Jarrad Weeks is ready to get back to work with the NZ Breakers. Photo / Photosport
Jarrad Weeks is ready to get back to work with the NZ Breakers. Photo / Photosport
Jarrad Weeks might not be the biggest guy on the basketball court, but given the chance he'll rise to the rim with the best of them.
It's a warning the six-foot NZ Breakers guard has sent out to Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams ahead of their preseason clash in October.
"I'll give it a red hot crack if I get the chance, but I'm not really sure how that would turn out," Weeks said of trying to dunk on the Oklahoma City Thunder centre.
"I don't think it's possible to dunk on Steven Adams."
The Breakers travel to the States in early October for preseason games against the NBA's Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies, appearing in the ANBL's preseason crossover series for the second straight year.
The matches will be a good platform for young American phenom RJ Hampton to test his footing in the world's top basketball league after joining the Breakers to prepare for the 2020 NBA draft. It won't be the style of basketball he'll need to get used to, however. Weeks said the ANBL and NBA are very different competitions.
"It's a wider court and with their defensive rules there's a lot of space coming off on-balls and things like that," Weeks explained.
The Breakers will take on Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a preseason match. Photo / Getty Images
"I would say it's probably easier going from the NBL and FIBA rules into their rules as opposed to going the other way. It's a bit of a different game but at the end of the day it's just basketball. It's a great opportunity."
The Australian guard will be one of several veterans expected to take Hampton under their wing and help him become the best player he can be before the NBA draft. Weeks may be the most influential of the bunch with the two playing in the same position on the court.
The two, as well as young guard Terry Li, were the only Breakers players around at the moment with imports still to arrive and a number of local players away with the Tall Blacks. Weeks said they were getting plenty of time together and Hampton had arrived in Auckland ready to work.
"He's open to everything and he's willing to learn. That's going to be really good for us going forward. He's going to have to lead the team and a lot of veteran guys, so he's in the gym every day – that's all you can ask.
"He's going to bring a lot of energy and he's obviously a very talented player. That's only going to help our team and if we can get him into the system early and teach him the reads and what we're looking for and how this league is compared to what he's used to. It might be a big jump, but we have all the confidence in him to go out and lead our team."
Work had already begun for the Breakers, with new director of basketball Dan Shamir not wasting any time in trying to get his team in the best possible position to succeed. Weeks said Shamir had a handle on reading the various plays the league has thrown up, and had already been sending out video footage.
The Breakers could be one of the surprise packages of the ANBL season, with a number of pundits and fans of the league counting them out of title contention in preseason conversations. However, there is a lot of confidence around the Breakers environment that they'll be able to prove their doubters wrong.
"We're going to be running a lot of good stuff and get a lot of open shots. I think we're going to be a dangerous team this year.
"I know a lot of media and guys haven't placed us very high, but we don't care about what they say. We know where we're going to finish and that's going to be number one."
Breakers' NBA preseason fixtures
vs Memphis Grizzlies, FedEx Forum, Memphis. October 9 (NZT)
