		0.2		0.4	1.8		12.3

3 - Oscar Forman                   

An Australian Institute of Sport product, Forman is into his fourth season with the Breakers after starting his career with five seasons at the Adelaide 36ers, where he was part of the title-winning team in his debut season, 2002. The 205cm forward led the league in 3 point percentages last season shooting at 48% from beyond the arc (and did so in 2004/05 also) and was rewarded with a Boomers call up, spending time in the Australian national team camp prior to the start of this season.

Forman added strong rebounding to his CV last season, especially on the defensive boards with an average of 5 per game putting him in the top ten in the league. The South Australian took the off season off his usual New Zealand NBL duties this year to have a minor ankle operation and will return refreshed and fighting fit for the new campaign.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
98	879		383		44%		570		235		41%	78		57		73%		101		421		522
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
348		134		48		38		73		1058			5.3		1.4		0.5		0.4		0.7		10.8

4 - Awvee (Ahh Vee) Storey

32 year old Chicago native Storey comes to the Burger King NZ Breakers as one of the most experienced NBA players ever to appear in the ANBL. Storey is an athletic 6’6” forward who played his college basketball at Arizona State, and has a career including 60 NBA regular season games for the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets. Most recently Storey played the 2008 NBA pre-season with the Nets before heading to China where he averaged 23.3 points, and 7.1 rebounds across the 44 game season for Liaoning in the just completed season.

Awvee was at College in Arizona State with former Breaker and current ANBL player Shawn Redhage. Look for Awvee to provide some real strength on the boards with the ability to make the outside shot as well when on offence.

6 – Kirk Penney                                 

One of only two New Zealanders to ever play in the NBA, the sweet shooting guard enjoyed an even better season two with the Breakers last season, leading the league in scoring and being named ANBL MVP. Penney scored at 24.2 points per game at an average of 46% accuracy from the field. It proved a stellar season for the shooting guard as he not only picked up the League MVP but was also named NZ Breakers MVP and NZ Breakers fan’s Player of the Year.

Penney made his Tall Blacks debut in 1999, the same year he started his outstanding college career with University of Wisconsin. He helped the Badgers to NCAA Sweet Sixteen in his senior year and two Big 10 conference titles and was twice named all-conference. Penney represented New Zealand at the Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) Olympics, was the Tall Blacks’ leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points, at the World Championships at Indianapolis in 2002 and again (with 13.7ppg) four years later in Japan. He became the second Kiwi in the NBA in 2003, appearing for the Miami Heat, and took the court for the LA Clippers the following season. He has since played professionally in Spain, Israel and Germany, as well as the NBA Development League.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
62	1097		507		46%		506		206		41%	348		276		79%		52		230		282
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
168		167		10		55		168		1496			4.5		2.7		0.2		0.9		2.7		24.1

7 – Rick Rickert Profile

The 6’ 11” power forward/centre made a big impact on Breakers fans in 2007-08 before being struck down mid-season with a back injury. It was been a long and painful but successful road back for Rickert, playing the entire season last year without any ill effects from the back injury.

Only 26 years of age and a great team man, Rickert played in the High School All-American game in 2001 before excelling at the University of Minnesota where he became the first Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Minnesota’s history and still holds freshman records for most points (441) and highest scoring average (14.2ppg).

He chose to go into the 2003 NBA draft after just two years at College, but was a surprise omission from the first round picks and was eventually selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as 55^th overall pick.

Pointed towards Europe to develop his game, Rickert played in competitive leagues in Slovenia, Greece and Spain while appearing in the NBA Development League and recording some court time with the Detroit Pistons.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
46	532		283		53%		9				0%	166		110		66%		149		264		413
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
142		71		29		17		78		676			9.0		1.5		0.6		0.4		1.7		14.7

23 – CJ Bruton                                   

Australia’s premier point guard showed his value to the Breakers in his first season with the club, running the point in typically dominant fashion as the Breakers secured an historic first ever home play off game (won in record fashion over the 36ers).

It was however a season interrupted mid stream by injury and it was perhaps no coincidence that Bruton’s absence came about during a barren run for the Breakers. Playing often with niggling injuries Bruton was nonetheless able to exert his personality and skills on most games and opposition with his trademark passing game providing open looks for others on the floor. But he can still score, averaging 15.44 points per game and shooting at 47% from outside the arc, inside the top ten of players to play 10 games or more.

Bruton’s career started as a teenager with the Perth Wildcats in 1994 and has included stints with Brisbane (twice), Wollongong, Canberra and Sydney in the NBL, as well as overseas missions in Venezuela and the USA (at college, CBA and NBA level). He was considered one of the best junior college players at Indian Hills Christian College (Div 1, 1995-97) but was then declared ineligible to compete in the NCAA because he had previously played professionally for Perth. The 32-year-old former NBA player with the Portland Trailblazers – originally selected in the second round (#53) of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies – has won three NBL titles, two with the Kings and another with the Bullets in the 2006/07 season. An Australian Olympian in 2000 and 2004 and 2008, Bruton won Commonwealth Games gold in Melbourne, co-captaining the Boomers with fellow Breaker Tony Ronaldson.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
30	308		149		48%		183		90		49%	115		99		86%		23		79		102
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
78		161		4		52		72		487			3.4		5.4		0.1		1.7		2.4		16.2

24 – Dillon Boucher               

A Breakers original, the ultimate team player returned with a big impact last year after a spell with the Perth Wildcats and two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets, which included an NBL title in 2006-07. Boucher is constant movement and energy, not to mention great leadership on and off the court. The all round game reputation for Boucher was backed up on the stat sheet with 49 steals (4^th), 101 assists (14^th) and 148 rebounds all numbers to please coach Lemanis.

The 1.96cm forward is no stranger to success, having won a record number of New Zealand NBL titles – a staggering eight, seven with Auckland and one with Waikato – the most recent in 2005 where he was Final MVP. He also made the NZ NBL All-Star Five in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Now retired from the Tall Blacks, the New Plymouth born Boucher made his NZ debut at the Goodwill Games in 2001 and was a member of the hugely successful 2002 World Championship team that won Team of the Year and overall honours at the Halberg Awards in early 2003. He also attended the Athens Olympics in 2004 and the 2006 World Champs in Japan during an international career that finished just a dozen matches short of 100 games.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
93	361		169		47%		26		2		8%	141		78		55%		208		230		438
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
284		311		40		168		190		414			4.7		3.3		0.4		1.8		2.0		4.5

32 – Paul Henare                   

Paul Henare is the heart and soul of the Breakers, the only ever present left on the roster from day one seven years ago. The play-making point guard’s record at the Breakers is unparalleled. ‘Pauli’ has missed an amazing 7 games only in that time after playing the first 130 in succession. The Breakers’ all-time leader in games played (185), assists and steals, Henare is also in the club’s top 3 for blocked shots and rebounds, illustrating his defensive abilities and desire. Henare made his New Zealand NBL debut for his hometown Hawkes Bay Hawks in 1995 and won back to back NBL titles with Auckland in 1999 and 2000 before guiding the Hawks to a first-ever triumph in 2006 before moving to guide the Christchurch Cougars to the semi finals in their debut season in 2009. He has competed for the Tall Blacks at the 2001 Goodwill Games, the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2002 & 2006 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis and Japan, plus the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. A stint at Utah Valley State College in 1999 helped develop his game and Henare has also had overseas experience playing for OKK Belgrade in Yugoslavia and Banvitspor in Turkey.

Breaker Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
188	1021		396		39%		347		87		25%	385		262		68%		102		421		523
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
525		740		45		171		369		1141			2.8		3.9		0.2		0.9		2.0		6.1

10 – Thomas Abercrombie           

Tom Abercrombie is one of the great young talents in the game in New Zealand and is expected to get more court time after a year of development last season. His presence on court at the end of the season as the club pushed towards the play offs became a common sight. A player of incredible athletic ability, his alley oop dunk on the Gold Coast was replayed on television throughout Australia and New Zealand. That good form led to him being named NZ NBL Rookie of the Year in 2009 as he helped his Waikato side under Coach Dean Vickerman to a national title, averaging points and boards per game.

The 22-year-old North Harbour returned to the Shore in 2008 after a year in the strong Washington State University basketball programme. Part of the wider Tall Black training squad, the athletic 6’ 6” swingman represented New Zealand at the 2007 World University Games after a stellar college career. Abercrombie captained Westlake Boys to the national secondary schools basketball title in his senior year, averaging 20.5 points, 11 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game, while being named NZ Academy of Sport High Performance Player for the second successive year. He won the WBHS Trophy for Academic and Sporting Excellence in 2002 and 2004 and was a member of Andrej Lemanis’ first Breakers team which toured China in May 2005. A gun all-round sportsman, Abercrombie also captained the WBHS team to a national secondary schools volleyball title.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's	Made				Att F/T		Made			Off		Def		Total
13	39		23		59%		11	4		36%		3		2		67%	8		16		24
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals			T/Overs		Total pts		Reb pg		As pg			Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
17		5		8		1			5		52		1.8		0.4			0.6		0.1		0.4		4.0

25 - Jeremiah Trueman

A new signing for the Breakers this year, 22 year old power forward Trueman is a young Kiwi with big raps and yet plenty of time to mature and develop. Trueman has spent the past four years at College in the USA developing his game before graduating from the University of Alaska. Trueman has a strong work ethic and desire to learn and grow. That potential has already seen Trueman named in the Tall Blacks training squad in 2009.

 

Trueman was born in New Plymouth, on 19 May 1987. He spent his childhood in Brazil where his parents worked as Christian missionaries, until returning to Stratford when Jeremiah was 13 years old. It was only then that he took up basketball, having played football while a child in Brazil.




Trueman quickly developed as a basketballer. He was selected for the Nelson Giants NZ in 2004 while still at school, finishing his secondary education at Nelson College.. Trueman didn't disappoint, receiving the Giants’ Rookie of the Year Award for his performance in the 2004 season.




In December 2004 Trueman was selected for a New Zealand Secondary School side to play its Australian counterpart in Auckland, giving a stand-out performance. In January 2005 he was selected for the Junior Tall Blacks to attend the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, and scored 14 points in the 90-59 loss to Australia in the final. He again represented the Junior Tall Blacks at the San Diego International Invitational Tournament in June, where the side finished 5th place overall. Trueman took up a scholarship with San Diego Christian College around the same time, and in the 2005-2006 season helped the College basketball team to a second-place finish in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

9 – Corey Webster – Development Player               

Webster returns as a development player and showed signs of what he had learned in his first season with a stunning rookie year in the 2009 NBL. Webster led all scorers for most of the season before bowing out in that stat to Wellington import Mike Efevberha, ending with an average of 26.1 points per game.

June 2008 will be a month the 19-year-old will always remember – snaring one of the two Development Player spots at the Breakers and making a superb Tall Blacks debut against Australia before he had even played in the NZ NBL. The son of Harbour Heat coach Tony, himself an NZ NBL legend, the 6’ 1” combo guard was a member of the Breakers Academy programme in 2007 before a one-year stint at Lambuth University in the USA. He made a remarkable impression for the Eagles, averaging 11.64 points per game in shooting 47.2% from the field, as he was named Freshman of the Year in the NAIA TranSouth Conference. Webster had previously won two national secondary schools titles with Westlake High, been named National Tournament MNP in both 2005 and 2006 and played for the NZ Juniors in 2006.

Breakers Career Stats

Gms	Att		Made				Att - 3's		Made			Att F/T		Made				Off		Def		Total
8	9		1		11%		5		1		20%	2				0%				1		1
Fouls		Assists		Blocks		Steals		T/Overs		Total pts			Reb pg		As pg		Blks pg		St pg		TO pg		Pts pg
3		4				1		3		3			0.1		0.5		0.0		0.1		0.4		0.4

35 - Alex Pledger – Development Player

Alex is a new signing and will fill one of two development player spots on the roster. At 22 he is raw and young but Coach Lemanis has seen the potential that has already seen Pledger play for the Tall Blacks in 2008. At 2.13m tall Pledger can play centre or power forward and has spent the past two years at Belmont Abbey College in the Stages.

Andrej Lemanis

This is the fifth year that Andrej has been at the helm of the NZ Breakers and with each the Head Coach is gaining in confidence and reputation. So much so that at the end of the 2008/09 season Lemanis was honoured to be named as one of the Assistant Coaches to Boomers Head Coach ??

Before becoming the Head Coach of the NZ Breakers Andrej was the assistant coach of the Townsville Crocodiles for 7 years. He was also the Assistant coach of the Australian under 21 team. Andrej played in the Australian National Basketball League playing with the St Kilda Saints, the South Melbourne Saints and won the Championship in 1992 with the South East Melbourne Magic.

Dean Vickerman

This is Dean’s third year as Assistant coach with the NZ Breakers, prior to which he served as an Assistant with the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and the Singapore Slingers.

Dean has been involved in two NBL grand finals both with the Melbourne Tigers - Runner up in the 1992 final as a player and as an Assistant coach of the 2005/06 NBL Championship team. Dean this year returned to the NZ NBL as Head Coach at Waikato and showed his qualities by leading the Pistons to an emotional league title, less than 6 months after the death of former coach Murray McMahon. He had previously coached the Wellington Saints in 2003  and has been Assistant coach for the New Zealand Tall Blacks.

Judd Flavell

Judd begins his fourth season with the Breakers this year as Assistant Coach and Head Coach of the Basketball Development Academy. Flavell continues to work brilliantly with the young talent in the game, teaching them not only how to cope on the court but also in areas of leadership and responsibility off the court.

Judd played in the NZ NBL for 14 years and holds the record for assists made in the NZ NBL with over 1000 assists. Judd was a Tall Blacks representative from 1999-2002, participating in the prestigious Tall Blacks World Championships team of 2002 that finished fourth in the world.