WETZELL
uncertain. The registration deadline for the six-week, seven-team National Basketball League is Friday, with a draft scheduled for June 11 to distribute players in a year when the travel restrictions keep teams from filling their allotment of foreigners (SDSU alums Xavier Thames and Winston Shepard played for the Canterbury Rams in 2018). The entire season will be staged at Auckland’s Trust Arena, likely without fans to start.
Wetzell hasn’t decided whether he’ll register, concerned that his struggle to find consistent gym time over the last two months followed by two weeks cooped up in the Novotel followed by less than two weeks before the NBL opener could pose an injury risk.
Either way, though, he’ll have some basketball normalcy. The plan is to stay in New Zealand through the summer, then return to the States if or when NBA teams offer pre-draft workouts in September, as league executives privately predict.
“I’ll have gyms to go to here, weight rooms to go to, a bunch of people to play with and work out with and scrimmage with,” Wetzell said. “So I’ll be set.”
Until then, he does yoga every morning. He rolls on lacrosse balls to increase his flexibility. He cobbles what weights and resistance bands he has into something resembling a workout. He dribbles a basketball in the empty airport parking lot while security guards blithely look on. He signs up for the daily Boot
Camp class with the “tough as nails” female instructor.
It was Day 4, and his spirits seemed good. His fridge was stocked with snacks from his parents. The hotel meals hadn’t started repeating. Netflix series were still compelling. He got to at least catch sight of his parents and share a meal via Facetime.
“I saw them from afar and snuck in a little conversation,” Wetzell said, “but it was definitely frowned upon by the security guards. It was hard seeing them but not being able to hug them, you know? … But I think you have to make the most of any situation you’re put in. I get up in the morning and I have a day. I want to make the most of it.
“The staff is very accommodating, very welcoming. I’ve had some good conversations with people. They’re very friendly. Good to hear some Kiwi accents also. It’s not something I hate, not something I’m dreading. I’m in a better situation than some people, who are quite agitated and want to get out of here as quickly as possible. I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it has been.” But …
“This is Day 4, keep that in mind,” he said. “Day 12 might be a little different. I came in on Thursday, May 28, at 5:30 a.m. That means I can leave Thursday, June 11, at 5:30 a.m., and I’m guaranteeing you I’ll be out of here at 5:30 a.m.
“I’ll set my alarm and ask the olds to pick me up bright and early.”
He’s already reacclimating to his homeland. “Olds” is Kiwi slang for parents.
mark.zeigler@sduniontribune.com