Beyond The Breakers: A Look At All The Other Kiwis In The Aussie NBL This Season
Shea Ili – Melbourne United
Shea Ili was one of two kiwi fellas already contracted to an Aussie club, having completed half of a two-year contract with Melbourne United following his requested release from the Breakers (in response to RJ Hampton coming in to soak up point guard minutes). Ili was coming off a relatively poor season with the Breaks having been elevated to starting PG and not really owning the role.
With Melbourne Utd (and old mate Dean Vickerman) he slid back to the bench for most of the season and his scoring averages were lower than they had been but Ili proved his worth more and more as the campaign progressed, helping United to surge into the semis and he was even elevated to start come the playoffs, asked to guard Caspar Ware (Sydney Kings) and doing a bloody good job of it too.
Dean Vickerman’s on the record as calling Ili the best defender in the league. He also sneakily rose his three-point shooting percentage up to 35.3% last season (only 2.34 attempts per game but that’s all good). Safe to say they love him in Melbourne and it’ll be more of the same requested... even if most of his work does slide under the radar. Note that Ili had to opt back into his deal on a reduced salary because of all the covid dramas, which he dutifully did.
Tyrell Harrison – Brisbane Bullets
21 years old, seven feet tall, and already capped three times for the Tall Blacks... but Tyrell Harrison is easily the most undercover of all these folks. He came through the basketball ranks in Queensland (where he also went to high school) and has been a bit of a project player for the Bullets for a few years now. A development player in the 2017-18 season as a teenager, then at the end of that season signed a three-year deal which saw him remain a development player the following season but graduate to full roster status for the two after that. This season will be the third of those season and thus the last on his current deal.
We haven’t seen a lot of Harrison yet in the NBL. He’s only played seventeen total games in three years combining for about 37 minutes. Last season he played 18 and a half mins across six games... so there’s probably a bit of pressure for him to breakthrough and demand more opportunities this time around. The Bullets also have Will Magnay on the books supposing he fdoesn’t end up in the NBA plus Matt Hodgson has re-signed and they’ve also picked up Harry Froling so the big man rotation in Brisbane is a crowded one. Up to Tyrell, who also opted into his existing deal with a lessened salary, to make the most of whatever comes his way.
Reuben Te Rangi – South East Melbourne Phoenix
After showing flashes of what he’s capable of in his time at the Breakers, RTR truly broke through in his third season with the Brisbane Bullets where he won both the NBL’s Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards for the 2018-19 season. Well deserved too as he scored 10.5 points per game in just 22 minutes off the bench and also supplied some suffocating defence. However last term he found those minutes dwindling down to less than nine per night as he slid down the rotation in Brisbane. No surprises then that he was on the move once free agency came around and for ages it was a poorly kept secret that South East Melbourne would be his next destination.
At SEM he reunites with assistant coach Judd Flavell and he also gets the chance to reinvent himself for the second time in his career. He did it at the Bullets now he gets to do it with the Phoenix. With eight years of experience in the league he’s got veteran qualities but he’s also only 25 years old with room to improve for a team that gives him more game-time than he got his last go around. Add all that up and it makes him good value for the Phoenix, who’ve inked him to a two year deal and by the look of their roster they might just be planning to start him too, have him as that primary defender against the myriad of top notch wings around the league. If we see the version of RTR that we’ve been getting for the Tall Blacks these last couple years then he’ll be an absolute bargain.
Max Darling – Illawarra Hawks
This dude is a fascinating case. 19 years old with great size and athleticism to go with a bit of shooting and some rim defence and that alone makes him a worthy signing. But he’s also super ambitious. Before RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball shunned the NCAA stuff to sign as NBL Next Stars, Max Darling had already skipped out on the chance of a USA college to sign professionally in Europe – spending the last two years with KK Vrijednosnice Osijek in Croatia. His second season there he was averaging 10.2 pts & 5.4 rebs (in 28 mins/g) before the coronavirus got in the way of things. Understandably he’s chosen not to go back to Europe and has instead signed a three year contract with the Hawks... three years which will take him up to his final year of NBA Draft eligibility. Told you he was ambitious.
There’s been a definite pathway between the NBL and NBA (and vice versa) in recent years. Hampton and Ball for sure but also guys like Mitch Creek and Isaac Humphries and MD’s Hawks teammate Cam Bairstow... chuck in Andrew Bogut too. Not to mention various imports with big league experience. And don’t forget that Bryan Colangelo (former GM of the Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors & Philadelphia 76ers) is a part of the ownership group that just bought the Hawks as well. He’ll be playing under coach Brian Goorjian, one of the NBL’s finest ever. This is all nice and deliberate by Darling as he plots his way to the top.
However it’s a three year project and Max Darling’s got plenty of things that need refining in his game. He looks like he’ll play a backup forward role in Illawarra bringing some energy in limited minutes off the bench. The kind of minutes that won’t always be in his control but we’ll see how he goes. It’s a bit of a rarity to be able to watch one of the top kiwi prospects of his age as closely as this – usually they’re away in the States and hidden from immediate view. The NBL will be loving these optics as well as they seek to further enhance the status of the Aussie league worldwide. Regardless of where Max Darling ends up going in his career (hopefully all the way), he chose the NBL as his booster platform.
Jarrod Kenny – Cairns Taipans
JK polished off a two year contract with the snakes last season, helping lead them to the semis. He then popped back over to Aotearoa and won the NBL Showdown title with the Otago Nuggets and was named co-Defensive Player of the Year in the process. Then he signed on for another year with the Taipans. Decent times for Jarrod Kenny... even if the legendary mullet was a casualty of the Nuggets’ victory lap.
At 34 years old JK is probably looking at one-year deals from here on out but that’s all good, he’s a known quantity with plenty of positive relationships around the league. There was talk of the Perth Wildcats thinking of bringing him back as a veteran backup guard, though ultimately the Taipans won out. A nice continuation of where he left off playing ruthless defence for the second unit and being a leader on and off the court. Everywhere he goes he’s beloved so sweet as.
Taylor Britt – Perth Wildcats
There was chat all along that the Wildcats wanted to bring back Taylor Britt after he played 16 games as a development player last season (as the Cats won the championship), chat that Britt himself had confirmed during his impressive feats in the NBL Showdown with the Canterbury Rams. That prospect took a little bit of a blow as the Wildcats signed Kevin White to play as their backup point guard behind Mitch Norton. In going for a veteran presence (they were also keen on bringing back Jarrod Kenny, remember) they didn’t leave much room for Britt on the main roster but lucky for him he’s still eligible to be a development player so they brought him back in that capacity and thus got the best of both worlds with the veteran presence and also the up and coming prospect.
Britt’s flowing off a dominant mini-season for the Rams in which he averaged 19.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists having to do a bit of everything for the depleted Rams (particularly early in the campaign) which got him shortlisted for the MVP award. Didn’t do huge numbers for the Wildcats, you wouldn’t expect a DP to, but he did kit up for all three finals matches so you know he’s on the brink. You’ve gotta be under the age of 25 to be a DP in this league and Britt turns 25 in September 2021 so pretty sure that makes this his final season of DP eligibility so it’s a big one for Taylor, gotta prove his worth and earn that full-roster status for next time.
Jordan Ngatai – Cairns Taipans
A minor frustration of the last couple seasons had been Jordan Ngatai’s minimal minutes. Only got 4.0 per game in the Kevin Braswell season despite his impressive efforts for the Wellington Saints bookending that term while the severe injury crisis that they had in the first Dan Shamir season still couldn’t get him past 9.8 mins per game. He didn’t shoot particularly well to be fair... but he also didn’t get huge opportunities. It’s safe to say that we haven’t seen the best of Ngatai in the Aussie NBL yet and that could have been tricky for him once his contract ran down at the Breaks and there was never a suggestion that there’d be another where that came from.
So the fella went and dominated the NBL Showdown as the first overall pick for the Otago Nuggets, helped lead them to a championship whilst playing some quality defence and unselfish offence (attacking the rim and bombing threes, but especially sharing the ball around to the open shooters after sucking in the attention of the defenders around him) in a dominant backcourt with Jarrod Kenny... and hey what do you know now he’s gonna get to reprise that combination with Kenny at the Cairns Taipans! Chances are JK would have played a little role in getting that one over the line, with Ngatai signing a two-year deal with the Snakes in the hope being that he can do what Reuben Te Rangi has done and thrive in Oz after leaving the Breakers. He won’t go in as a starter for the Taipans or anything. He’ll have to prove his worth before he earns the minutes he never really got at the Breakers... but that two-year contract suggests they like what they see.
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa - South East Melbourne Phoenix
‘Twas a little while in between drinks after those first seven fellas got signed up but finally, six weeks after Ngatai’s announcement, we had ourselves another as Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix as a development player for the upcoming NBL21 season. The delaying of the start of that season has bought a bit of time with recruitment for clubs as well as asking some questions about their finances... which is never fun. But if money’s tight, and with one fewer import, then you need to be able to get solid performances from your depth players and IML as a DP is certainly that. He was excellent in the NBL Showdown, co-winning DPOY and making the All-NBL starting five for his efforts with the Auckland Huskies. His athleticism should translate pretty well to this level and his defensive prowess certainly gives him more of a chance to get some minutes on the court in his first season as an NBL player (defs won’t be his last). The former Sacramento State guard thus props up a pretty tasty kiwi contingent at SEM, joining Reuben Te Rangi and assistant coach Judd Flavell... with the Phoenix doing the honourable thing and signing another NZer after Yanni Wetzell opted out to sign in Germany instead. Chur chur.
Yanni Wetzell – South East Melbourne Phoenix
Wait what was that about Yanni Wetzell opting out? Technically he did... but now he’s opted out of opting out and opted back in again. If that makes no sense at all to you then here’s the simple fact of it: Yanni Wetzell will, after all, be playing for SEM this season. The 24 year old big fella had initially signed a two year deal with SEM back in late July, the second year being a player option, having finished up an excellent spell at San Diego State. But then a few weeks later he took advantage of his overseas opt-out clause (before it expired) to take up a deal with Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany instead. However some dramas with his passport meant that all fell through and lucky fella he’s got a quality fall back option there waiting for him. Same deal, two years including a player option, only this time the out-clause has expired. The Phoenix still hadn’t replaced him on their roster so basically it’s like he never left.
At 6’10, Wetzell will play centre for SEM but he’ll do so as a guy who can reliably shoot the ball, stretching the floor whilst still bagging rebounds. And with SEM he’s at a team that appears to be willing to support its players in using the NBL as a launching pad to bigger things – the NBA being the shining light there and Mitch Creek’s presence being the clearest example. No doubt that Wetzell has his sights set on having a crack at the NBA if the right opportunity arises... and that’s what makes this move (both initially and now in redux) so exciting as it’s proof that players genuinely do see the NBL as a league that can facilitate those things. He’s also one of three NZers on this South East Melbourne roster to go with Judd Flavell as an assistant coach. How good?
Jordan Hunt – Cairns Taipans
And another one. Jordan Hunt was one of the many post-college dudes to impress coming back to Aotearoa for the 2020 NBL Showdown. In fact Hunt, a 23 year old big man with a smooth touch, sharp instincts, and nice ability to score, went on to win the Finals MVP for the champion Otago Nuggets with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists & 2 steals in the grand final. Incredibly he’s the third member of that Nuggets team to sign with the Taipans with Jarrod Kenny and Jordan Ngatai of course also there, that familiarity without doubt a factor in getting this move done.
Hunt will be on a development player deal so minutes will not be too forthcoming at first but Taipans Head Coach Mike Kelly – the reigning Coach of the Year – reckons they’ve signed a guy with the potential to grow into full roster status in due time. You’d expect him to say stuff like that... but they wouldn’t drag a fella over from New Zealand just for giggles. Great opportunity for him.
Some more Mike Kelly quotes from the press release: “We’re not leaning on him to come and be a key player right now, but we know he’s a good person and will fit in with our team and our culture. I see him as player that is only going to get better on court, and this will be a really significant year for his growth and maturity as he develops into an NBL player.”
Tom Vodanovich – Sydney Kings
Gotta be honest it was a slight surprise that Tom Vodanovich didn’t get re-signed by the Breakers after his outstanding MVP campaign in the NBL Showdown. 22.4 pts / 10.2 rebs / 2.1 ast per game for the Manawatu Jets whilst shooting 52.1% from the field and an incredible 44.9% from three-point range (on 9.2 3PA a night!). It’s not that he’d never shot a three pointer before in his life (41.7% from deep for the Sharks the NBL season prior... albeit only from 3.8 attempts per game) but that barrage of triples seemed to come out of the blue and could easily have caused a rethinking of his stature with the Breakers after he graduated from development player to full time pro the year before. But nah, they’d already moved on.
Luckily, right as it was looking like the Kiwi NBL MVP might be getting ghosted by the Aussie league, the Sydney Kings got on the line. Aussie fella Xavier Cooks hurt his ankle in preseason and will miss around three months which left the Kings in need of an injury replacement player. Cooks is a proper wingman (undrafted in 2018, played Summer League with the Golden State Warriors then played pro in Germany) so Tommy V ain’t quite a direct replacement but they like his hustle, they like his toughness, they love his shooting, and the club CEO reckons he “fits exactly what we were after. I was surprised he had not already been snapped up on an NBL roster”.
Vodanovich had been playing in Luxenbourg after the NBL Showdown with Telstar Hesperange but then they cancelled their season due to the pandemic - Vodanovich having played three games averaging 29.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and carrying on his form by shooting 50% from deep. To be honest, the Kings are not gonna be an easy team to get minutes for. Especially not after joining them late. But he should get a cheeky three months or more to work his way in. With this signing the Adelaide 36ers are now the only team in the NBL without a New Zealander on their roster. That’s bonkers.
Mike Karena – South East Melbourne Phoenix
Hold the phone, we’ve got another one! With big fella Dane Pineau dealing with a back injury that could cost him the first month of the season, maybe more, Mike Karena has been called in as an injury replacement. It’s not as wide a window as Tom Vodanovich is expected to get but the press release reckons Pineau’s status will be reassessed in 4-5 weeks ahead of the Melbourne Hub in late Feb. Sweet as. By his own admission Karena is there to “use my size if they want me to go screen someone, run down the court, bang bodies, just be the role player they need me to be”.
Karena therefore becomes the fourth NZer on that Phoenix roster. Not to mention Judd Flavell as assistant coach (no coincidence that Flavell’s involved in the most kiwi-populated non-Breakers roster). The 27 year old will back up Ben Moore and Yanni Wetzell at centre so don’t anticipate massive minutes. But he’ll do more than a job for them. Karena’s already well familiar with Reuben Te Rangi, obviously, but he’s also played with Adam Gibson and Cam Gliddon before in kiwi NBL stuff so it’s basically like old mates catching up for a beer at SEM.
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