Point guard confident Otago can compete
DARCY Knox does not have to look far for confidence today.
Having been part of the Otago side that beat the Southland Sharks 10485 a year ago, the point guard knows the team can compete when the sides meet in Gore.
While the game is a preseason one for the Sharks, it is a big occasion for Otago, giving its players a taste of the next level in lieu of an NBL team.
On the line will be the ILT Challenge Shield — previously played for between the Sharks and Otago Nuggets — and Knox was excited for another chance to test himself.
‘‘It was a mean run last year against the Sharks, so I think we got a lot out of that,’’ the
22yearold said.
‘‘I think to see, for some of us, the gap is not actually that far.
‘‘There’s a good handful of guys that wouldn’t be out of place in an NBL squad, so I think that fuels some of us to keep going.’’
On that occasion, the Sharks had been without several players, as they were again this time.
However, there would still be two with Tall Blacks experience on show in Luke Aston and James Hunter.
For Knox, the chance to show he could play at that level was a big opportunity.
Playing at a higher level remained a goal of his and he said, ideally, it would be good to do that in Dunedin.
His focus was on his computer science and finance degrees, although he did not rule out considering moving for basketball opportunities in the future.
If he was to move, it would not be the first time; he has spent a year at Northwest Kan sas Technical College in the United States.
There he played at a high level in one of junior college’s top conferences and the improvements in his game were noticeable when he returned.
‘‘It helped me add a few things to my game that I just didn’t have over here and people don’t have here.
‘‘I went over there and I was just not as athletic as everyone else.
‘‘So that was one thing I really had to catch up on, so I worked a lot on that.
‘‘When I came back here, it kind of turned into one of my advantages.
‘‘The game’s just so much quicker over there and I had to adjust and that’s transferred to my game back here.’’
That was a highlight, as had been being in the Nuggets and Canterbury Rams squads in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
He was also a key player in the Otago Boys’ High School team that finished fourth at the secondary school national championships in 2013.
Having claimed the Dunedin club title with the Mid City Magic last year, Knox was looking forward to another season.
He will be joined by several other Magic players today, including backcourt partner Benoit Hayman, and two newcomers to the region in former Canterbury Rams player Matt Stevenson and 2016 Junior Tall Black Samson Aruwa add plenty of quality.