CookGreen to play star US college team

FORMER Otago guard Joe CookGreen has been named in a New Zealand Premier team.

The team is set to play the University of Oklahoma on its tour of New Zealand and Australia on August 6 in Auckland.

CookGreen is coming off his first year at college in the United States, where he played for highlyranked junior college Northwest Florida State University.

Before that he was a key player for Otago Boys’ High School and played for both the Otago Nuggets and Canterbury Rams in the NBL.

A young team has been named. Canterbury guard Taylor Britt is also in the mix, as well as Sam Smith, who spent time in Christchurch.

Coach of the New Zealand Premier team Mike Fitchett said it would be a challenging matchup for the host.

‘‘It’s no secret this premier team won’t enjoy any substantial time together, especially with a number of the team playing in the under 23 national tournament immediately preceding the game.

‘‘But many of the players have played through the junior system together, so they should have some familiarity playing with each other.

‘‘It’s a great opportunity for our local talent to be able to have a crack at such a big time programme that is OU.

‘‘It will be awesome for the guys that have played with and against Matt Freeman, to see how he has progressed and how good he is now.

‘‘[It is] just a great chance for the guys involved to have a high level game to participate in.’’

The University of Oklahoma plays in the Big 12 conference in the NCAA and has experienced success throughout the years.

Most recently it made the 2016 Final Four and has produced NBA players such as Blake Griffin and Buddy Hield.

Kiwi Matt Freeman is entering his second year with the team and was looking forward to bringing his team home to play.