Getting import players into New Zealand isn't easy in a Covid-19 world for NZNBL teams but despite that, the Wellington Saints still managed to land the signature of their biggest player ever — literally.
Giant Jamaican Romaro Gill is gearing up for a stint with the Saints this season and it’s fair to say he’s well-built for basketball.
“In shoes, I'm seven-foot-two [2.18m],” Gill told 1 NEWS.
“If you take my wingspan, it's like, seven-foot-nine.”
Gill already has some te reo under his built for his arrival and some established connections in New Zealand, in part due to Kiwi girlfriend Mickey who he met while at university in the US.
With someone of his size, it’d be fair to think he's played basketball most his life. But Gill didn't start hooping competitively until his late teens, with cricket being his main sport at high school — believe it or not — as a spinner.
“I love cricket,” Gill said.
“I haven't watched cricket in five years because Americans don't watch it as much but coming to New Zealand, it would be great to see it again.”
In fact, Gill thought he was in for a career in the army before a basketball camp in Jamaica run by American coaches resulted in a full scholarship to the states.
“When I went to this camp, I was confident enough with my performance but I wasn't sure if I'd get an opportunity to further my basketball career,” Gill said.
“I was there, doing stuff at home, then about three weeks after the camp I got called and [they] said, 'You got a full scholarship to go to junior college in America.'
“I was like, ‘Man, this is a huge opportunity for me.' I'm like, ‘I can help my family back home, I can go to school and finish my education.'”
He's since done just that and is due to feature in next month’s G-League — the NBA's development competition — so an opportunity to bring a player of his size and calibre to New Zealand was too good to miss, Saints CEO Jordan Mills said.
“We think he might be the biggest import to step foot on our shores,” Mills said.
“We're just waiting on immigration to approve his visa and we should know in the next couple of days.”
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