Andrew Wheeler (born 18 January 1988) is a New Zealand

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Early life

Wheeler was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

and attended

James Hargest College James Hargest College is a large school of about 1,950–2,000 students, in Invercargill, New Zealand. The school caters for students from year 7–13. The school is divided into two campuses, known as James Hargest Junior Campus (Year 7–8) an ...

. He grew up as a basketball addict, but also played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He studied at the University of Otago and trained with the

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Night 'n Day Otago ...

' academy while based in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

NBL career

Wheeler was a member of the inaugural

team in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, making his NBL debut in the Sharks' opening game before making two other appearances off the bench. Following an incident in

on 27 March 2010, he was suspended from playing or practising with the Sharks for the rest of the NBL season. In September 2010, Wheeler was sentenced in the Dunedin District Court to seven months' home detention after admitting a charge of reckless disregard for safety when he struck a man in the face with a beer bottle at a Dunedin flat-warming party in March. For 28 weeks, Wheeler was electronically monitored by an ankle bracelet and confined to his parents' house – only being able to leave for work and the odd recreational allowance. He was welcomed back into the Sharks squad in April 2011. He played sparingly for the Sharks in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

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and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, but was a member of the championship-winning team in July 2013. After sitting out the 2014 season due to injury, Wheeler returned to the Sharks in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and won his second NBL championship. The 2016 season saw new coach Judd Flavell hand Wheeler a larger role on the team, and he subsequently played a career-high 15 games. Entering the 2017 season, Wheeler became the franchise's longest-serving player. The Sharks made their third NBL final in 2017, but lost 108–75 to the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

. Wheeler's dedication to the Sharks under coach Flavell saw him return once again in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. The Sharks went on to reach the NBL final for the fourth time in six years, where they won their third championship with a 98–96 win over the Saints. As a result, Wheeler became the only Sharks player to be part of all three of the franchise's championships. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Wheeler returned to the Sharks for a ninth season. He was set to return for his tenth season in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

before the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

saw the Sharks withdraw from the season. He played for the Sharks again in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. On 2 June 2022, Wheeler served as the Sharks' stand-in coach against the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

after the team's head coach and assistant coach were ruled out due to Covid. He returned to the Sharks in

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

in a dual player-assistant coach role. He continued as a player in

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

Personal life

Off the court, Wheeler is a lawyer in Invercargill.

References

External links

Southland Sharks profile

NBL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Andrew 1988 births Living people New Zealand men's basketball players Point guards Southland Sharks players Sportspeople from Invercargill