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Auckland Tuatara (basketball)
The Auckland Tuatara are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Auckland. The Tuatara compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Eventfinda Stadium. Founded in Tasmania in 2019 as the Southern Huskies, the team relocated to Auckland in 2020 and for two years were known as the Auckland Huskies. In December 2021, the team was purchased by the owners of the Auckland Tuatara baseball team. History In Tasmania In 2016, sights were set on an Australian NBL franchise returning to Tasmania. The Hobart Chargers of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) wanted to be "NBL ready" in three years. In 2018, plans to get the Chargers into the Australian NBL morphed into an overarching Tasmanian bid for a proposed new franchise to be called Southern Huskies led by former Hobart Devils player, Justin Hickey. The Huskies bid ultimately fell through when Hickey failed to acquire the Derwent Entertainment Centre (DEC), compounde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Basketball League (New Zealand)
The New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) is a men's professional basketball league in New Zealand. History The 1980s ushered in a period of exceptional growth and popularity for basketball in New Zealand. Late in 1981, six men's teams – a mixture of club and provincial representative sides – went out alone and created an inaugural national league. It was enough of a success to come under the control of the New Zealand Basketball Federation the following year, when it grew in size and secured a naming sponsor. An allowance of two imported players (invariably Americans with college basketball experience) per team, and the fact that games were played in the evening indoors, helped turn the league into a new family entertainment option. Spectators filled gymnasiums and media coverage reached unprecedented levels. The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes for New Zealand basketball and many teams in the NZNBL, with reduced TV coverage, sponsorships, and crowd numbers. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jalen Billups
Jalen Christopher Billups (born December 21, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. He played five years of college basketball for Northern Kentucky before starting his professional career in Australia with the Cockburn Cougars of the State Basketball League (SBL) in 2017. After a short stint in Scotland with the Glasgow Rocks, he returned to the SBL in 2018 and won the league's MVP with the Joondalup Wolves. He joined the Southern Huskies in 2019 for their inaugural season in the New Zealand NBL and then moved to Japan in 2021 to play for the Toyoda Gosei Scorpions of the Japanese B.League. Early life Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Billups attended Shroder Paideia High School (Cincinnati, Ohio), Shroder High School, where he graduated in 2011. He averaged 19.2 points and 8.6 rebounds as a senior and was named to the all-city team and earned All-Cincinnati Metro Atlantic Conference accolades. College career As a freshman with the Northern Kentucky Norse m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tohi Smith-Milner
Tohiraukura Makaere Smith-Milner (born 6 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He has previously played in the Australian NBL for Melbourne United, South East Melbourne Phoenix and Adelaide 36ers, and has represented the New Zealand Tall Blacks. Early life Smith-Milner was born and raised in Auckland, where he attended Rosmini College and played junior basketball for Waitakere. Professional career NZNBL and Australian state leagues Smith-Milner started his professional career in 2012 with the championship-winning Auckland Pirates in the New Zealand NBL. He joined the Super City Rangers in 2013 but did not play, going on to make his debut for the Rangers 2014 and averaging 12.7 points per game. After a season in the United States playing college basketball for Polk State Coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izayah Le'afa
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (born 7 November 1996) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in the New Zealand NBL, playing three seasons for the Saints before moving to the United States in 2016 to play college basketball for the Sacramento State Hornets. After graduating in 2020, he played a season for the Auckland Huskies and earned NZNBL Defensive Player of the Year and NZNBL All-Star Five. He subsequently joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian NBL, where he played two seasons before joining the New Zealand Breakers in 2022. After a season with the Sydney Kings in 2024–25, he re-joined the Breakers. Early life and career Le'afa was born and bred in Wellington, New Zealand. He attended St Patrick's College, where he played both basketball and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leon Henry
Leon Hofeni Nehemiah Henry (born 14 October 1985) is a New Zealand basketball player. He debuted in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) in 2004 and has won seven championships. He has also played five seasons in the Australian NBL, where he won three straight championships with the New Zealand Breakers between 2011 and 2013. Early life and career Henry was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. He attended Mount Albert Grammar School and Avondale College. A rugby league player in his early days, he discovered basketball as a 12-year-old at a holiday camp run by then-Auckland Stars coach Tab Baldwin. Baldwin gave Henry a Tall Blacks trial when he was 18. Henry debuted in the New Zealand NBL in 2004 with the Harbour Heat. He also played for Hutt Valley in the Conference Basketball League (CBL) in 2004, helping the team reach the final while earning CBL Tournament Team honours. In 2005, Henry played for Waitakere U23 in the CBL. In 10 games, he averaged 21.8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Braswell
Kevin Levelle Braswell (January 23, 1979 – February 24, 2025) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played four years of college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas between 1998 and 2002 before playing professionally for 14 years. He most notably played in New Zealand, where he won a championship in the Australian National Basketball League with the New Zealand Breakers in 2011. That year, he won the NBL Best Sixth Man Award. He later played for the Southland Sharks in the New Zealand National Basketball League, where he won NZNBL championships in 2013 and 2015. He began his coaching career in 2016 and coached in New Zealand and Japan. He served as head coach of the Utsunomiya Brex in the Japanese B.League during the 2024–25 season. Early life Braswell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended Lake Clifton Eastern High School. He then had a prep season at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine. College career Braswell play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COVID-19 Pandemic In New Zealand
The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2020. The country recorded over 2,274,370 cases (2,217,047 confirmed and 57,323 probable). Over 3,000 people died as a result of the pandemic, with cases recorded in all twenty district health board (DHB) areas. The pandemic first peaked in early April 2020, with 89 new cases recorded per day and 929 active cases. Cases peaked again in October 2021 with 134 new cases reported on 22 October. In response to the first outbreak in late February 2020, the New Zealand Government closed the country's borders and imposed COVID-19 lockdowns, lockdown restrictions. A four-tier #Alert level system, alert level system was introduced on 21 March 2020 to manage the outbreak within New Zealand. After a two-month nationwide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2020 New Zealand NBL Season
The 2020 NBL season (officially known as the 2020 NBL Showdown) was the 39th season of the National Basketball League. The regular season was set to commence on Thursday 9 April and end on Sunday 12 July, with the finals then taking place between 16–24 July. However, following the coronavirus outbreak in early to mid March 2020, the season was suspended indefinitely. After two months of deliberation and in the wake of easing coronavirus restrictions, the league announced a revised competition format for 2020 beginning on Tuesday 23 June and ending with the grand final on Saturday 1 August. The 2020 season was initially set to feature eight teams following the withdrawal of the Southern Huskies and Super City Rangers and the inclusion of the Franklin Bulls for the first time. However, three of the top four teams in 2019 (Wellington Saints, Hawke's Bay Hawks and Southland Sharks) decided not to enter the modified competition. This left the door open for the inclusion of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingborough Sports Centre
The Kingborough Sports Centre (KSC) is a multi-purpose sports venue located in Hobart, Tasmania, in the suburb of Kingston. The centre caters for indoor sports such as volleyball, basketball and netball. Work began in 1978 on a four-level complex that was finished in 1979 at a cost of $1.3 million. The Hobart Devils in the National Basketball League (NBL) played at KSC between 1983 and 1988, as did the Hobart Islanders in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1986 and 1996, winning the 1991 title. The Hobart Chargers in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) initially played at KSC, winning three South Conference titles in 1997, 1998 and 2000 in front of fans at Kingston before the club shifted closer to the city centre. The Hobart Huskies played their home games in the NBL1 The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conferences: NBL1 South, NBL1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2019 NBL1 Season
The 2019 NBL1 season was the inaugural season of the NBL1. The season began on 29 March and concluded on 17 August with grand final day for both the men's and women's seasons. The NBL1 in 2019 was a single league and consisted of one conference run by Basketball Victoria. The teams, mostly from Victoria (state), Victoria and Tasmania, would go on to make up the NBL1 South in 2020 NBL1 season, 2020 after the inclusion of multiple new conferences. Background Basketball Victoria introduced a new senior elite league in 2019 called NBL1 after partnering with the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The former teams from the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) were part of the inaugural NBL1 season, while Eltham Wildcats, Knox Raiders, Ringwood Hawks and Waverley Falcons joined from the Big V. The 2018 SEABL champions, the Hobart Chargers, chose not to enter the NBL1 in 2019. They were replaced by the Hobart Huskies. Clubs Regular s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NBL1
The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conferences: NBL1 South, NBL1 North, NBL1 Central, NBL1 West and NBL1 East, with each consisting of both men's and women's competitions. Each conference is run by their respective state governing body, with the league including 72 clubs from across every state and territory. The NBL1 in 2019 was a single league and consisted of one conference. That conference would go on to become the South Conference in 2020 after the inclusion of the former Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and South Australian Premier League saw them become the new North and Central conferences. The league grew to four conferences in 2021 with the inclusion of the former WA State Basketball League (SBL) and then five conferences in 2022 with the inclusion of the former NSW Waratah League. History In October 2018, following the demise of the South East Australian Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jordan Vandenberg
Jordan Vandenberg (born 25 March 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for the McKinnon Cougars of the Big V. He played four seasons of college basketball for North Carolina State University. He also holds a Dutch passport because of his father. Early life Born in Melbourne, Vandenberg played junior basketball for the Waverley Falcons and attended Box Hill Senior Secondary College. In 2008, he accepted a basketball scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) where he went on to represent Australia at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. He also played 17 games for the AIS during the 2008 SEABL season. In those 17 games, he averaged 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. In April 2009, Vandenberg committed to play college basketball for North Carolina State. College career Vandenberg played five seasons (2009–14) for the NC State Wolfpack after being granted a medical redshirt during his junior season. He averaged 4.6 points, on 68% shooting, with 4.7 r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
