US duo straight to work
The Southland Sharks’ American duo admit they probably resembled a couple of caged lions when they stepped off the plane in Invercargill on Monday.
Imports Josh Cunningham and Courtney Belger had spent 14 days in managed isolation in Auckland after arriving from the United States.
For anybody, that experience can be difficult. But for Cunningham and Belger it was a tougher test than most.
Their lives have revolved around shooting hoops and staying active.
‘‘The worst part is you really want to get out on court and you’re just itching to play, but you can’t, you’ve just got to stay in your room.
‘‘There’s only so much you can do jumping and jogging around your room,’’ Belger said.
Not surprisingly it did not take long after touching down in Invercargill for the pair to find themselves at ILT Stadium Southland shooting hoops.
The pair were pleased to finally get to meet their new teammates in person and were thrilled to check out their new basketball home, ILT Stadium Southland.
‘‘This facility is one of a kind, it’s super nice,’’ Cunningham said, before being backed up by Belger; ‘‘It’s a top-class facility for sure.’’
Cunningham, 24, who stands at 2.01m, has most recently played for the Westchester Kings in the American NBA G-League.
Belger, 31, has more playing years under his belt which has included a lengthy stint playing professionally in Germany, as well as in Australia.
Both say their No 1 priority this season is to win a championship with the Southland Sharks.
But the pair stress they also want to learn and get better and won’t step into the Sharks’ environment with any sort of ego attached to them.
‘‘I didn’t want to come to a team where the coach was like, ‘Right, you guys are American, go and play’. I want to feel like I’m getting coached, and I feel like we can learn from [coach Rob Beveridge’s] basketball knowledge,’’ Belger said.
For Cunningham, he believes one of his strengths as a basketballer is that he is coachable.
‘‘I feel I’m a really good teammate, I ask questions and I can take criticism. Nowadays, there are not too many players that can take criticism,’’ Cunningham said.
While the 14-day quarantine period was not ideal, what it did do was provide time for the two new Sharks’ imports to bond.
They met for the first time at the Los Angeles Airport en route to New Zealand and were able to visit each other’s rooms to talk basketball during managed isolation.
They’ve quickly become good friends, a big plus for the Sharks heading into the 2021 New Zealand National Basketball League season.
‘‘When we met each other [in LA] we got some food and started talking, you would have thought we’d have known each other our whole lives,’’ Cunningham said.
The pair have been swatting up on the Southland Sharks’ plays for its competition opener against the Nelson Giants in Nelson on Monday and are comfortable they will be ready to go.
Southland’s first home game in Invercargill will be the following Thursday against Taranaki.
The Sharks squad – minus Cunningham and Belger – had two preseason hit outs against the Otago Nuggets in Queenstown at the weekend.
The Nuggets won the first fixture on Saturday 77-62 before the Sharks quickly responded on Sunday to win the second game 84-57.