Rusbatch to miss Rams road trip
An ankle injury to Canterbury Rams co-captain Ethan Rusbatch has made an already difficult start to the National Basketball League season more testing.
Rusbatch will miss his team’s first two games – against the Supercity Rangers in Auckland on Saturday and the Hawke’s Bay Hawks in Napier on Sunday – with a sprained ankle.
He will be re-evaluated next week, with an eye on a return to action for the home opener against the Wellington Saints next Thursday night at Cowles Stadium.
With the 24-year-old guard out of action, development player Max de Geest will travel with the team, while Marques Whippy will captain the side.
As much of a loss the Breakers player is, Whippy is confident this year’s Mark Dickel coached Rams are equipped to deal with anything.
‘‘Mark’s put us in a perfect position to win it all,’’ Whippy said. ‘‘If we just trust the system and work together, we will come out on top.
‘‘This year, I think the chemistry is way better between the boys. There is a lot more trust, more loyalty. If something goes wrong, we’re able to correct each other.’’
One area Whippy wants cleaned up ahead of their season opener is the sluggish starts his team made a habit of making a year ago.
He called them the Christchurch-based team’s ‘‘biggest weakness’’, and was adamant they must put the old habit behind them from game one.
‘‘We always started slow and we would always be 10 or 15 points behind and we’d have to play catch up ball,’’ Whippy said. ‘‘This year, we’re really trying to focus on going out and starting off hard.’’
In a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which the regular season champion Rams lost, they will tip off their season against a Rangers side boasting quality players such as guard Lindsay Tait and forward Dillon Boucher.
‘‘This is a great start to see where we’re at,’’ Whippy said. ‘‘They’re a great team and one of the contenders for the semifinals.’’
But the Rams have plenty of quality themselves, including star forward Marcel Jones, last year’s NBL New Zealand MVP and most outstanding forward.
They will also unleash newly signed guard Jeremy Kendle, who hails from Indiana but played for the Brisbane Bullets in the later stage of the recent ANBL season.
Given he’s replaced outstanding American guard McKenzie Moore, last year’s NBL MVP, Kendle has big shoes to fill.
The Rams rounded out their roster by re-signing veteran 2.08m centre Gareth Dawson the past week.
He was snapped up after it became apparent Mike Karena could miss the entire season due to his commitments playing in Spain, and Dawson’s addition ensures the Rams have plenty of depth in the front court. ‘‘He can shoot the ball. He gives us toughness and a great interior presence. He has played with us the last two seasons and I am excited he is coming back,’’ Dickel said.
Whippy said it was pleasing to have the majority of last year’s squad back, and said the first three games will set the tone for the season.
‘‘If we dig ourselves a hole, and we have to play catch up basketball, we don’t like doing that.’’