Talented teen becomes the new Giant in town
The week that Nick Davidson had Covid-19 was the week he received the news he’d made it into the New Zealand Under 17 basketball squad.
‘‘It was both a positive and a negative,’’ he says.
The 17-year-old Nelson College student will be one of seven nontravelling reserves in the team.
Davidson has been playing in Nelson representative teams since he was in the Under 13s, and is also about to become the newest member of the Nelson Giants – ‘‘a team I’ve been looking to make ever since I started to play’’.
The coming weeks will be busy for Davidson. The point guard has been at a training camp in Auckland this week, preparation the national team hopes will lead to the World Cup finals in Spain later this year.
Davidson has been playing basketball since he was a 12-year-old student at Nelson Intermediate School. There, he was coached by Tom Ingham, who will be his teammate in the Giants.
‘‘On the court, we both bring competitive energy. Off the court, I’m laid-back and he is outspoken and confident,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘He is a big inspiration for me.’’ Davidson is looking forward to playing against Ingham at training sessions, and playing in front of family, friends and the community as part of the Giants.
‘‘I’m definitely very excited. Last year, we had a lot of interruptions – and hopefully this year, we don’t.’’
He had a pre-season game in Greymouth earlier this month, and said it was a ‘‘really cool experience’’ to play with veterans, ‘‘guys who are so experienced and know so much about basketball’’.
His weekly schedule is going to be busy, juggling school and basketball.
Davidson said he would be trying to manage his physical and mental health as well.
He said he loved the speed and competitiveness of basketball.
‘‘It’s such an amazing sport that can open up so many opportunities over New Zealand, or to meet new friends.’’
Davidson hopes to play for the Giants again in 2023, and after that he may head to university or ‘‘try to climb through the ranks to play more professional basketball’’.