Basketball: A Storey of ups and downs

There's a certain contradiction about Awvee Storey. The new Breakers recruit talks in soft tones. He's polite, well-spoken and uses phrases like "humble" to describe himself.

But the 32-year-old is also tough - of that there is no doubt - and it's that quality which attracted the Breakers to the former NBA player.

His record is difficult to ignore. In fact, it precedes him.

In 2006, he and Washington Wizards team-mate Gilbert Arenas were arrested and charged for disobeying police at Miami Beach.

It was a minor indiscretion on a public holiday - 557 people were arrested that weekend largely for drunken disorder - and the charges were dropped after Storey made a US$250 donation to charity.

The following year, however, Storey punched Dakota Wizards team-mate Martynas Andriuskevicius during an altercation at training, leaving him with a fractured scull and severe concussion.

Andriuskevicius didn't file charges but Storey was suspended from the league and had his contract terminated by the Wizards.

"No one's perfect," Storey says quietly from Darwin, where the Breakers are playing a pre-season tournament.

"Everyone has their ups and downs. But every year, NBA teams kept recruiting me, which shows what kind of person I am.

"If a player was known for bad behaviour, they wouldn't keep putting me in teams. That's a compliment to who I am as a person. It wasn't the best of times but I bounced back each time."

Storey, however, is unapologetic about his playing style.

"That's who I am," he says. "I'm a hard-nosed player. I'm tough. I don't back down to no one. I'm known to play aggressively ... but I'm not nasty."

That is exactly what the Breakers want from their second American import. Their scoring threats are well known - Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, Oscar Forman et al - but they have often struggled to contain sides at the other end of the court.

New Zealand teams have rarely defended well because it's not something emphasised in junior basketball. But it's often said defence wins championships.

The Breakers came closest in their history last season, when they were beaten in the semifinals, but the absence of a hard-nosed defender was evident. The wholehearted Dillon Boucher can do only so much.

"He's going to be a very good defender," coach Andrej Lemanis says of Storey.

"He brings a certain toughness to the side and complements the other pieces of our puzzle. For the team to progress, we needed to get better on the defensive end."

Storey comes with a good pedigree. Plenty have had fleeting experiences in the NBA - Penney is a good example - but Storey played 60 games over three seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks.

He played alongside household names like Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Andrew Bogut and Alonzo Mourning and still hopes to return to the world's best league some day.

His statistics are hardly flattering - 2.4 points a game in 6.8 minutes of action, including one start - but it's the intangibles that make the 1.98m Storey stand out. The screen, the hustle, the tip, the rebound.

"That's how I was able to play in the NBA," he says. "I didn't play NBA for my scoring. I played there because of my toughness.

"I have great memories from each team I played with. It was a great experience and every year I hope to get back there. Each team I play with is a chance to get back there and this year, it's New Zealand."

Storey has played around the world, from Korea to Germany and Venezuela and his most recent stint was in China, where he averaged over 23 points and seven rebounds in 44 games with Liaoning.

He had a number of options this season but was attracted to the Breakers "I thought it would be the right fit for me," he says.

It already seems to be working and the signs are promising ahead of the new ANBL season which tips off later this month. They will go into that first match with the Cairns Taipans on September 24 full of confidence after wins over Adelaide 36ers (84-75) and the Townsville Crocodiles (102-91) at the Top End pre-season tournament in Darwin before last night's final against Wollongong.

"The guys are pretty close-knit and good players as well," Storey enthuses of his new team-mates.

"It's exciting to know how well they gel together, because that's huge for a team. It's really exciting."

Storey is sure to provide plenty himself.