Proud father says Sam Timmins has exceeded expectations to earn court time in Div 1

Sam Timmins is likely to take the court tonight for the University of Washington Huskies against their biggest and longest rival, Gonzaga. Sams father, Brendon, talks to Basketball New Zealands Joe Wallace on how hard his son has worked to get there, as he prepares for a night in, watching Sam play live on TV.

Sam Timmins rise in basketball is well known to the New Zealand basketball community. He played for the Junior Tall Blacks and was a member of the Under 18 New Zealand team that won the 2015 FIBA World Championships. In the same year he trialled for the Tall Blacks when he was still in school and it was no surprise that U.S. College scouts were eyeing the young talent.

Sam signed his Division 1 College scholarship in 2015 and moved to the United States in early 2016, starting his new life as a student athlete with the Seattle based Washington Huskies. Almost a year later and Sam will be stepping on court tonight against his teams big rival, the Gonzaga University Bulldogs. Lucky for basketball fans in New Zealand, the game will be broadcast live throughout New Zealand on SKY (ESPN 2 at 5pm).

Tonight one Dunedin household in particular will be crowded around their television - Brendon Timmins, father of Sam, says hes been following his sons progress through websites, livestreams and paying for a YouTube subscription that broadcasts the Pac-12 conference. That said, his laptop will stay shelved tonight, replaced by the flat screen as Sams team step into enemy territory at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane. The home advantage may go to Gonzaga, but Brendon says support for Sam stretches far beyond the home crowd.

"Sams got a huge support network, both in his circle of friends, but also a lot of my friends have also followed Sams journey closely, so its quite cool that that network of support is there - a little removed albeit - but theres worldwide support through the friendships Ive gained over the years during my time. As an example, one of my old flatmates from my varsity now lives in Spokane and he has friends who are U.W. alumni, so they are going to the game wearing purple and gold to support him."

Its not surprising that Brendon has a sport-mad support network that stretches around the world. He was an elite level rugby player entrenched in the deep South, with 74 games for Otago, 25 games for Southland and 46 games for the Highlanders. He then went to coaching and took up a role in Japan coaching professionally there, before returning to New Zealand.

"When Sam came back, a lot of his friends were playing basketball and he started playing pick-up games. He had grown quite a bit in Japan - Sam was well over six foot as a 12 year old. People grabbed him and said your height is set up for basketball, why dont you come and play this game. I think he thought I can play all year round, I can play inside on these cold and miserable days and everyone is saying I should be pretty good at this game. So I think he enjoyed that aspect of it.

"He was certainly not a superstar at the start. I think his first representative team was Otago Under 13B, but he really loved the game, found he enjoyed it and worked really hard at it. I think everyone is aware how hes progressed through his teenage years to get to where he is now," says Brendon, openly proud of his sons achievements.

Coaching and leadership continues to be Brendons strong points. He is currently a lecturer and consultant at Otago Polytechnic, specialising in sport. So does he apply that academic and coaching eye to Sams game?

"I find it very hard to just be the parent. Im a coach for New Zealand Universities, I love coaching and Im an educator by trade, so I always like working with people and helping them to get better. I guess Sam would say Im almost too quick to offer advice at times, instead of remaining a fan" he laughs.

While Brendon excelled at Rugby, there are strains of basketball that run through his sporting history too, primarily when he played hoops in high school.

"Sam wasnt really aware that I was a basketballer. I left my basketball days behind me when I left high school and followed the rugby pathway."

That said, its clear Brendon knows the game and has a renewed passion for hoops through his son.

"Sam has played seven games so far in their non-conference pre-season. Through his hard work in the off-season, he has started in the first four games, so thats huge. That exceeded his own expectations of himself and obviously, as a parent, Im pretty proud that he put that work in and that he usurped the starting players spot from last year.

"The last three games Sam has come off the bench. Part of that is for Sam finding his way in the game and his own confidence in himself, and not wanting to make errors. Its been a massive learning curve with this seven game stretch, although he has had some very good feedback from the coaching staff and they have been impressed with his defensive work, which has been a focus for him - rebounding and controlling the paint. Now theyre seeing him grow back into what they know with his scoring potential."

Now that Sam is playing at an elite level, I asked if Brendon and his son swapped notes on how to be the best athlete one can be.

"We do chat and I think youre right when you alluded to the idea that I can empathise with what hes going through. Its probably quite nice that I can talk rugby and he can talk basketball. We can talk about the challenges of professional sport, the expectations of work life balance - with Sam studying of course. Theres also the fact that I finished my career on an injury, I can use that to say youve got to enjoy your journey, youve got to embrace it while youre there, but be mindful that your next game may be your last, so you must keep a focus on your studies as well."

Brendon tells me the last time he was in the U.S. was with Sam, supporting him on his official college visit in December last year, where colleges who are courting potential athletes are allowed to host them for 48 hours under NCAA rules. The visit left a big impression on Brendon, who has been witness to elite sports programmes around the world.

"The facilities and the resourcing that colleges and those big Div 1 programmes have, like the UW Huskies have, is just phenomenal. As an athlete you just have to push hard and keep working at it because there are only two reasons you will fail: A - youre not good enough or B - you didnt work hard enough, because it is all there for you. Also the people who have recruited believe you are going to enhance their programme, so they want you to be successful as well. Its just a great environment for a young athlete plying their trade."

Brendon reaffirms that it can be tough over there in the U.S. college system, especially as a young Kiwis who has gone "from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a massive pond," but he says Sam has taken the challenge in his stride.

"Ive been very proud of the way Sam has taken on this immense challenge of moving to America. He never admitted it to me, but he struggled with homesickness in the first three or four months, especially because hed red-shirted. He had gone from a big minute player to sitting there watching these guys play in front of him. That being said, it did enable him to get on top of his study and he actually finished the second quarter with a 3.0 grade point average, which is effectively an 85% average. That was a benchmark that his coach puts on the squad.

"Hes doing really really well. Hes certainly found his niche now and hes made really good connections with his teammates - theyre even talking about flatting next year instead of staying on campus. I can see him growing now in his own confidence, his studies are good and Im very proud."

Brendon says hes planning on returning to the U.S. to Sam in action again soon.

"My goal is to get over to Seattle, probably next year, then again in his senior year and try and get to his last game because they really make a big thing of their final home game as a senior - so that would be something Id love to witness."

For now though, Brendon will be at home in Dunedin tonight, TV on, watching his son compete in Division 1 College basketball, "proud."

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand