Britt lives boyhood basketball dream

Tall Blacks squad member Taylor Britt is living a dream which began during a Canterbury Rams visit to his Christchurch primary school.

The 22-year-old point guard will suit up for the Rams for their semifinal tonight against the Bay Hawks in the first National Basketball League Final Four series held in Christchurch for 20 years.

Britt said he was excited ‘‘to get to play in front of my family and my home town’’.

‘‘It’s definitely a bonus making the Final Four and playing in Canterbury makes it even better.’’

Britt, a left-hander, is the back-up point guard to Australian import Emmett Naar, but has become an influential contributor to Canterbury’s surge to the playoffs.

‘‘I get my fair share [of court time] and get to go out there and try to do my best for the team.’’

He has learned a lot from practising and playing with Naar and the Rams’ other imports, Australian shooting guard Cam Gliddon and American forward Isaiah Wilkins.

‘‘The way they play basketball – smart and unselfish – it’s been great to play with them. They’re always making the right play and great defensive plays.’’

Britt comes from a prominent Canterbury softball family. His late grandfather, Gavin Britt, was a national title-winning coach. His father, Murray, was a leading pitcher for Canterbury and American clubs. His older brother Ryan is a current Canterbury pitcher and younger brother Jayden plays for Canterbury club champions Papanui.

Taylor also played softball until the end of high school, but basketball was always his first love – a passion shared with his mother, Raewyn, a long-time Canterbury age-group teams manager who is now the Rams’ team operations manager.

Growing up, Taylor Britt was a regular at Rams home games, trying to learn as much as he could about his chosen sport.

He said it had always been his dream to play for the Rams.

‘‘When I was at primary school, they did a school visit to Cotswold. Ever since then, that’s what I wanted to do.’’

Now Britt is part of the Rams retinue visiting schools and holding community basketball camps.

This is his third season with the Rams since his return from America.

In 2018, he toured China with the New Zealand Select squad.

Rams head coach Mick Downer described Britt at the start of the season as a creative player ‘‘who provides a spark [off the bench] with his quickness and skill at the offensive end’’. He said Britt ‘‘knows he has the ability to play at the next level’’.

That potential has been noted by Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare, who selected Britt in a 25-strong Tall Blacks longlist squad to prepare for the World Cup finals in China in September.

‘‘I’m super excited to go up to Auckland and try and prove myself to the top tier guys in New Zealand,’’ Britt said.