The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand
basketball team based in
Christchurch. The Rams compete in the
National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Canterbury Rams.
Team history
The Canterbury Rams were a foundation member of the
National Basketball League (NBL) in 1982. Between 1986 and 1994, the Rams made the NBL final seven times, winning
championships in
1986,
1989,
1990 and
1992. Import players Kenny Perkins, Clyde Huntley, Eddie Anderson and Angelo Hill were central to the success of the Rams, as was the outstanding New Zealand core of John "Dutchie" Rademakers, Gilbert Gordon, Andy Bennett, Graham Timms, John Hill, Ian Webb,
Glen Denham and Ralph Lattimore. The architects of this success were coaches Garry Pettis, who led the team from 1986 to 1988, and Keith Mair, who took over in 1989. In 1999, the Rams made their eighth NBL final under coach Bert Knops, where they lost 79–72 to the
Auckland Rebels.
In 2000, Dr John Watson took over the Rams organisation from the cash-strapped Canterbury Basketball Association (CBA). His takeover of the team created some deep divisions within the basketball community. In 2006, the CBA signed a three-year management contract with Watson.
In December 2008, after the CBA advised Watson that they would not be completing the third year of the contract, the Rams withdrew from the NBL,
with the
Christchurch Cougars taking their place in the
2009 NBL season. The Cougars lasted just two seasons after withdrawing on the eve of the
2011 season due to the
Christchurch earthquake.
In November 2013, the Canterbury Rams were granted re-entry into NBL under the leadership of Christchurch businessman Andrew Harrison, making their return during the
2014 NBL season.
In
2016, the Rams were regular season winners for the first time since
1993 behind the likes of
McKenzie Moore and
Marcel Jones. They made their first playoff appearance since
2002, and as the first seed, they were aiming for their first NBL final since 1999. However, they went on to lose 104–85 to the
Super City Rangers in the semi-finals despite a 35-point effort from Moore.
Honour roll
Players
Current roster
Notable past players
* Eddie Anderson
* /
Clifton Bush
*
Glen Dandridge
*
Glen Denham
* /
Richie Edwards
*
Mickell Gladness
* Angelo Hill
* Clyde Huntley
* /
Marcel Jones
*
Jeremy Kendle
*
Jeremy Kench
* /
Terrence Lewis
*
Damian Matacz
*
McKenzie Moore
* Kenny Perkins
* John Rademakers
*
Matthew Rogers
*
Ethan Rusbatch
*
Jermaine Taylor
*
Reuben Te Rangi
*
Dennis Trammell
* /
Arthur Trousdell
* Chris Tupu
* Carlo Varicchio
*
Marques Whippy
* John Whorton
* Robert Wilson
Coaches
Head coaches
* Murray McKay (1981–1983)
* Darrell Todd (1984–1985)
* Garry Pettis (1986–1988)
* Keith Mair (1989–1995)
* Bert Knops (1996–1999)
* Matt Ruscoe (2000–2001)
* John Watson (2002–2004)
* Pete McAllister (2004–2005)
* Chris Sparks (2006–2007)
* Bert Knops (2008)
* Dave Harrison (2014)
*
Mark Dickel (2015–2018)
* Mick Downer (2019–present)
Assistant coaches
* Darrell Todd (1981–1983)
* Garry Pettis (1984–1985)
* Bert Knops (1986–1995)
* Phil Burns (1996–1999)
* John Watson (2000–2001)
* Darren Gravly (2000–2001)
* Dave Harrison (2000–2001)
* Pete McAllister (2002–2004; 2014)
* Dene Robinson (2002–2005)
* Clinton Olsen (2005)
* Terry Brunel (2006–2008; 2019–present)
* Kenny Perkins (2007)
* Tim Bennetts (2014)
Canterbury Rams looking to build on comeback
/ref>
* Caleb Harrison (2015)
* Piet Van Hasselt (2015–present)
* Ben Sheat (2016–2018)
Source
Canterbury Rams Facebook page
References
External links
Official team website
*
Andrew Harrison: the unassuming man behind the Canterbury Rams' NBL success
{{National Basketball League (New Zealand)
Category:Basketball teams in New Zealand
Category:National Basketball League (New Zealand) teams
Category:Sport in Christchurch
Category:Basketball teams established in 1981
Category:1981 establishments in New Zealand