Taranaki trio ready to suit up in the US
It’s been over a year since Taranaki’s Joellen How played a competitive game of basketball but her drought looks set to end this month.
How is set to suit up for the Wagner College Seahawks in the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division one basketball competition this season against some of the world’s best young players.
‘‘It’s been a long time coming,’’ How said. ‘‘So I’m excited to get out there.’’
The former New Plymouth Girls’ High School guard linked up with the Staten Island-based college in January this year and spent the second half of the 2016-17 season as a red-shirt freshman.
In American college sports, redshirt students are part of the team but cannot play. It is often a move used to allow players from overseas to get accustomed to the way the game is played before getting amongst it.
Her debut won’t be in either of the team’s first two games of the season, which begins on November 11 (NZ time), after she suffered a stress fracture in her shin during the preseason but with Wagner fielding a young side, she looks in position to see a decent amount of time on the court this year.
‘‘It’s a tough competition obviously, and it will be with our team being young with a lot of freshmen. So we’re just going to take each game as it comes.’’
How is one of three Taranaki players who will line up in NCAA division one basketball competitions this season.
Fellow ex-New Plymouth Girls’ High School guard Kayla Manuirirangi will take the court for Tulane University in a tough American Athletic Conference featuring the University of Connecticut, the top ranked side in the US.
Manuirirangi is entering her sophomore year at the school and shapes up as a vital part of their rotation heading into the season, which begins on November 11 (NZ time) against Maine.
In the men’s competition, former New Plymouth Boys’ High School student Harrison Meads will join a new school for his junior year, linking up with the Pepperdine Waves.
Meads, a 2.4m (6ft 7in) power forward, joins the team in a veterans role.