Basketball: Loe off to US

Rising New Zealand centre Rob Loe will play United States college basketball for St Louis University, he announced today.

The youngest player on record to represent the Tall Blacks, Loe has signed a letter of intent with the SLU Billikens, ending months of speculation over which school the exciting prospect would attend in the next phase of his career.

"It was a very difficult decision and I visited some very good schools," Loe, 18, said.

"In the end, it came down to St Louis having a great coach (Rick Majerus) with a reputation for developing NBA `bigs' and players that gelled very well as a team."

The 2.11m centre was the individual star of the Junior Tall Blacks campaign at last year's under-19 world championships in Auckland and subsequently toured Europe with the Tall Blacks aged 17.

He wound up the year with most valuable player honours as his Westlake Boys High School won the national secondary schools championship and was also part of a world team who took part in last week's prestigious Nike Hoops Summit in Oregon.

Majerus, who has never endured a losing season over a 23-year college career, was impressed by Loe's many attributes.

"Any discussion about Rob Loe has to begin with what a high-character young man he is," Majerus said.

"He is all about team and will be an excellent fit with our players.

"Rob genuinely cares about people, respects his parents and plays the game for all the right reasons. Rob gives us a strong `four' man and has the versatility to play on the perimeter, off the elbow or down low... we believe Rob is a jewel of the Pacific because of his temperament, competitiveness and skill set."

- NZPA