In the first of two preview articles we take a look at the nineteen Harbour representative players on basketball scholarships in the States – eleven men and eight women.

The college season begins next week and we begin by looking at the men with six of them playing at NCAA Division I universities.

That group is headed by Jack Salt at Virginia University where he will captain the Tony Bennett coached Cavaliers.

Jack, who played for the Tall Blacks in the June FIBA Olympic Qualifying window, is in his final season at Virginia who in the latest ESPN polls are ranked well inside the top ten in the nation. He will once again be a key player as the Cavaliers look to defend their Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Isaac Letoa and Dan Fotu also wore the Tall Blacks singlet earlier in the year.

Dan has headed to St Mary’s College of California. St Mary’s is of course noted for producing outstanding NBA guards Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. Dan is in his freshman year.

Isaac is about to embark on his second season at prestigious Ivy League school Dartmouth College playing for the Big Green. 

Also beginning his second season is Sam Waardenburg at the University of Miami Hurricanes. If he repeats the 44% three-point shooting numbers he produced last season expect him to play more than 15 minutes per game in the coming campaign.

Matt Freeman didn’t quite have the impact he hoped for last season at the University of Oklahoma Sooners but expect the former Westlake forward to bounce back in his Junior year.

Another former Westlake Boys standout Yanni Wetzell was a redshirt during the 2017-18 season after transferring from St Mary’s Texas to Vanderbilt University. The 2017 NZ Select representative will be looking to make an impact for the Commodores. Yanni has two years of eligibility with Vanderbilt.

Alex Talma and Denhym Brooke are beginning their senior years at Division II schools Biola University and Hawaii at Hilo respectively.

Both had strong Junior campaigns last season - Alex finished second in rebounding (6.9rpg) and third in scoring (10.6ppg) for Biola. Denhym, despite playing just a dozen games, finished fifth in points average stats, third in rebounding and second in blocked shots.

In contrast Zack Te Puni and Will Heather are just beginning their careers at Division II colleges. Zack is on the east coast at College of Saint Rose whilst Will is attending Dallas Baptist University. Unfortunately Will has recently had a shoulder operation and will have to sit out the 2018-19 season. The good news is that he will still retain four years of eligibility.

In Junior College Joel Coffey returns for a second year at State College of Florida and Thabo Manyere is in his initial year at Moberley Area Community College.

Last season Joel led his team in shots blocked (1.7 per game), rejecting a career high 7 shots against St Petersburg College last February.

We will be keeping an eye on the progress of all these players as the season unfolds over the coming months.