Saints finally reel in their shark Te Rangi
The lure of working with Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare in a World Cup year is a big factor in Reuben Te Rangi’s decision to sign with the Wellington Saints.
The Tall Blacks captain will shift from the Southland Sharks to the Saints for next year’s National Basketball League, while Henare will take over the coaching reins from New Zealand Breakers coach Kevin Braswell.
‘‘From the outside looking in, the organisation is always one I’ve looked up to with their professionalism and how they go about things,’’ Te Rangi said yesterday.
‘‘Also, Pauli being there is a big one too, going into the World Cup it’s going to be a big year and playing under Pauli will help my game leading into that World Cup. It’s good to know the systems inside out, so playing under him will be good for me.’’
Saints director of basketball operations, Jordan Mills, said they were excited to have finally secured a signature they had long coveted.
‘‘I’ve talked to him every off-season for the past three or four years to hear his thoughts and what his plans were. This season has been the first season where he’s really said Wellington is where he wants to be next year.
‘‘Hopefully this will be the beginning of many seasons with him in a Saints uniform.’’
Te Rangi has played the last two seasons in Southland and four seasons in total, capping his career there with an NBL title in August, scoring 26 points in the final as the Sharks beat the Saints 86-78.
He said it wasn’t an easy decision to leave an organisation which had done so much for him.
‘‘Southland have looked after me. Having [general manager] Jill [Bolger] down there like a second mum and playing under [coach] Judd [Flavell] has helped me develop these past couple of years. It’s been fun and it was good to get that championship this year.’’
Te Rangi and the Tall Blacks need to only beat Syria at TSB Bank Arena in Wellington tomorrow afternoon to qualify for the World Cup.
Mills said they would be looking to build their roster for 2019 around Te Rangi.
‘‘We’re trying to build with him and a couple of our locals who have been with us the past two years who we are in negotiations with at the moment, but he’s definitely a guy we’ve signed to build our Kiwi core around.’’
‘‘It’s good to know the systems inside out, so playing under him will be good for me.’’ Reuben Te Rangi