One of New Zealand’s most promising basketballers, 18-year-old Aucklander Taine Murray, has signed with the Breakers as a development player as the franchise launches a new initiative to keep talent on-shore.
The Year 13 student will train with the Breakers once Alert Level 3 lockdown ends. He can then play in the upcoming Australian National League.
The signing won’t affect Murray’s plans to head off to the US on a scholarship next year. He’s still deciding between three top-ranked colleges, including Virginia which won the US National Champions last year.
“They [the colleges] think it’s an amazing opportunity, obviously, training with professional athletes.”
As another top talent prepares to leave New Zealand, the Breakers have been thinking. In the future, they want to offer stand-out junior players a local university scholarship, and then have them come under the Breakers wing.
“[It’s about] getting an education, being part of our professional programme, playing in the New Zealand NBL that we can control, then being part of our ANBL team,” owner Matt Walsh said.
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