
King, Andrew poised to debut for Tall Blacks in Asia Cup
Both rising guard Mojave King and former Otago Nuggets centre Jack Andrew will be on debut when New Zealand play at the tournament in Jeddah next month.
They will be joined by fellow newcomer Dontae Russo-Nance, who played for the Nuggets last year but is now with the Manawatu Jets.
The selection of Dunedin-born King, in particular, in the 11-man Asia Cup squad is a significant moment for New Zealand hoops.
King, 23, the son of Nuggets great Leonard King and former Otago basketballer Tracey Paul, and grandson of late Otago hoops stalwart John Paul, has spent more of his life in Australia but he has declared his hand for the land of his birth.
He became just the third New Zealander drafted into the NBA when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and his rights are now with the New Orleans Pelicans.
King, who plays for the Tauranga Whai in the NBL, has impressed Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell.
"We always knew that Mojave was very talented," Flavell said.
"When you look at the Tall Blacks in the past, we've had to have a guy that can score, shoot the ball and get hot. And we know Mojave can put on 10-12 points in a short period of time."
King averaged 8.5 points for the Breakers in the Australian league last season.
He then averaged 22.2 points for the Whai, shooting at a decent 38% clip from three-point range.
"His role for us is going to be scoring," Flavell said.
"Mojave has that unique skillset that I think past Tall Black teams have really leaned on to carry some of that scoring load."
There will be whoops of joy around the halls of an Oamaru school at Andrew's debut selection.
Andrew, 24, was a stand-out at St Kevin's before playing 80 games for the Nuggets — helping them win the NBL championship in 2022 — and having two spells with the Perth Wildcats.
He flourished when he moved to the Taranaki Airs this year, posting 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game .
"Jack has had a phenomenal jump this season," Flavell said.
"He just really seemed to grow in confidence as well. For a big man to actually run and have a high activity rate — that's something that we really like about him.
"He's been the first man down the floor, he's been active on the glass, and he's had great success in tandem with Carlin (Davison) off the pick and roll. I think those two have been one of the most dynamic duos."
Leading Tall Blacks including Shea Ili, Tai Webster, Hyrum Harris and Yanni Wetzell are unavailable for the Asia Cup, leaving Jordan Ngatai (84 caps) and Tohi Smith-Milner (69) as the senior men.
New Zealand are in group D with Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Iraq.
Before the tournament, they have three games in China at the Solidarity Cup and Four Nations tournaments, for which they will also have New Zealand under-19 star Hayden Jones, Jordan Hunt and Luca Yates on the roster. One of those three players will become the 12th and final member of the Asia Cup squad. Tall Blacks
Asia Cup squad
Jack Andrew, Taylor Britt, Flynn Cameron, Max Darling, Carlin Davison, Ben Gold, Mojave King, Taine Murray, Jordan Ngatai, Dontae Russo-Nance, Tohi Smith-Milner
Gold has been selected for Asia Cup only. Jordan Hunt, Hayden Jones and Luca Yates will join squad for preceding Solidarity Cup and Four Nations.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

1News
15 hours ago
- 1News
Black Caps crush Zimbabwe to keep perfect T20 tri-series record
New Zealand stayed perfect at the T20 tri-series with a crushing 60-run win over host Zimbabwe on Friday. Tim Seifert (75) smashed his second successive half century and Rachin Ravindra made an entertaining 63 runs off 39 balls as New Zealand posted the tournament's highest total of 190-6 with its fourth straight win of the league stage. New Zealand and South Africa had already secured their places in Saturday's final. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, one of four changes for New Zealand, grabbed a career-best 4-12 in four overs as Zimbabwe was dismissed for 130 in 18.5 overs. Zimbabwe lost all four games. ADVERTISEMENT Supreme Seifert Mitchell Santner became the first captain in the tournament to choose to bat first on a tricky wicket after winning the toss. Mitchell Santner of New Zealand plays a shot during the India v New Zealand Blackcaps, ICC Champions Trophy 2025 One Day International Cricket Match. (Source: Photosport) Tim Robinson (10) couldn't capitalise on Ryan Burl's dropped catch in the slips before he had scored and was out to Zimbabwe's best bowler, Richard Ngarava (4-34). Zimbabwe was scrappy in the field when Seifert got a lucky escape on 13 as Tony Munyonga missed a catching opportunity at deep backward square leg. Together with Ravindra, Seifert raised 108 runs for the second wicket before Zimbabwe hit back. Fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa had both Ravindra and Mark Chapman caught in the outfield in the space of three balls and Ngarava chipped in with three wickets in his return spell. ADVERTISEMENT Seifert feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Clive Madande after Ngarava outfoxed him with a slower ball while Bevon Jacobs was spectacularly caught by Munyonga at backward point. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Hulk Hogan dies, sentencing for a New Zealander who assaulted two airline stewards, and a big accolade for Te Papa. (Source: 1News) Michael Bracewell made a 16-ball 26 and Trevor Gwandu (0-51) went for 21 runs off his final over. "Different guys stepping up at different times is a good thing, although it can be a selection headache at times," Santner said. We know we have a massive game in a couple of days' time." Sodhi strikes Zimbabwe opener Dion Myers (22) smashed four boundaries in a brisk start before Sodhi struck three times inside the batting powerplay and the hosts were reduced to 37-4. Sodhi clean bowled Myers and Madande after Brian Bennett was caught when he failed to clear Jacobs at extra cover as he tried to show early aggression against the leg-spinner. ADVERTISEMENT Black Caps spinner Ish Sodhi. (Source: Breakfast) Off-spinner Bracewell made it 44-5 when he took a well judged caught-and-bowled off Burl's miscued hit before Munyonga (40 in 30) and Tashinga Musekiwa (21) resisted with a 51-run partnership. Sodhi returned in the 14th over and picked up his 150th T20 wicket when Munyonga holed out at long-off. New Zealand's pace then finished off the tail in quick succession with Matt Henry taking 2-34. "We keep digging ourselves a hole and when we try to climb out of it, we don't," Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said. "The catches we dropped hurt us. As much as we wanted to be upbeat, it took us a bit of time to get into the game. One of the things I will speak [to players] is that it is never a dead rubber for Zimbabwe."


NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward on her journey from Porirua to American fame
Ward attended a 'very small, intimate school', just north of Porirua, where she believes knowing all the teachers' names was a great way to grow up. 'I feel like that definitely shaped me into the person I am today; it's very crazy to think that that's where my life started,' she said. Faith Ward becomes the first New Zealander to make the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Photo / Supplied Ward's mum was a dance teacher at the Wellington School of Dance, and started taking her to her lessons. Ward recalls joining in, prancing around with ribbons to avoid being bored. She said she didn't even initially want to dance, but her mum noticed a natural rhythm and encouraged her to sign up for a few lessons. The dance lessons quickly became more competitive, and before she knew it, she was 'winning a few awards, was like, 'Oh, I'm actually maybe kind of good at this',' she said. Wellington School of Dance teacher Suzanne Denton started teaching Ward from age of 4, and said she had immense talent and determination. Ward was part of the dance school's competition teams and had a natural ability. Denton said she 'was a delight to teach'. The whole team was incredibly proud of her, and the achievement just 'shows what kind of person she actually is.' Denton said Ward is a true inspiration for the next generation of dancers that she teaches, and 'coming from NZ, being able to achieve something like this on the world stage is very inspirational for all dancers'. Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward experimented with a whole range of dance formats while living in New Zealand as a child. Ward recalls begging her mum to let her try cheerleading at Big Air gym in Tawa as well as dancing, as that's what 'all my friends from school were doing'. Big Air was Ward's first taste of cheerleading, which she said brought out a whole new side of the sport, and made her stronger as an athlete. An appearance on children's TV show What Now when she was 8 was a defining moment, where the gears clicked and she realised this was what she wanted to do as a forever job. 'That's where I kind of went, 'there's some opportunity in dancing. I could make this a thing'.' Fast forward to the past few weeks, which Ward dubbed some of the hardest, most gruelling weeks of her life: she has made her dream come true as a Dallas Cowboy. The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are renowned as one of the world's top cheer groups. Thousands of dancers go through intense training camps each year to try and secure a spot among the elite. They have been performing at Dallas Cowboy's NFL games since 1961. Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward previously performed in the musical Annie at the St James Theatre Wellington in 2014. Ward said during training camps, they would be shown a dance taught just the day prior, and have to perform the entire routine. If the coaches weren't impressed, they'd cut them from the programme on the spot. The cheerleaders became a global phenomenon with the launch of Netflix docuseries, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which came out last year, showing a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. It's an achievement no Kiwi has made before, becoming America's newest sweetheart. 'I'm honestly so honoured and so privileged to be representing NZ,' she said.

RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Rugby: All-conquering England women's team embracing their 'aura'
Sarah Beckett, Zoe Aldcroft, and Sarah Bern of England celebrate becoming Six Nations Champions. Photo: ©INPHO/Juan Gasparini, ©INPHO/Juan Gasparini England women's coach, New Zealander John Mitchell, said his team will be driven by their own, internal standards rather than outside expectations as they enter their home Rugby World Cup on a remarkable run of form that has made them odds-on favourites. Since 2019 England have won an incredible 55 of their 56 games, but the one defeat still burns as it came in the last World Cup in 2022 when New Zealand snatched a late lineout, and with it victory, on home soil. Since then the Red Roses have had several wins over the Black Ferns, as well as routinely brushing aside all-comers in Europe, but anything but victory in the 27 September final at Twickenham will render their latest 25-game winning streak another footnote of frustration. Former All Blacks coach Mitchell, who took over in 2023, insists, however, that "external noise" will have no impact on the squad he named on Friday. "In my time with the Red Roses we have set a standard and it's a standard they look to remain consistent with, something that they're attracted to," he told reporters at Twickenham. "We are looking at the ability to be successful with opportunity and stay away from the risk of failure and talking about those sorts of things. We're a different team from 2022 and now we've got an opportunity to earn the right and finish something that we started." John Mitchell. Photo: Photosport Mitchell said the experience and positional cover in the squad is deeper than ever before, which is likely to be vital with the usual collection of injuries, concussions and suspensions a modern World Cup tends to throw up. "I think that depth is going to allow us to deal with the challenges but I think the stuff that drives us the most is our competition within," he said. "Some people tend to frame "pressure" as a negative word whereas I see this as an opportunity to be successful. "Some of the wins we've had in this cycle have been really tough as well, so there's enough belief and there's been enough feedback of where our game needs to improve. "Our focus is only on our first match against the US and the girls are living those values. There's a nice look in their eyes at the moment as well." Zoe Aldcroft, appointed as captain this year, is desperate to put the ghosts of 2022 behind her having gone off injured 27 minutes into the final and has also embraced England's dominant position in the sport. "We have built this expectation around us and I think that's a massive privilege that we've worked hard to hold that aura around us," she said. "As we go into the tournament, we've got such a strong bubble that we kind of want to keep it in with us. "We know in our circle that we're doing our absolute best to try to push and as long as we've got each other's backs in that circle, I think that's going to be the most important thing." Zoe Aldcroft. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Another player ready to unleash herself in the tournament is back rower Abi Burton, a double Olympian in Sevens but whose career appeared over when she spent more than 10 weeks in hospital with an auto-immune disease in 2022, including 28 days in a coma, having initially been sectioned after being wrongly diagnosed as psychotic. "I knew in my heart that I would get here at some point, though I didn't know how long it would take me to be able to break in, especially after my illness," said Burton, who made her England XVs debut in this year's Six Nations and goes into the World Cup with two caps to her name. "Mum and dad are super proud but they don't base their pride on how I do at rugby. They're more proud that I finished university after my illness. They're just happy that I'm alive and I'm functioning well and I can live on my own." - Reuters