Timmins forging ahead in Seattle
Rising Otago basketball talent Sam Timmins is back in town after his first year playing for the University of Washington in Seattle. Jeff Cheshire caught up with the star centre.
BASKETBALL’S highest level can seem like a different planet to New Zealand fans.
But Sam Timmins has been to that planet and back again in the past year.
Having played his first season of college basketball and been to China with a New Zealand select team, he is now preparing to head to Auckland for a sixday Tall Blacks camp.
The camp could lead to the 2.11m, 120kg 20yearold making his debut for the national team if selected for the upcoming Asia Cup.
It would cap a big 12 months for the former Otago Boys’ High School pupil.
‘‘I definitely feel like I’m a far better basketball player than I was 12 months ago and at the end of the day, that’s the ultimate goal, to keep getting better,’’ he said.
Excited to get into camp with the Tall Blacks, he was enjoying being back on court with New Zealanders.
Playing for the Tall Blacks was a dream and he was expecting fierce competition to make the final squad of 12 from the 14 attending the camp.
His time in China, which he called a great experience, should help him with that, as will his time in the US.
Having played 31 games for the Washington Huskies, starting 18, he averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in his freshman year of college.
It had been a big adjustment: the game was faster and the players more athletic.
Having become more comfortable towards the end of the season, he hoped that would carry over on his return.
‘‘It’s all just experience; that’s where [making the adjustments] comes from.
‘‘Physically it wasn’t bad, because our strength and conditioning guy did a great job with us before the season.
‘‘So physically I was prepared for it, but mentally it was just a shock to the system.
‘‘As the season went on, everything kind of slowed down in my head and I started getting back to playing with more confidence and making the right reads and all that.
‘‘So hopefully that stuff’s out of the way and I can focus on being a real contributor next season.’’
The level of basketball was high. Timmins’ team boasted the NBA draft’s No 1 pick, Markelle Fultz, and played against No 2 pick Lonzo Ball.
However, it was not until he got home and people began asking him about it that he realised how big a deal that had been.
Life as a studentathlete was hectic, with study and basketball taking up nearly all of his time.
He had not decided what he would major in yet, having done a variety of general studies papers.
He would head back to Seattle either straight after the Tall Blacks camp or in August, depending on whether he makes the team.
His team would have a new head coach this season. Longtime coach Lorenzo Romar had been fired after the team struggled to a 922 record.
Timmins had been gutted by the decision to fire Romar, but was also enjoying the energy new coach Mike Hopkins was offering.
He has another three years of college left but it is where his former teammate Fultz is that he wants to end up.
‘‘The NBA, that’s the main goal.
‘‘There’s a lot of steps that need to be taken between now and then and nothing’s guaranteed. But the good thing is the ball’s in my court and if I want to put the work in it’s there for me, and that’s a pretty good position to be in.’’