Basketball: Webster stays after positive drug test

Corey Webster tested positive for smoking cannabis. Photo / Daily Post

The Breakers are to retain Corey Webster, despite the young guard's positive drugs test.

Webster's world championship hopes hang in the balance after he tested positive for smoking cannabis during the NZNBL but any punishment is unlikely to affect his Breakers season, which begins in mid-October.

The Herald understands Webster's B sample was positive and the promising 21-year-old has already admitted his wrongdoing to the club.

Chief executive Richard Clarke refused to comment but did say the club would be releasing an official statement this week.

But sources close to the club have confirmed that Webster, who recently signed a three-year contract, would be retained.

Whether he is able to play in the World Basketball Champs, which begin on August 28, remains to be seen.

Webster returned his positive test last month and was stood down by NBL club Harbour Heat for a semifinal loss to Hawkes Bay.

The maximum ban for a positive social drugs test is two years, but such penalties are usually reserved for performance-enhancing drugs.

The most recent ban for cannabis use in New Zealand basketball was a one-month suspension handed to Hawkes Bay import Kareem Johnson in 2007.

Mark Dickel was stood down for two matches by the Tall Blacks after a positive cannabis test before the 2006 world champs, with FIBA later adding another 10 days to the suspension.

Meanwhile, the Breakers will wait until September to confirm their final two signings.

One place is being kept open for Sean Marks should the veteran centre fail to gain an NBA contract. Marks, who is recuperating from a shoulder injury, has expressed a desire to return to the NBA for one more season but the 35-year-old could wind up at the Breakers as a fallback option.

The Breakers are also preparing a contingency plan should star shooting guard Kirk Penney pick up an NBA contract after an impressive stint in the D-League.

Kevin Braswell, the American point guard who impressed during the latter stages of last season, was on the radar but whether the club pursued him would depend on what happened with Marks and Penney, Clarke said.

Former Breaker Lindsay Tait has been invited to attend pre-season training, which begins next week.

Tait, who last played for the club during coach Andrej Lemanis' first season in charge in 2003/04, is being considered for the vacant combo guard spot.

If Marks and Tait do fill the remaining two roster spots the club will field 11 Kiwis - the most in the Breakers' history - for the forthcoming season.