New NBL import happy to hustle at Breakers

New American import Charles Jackson will bring rebounding ability and hustle, but says he just wants to fit in with whatever the NZ Breakers ask of him.

New import Charles Jackson is out to add some hustle to the New Zealand Breakers.

But the 22-year-old American centre also wants to slot in where he's needed in the NBL champions' largely settled roster.

"I'm going will be active on the boards, be a good teammate, just hustle and be there and do whatever they ask me," he replied, when asked what he hoped to bring to the Breakers.

"They have a lot of returners, so I'm just going to play my role, whatever they tell me to do, so I can fit in."

The 2.08m Jackson arrived in Auckland on Wednesday and the Breakers will be his first professional basketball assignment.

"They attracted me in how they are together as a family and how hard they play," he said.

"And just people telling how New Zealand is really nice - I had to be part of it."

Jackson declared early for the NBA draft earlier this year after a junior year at Tennessee Tech that included an impressive 18 double-doubles in points and rebounds in 30 games.

He then played in the NBA summer league for the Philadelphia 76ers.

He replaces Ekene Ibekwe, who nailed the buzzer-beating basket that secured the Breakers' grand-final series victory over Cairns in March and is now with Melbourne United.

The Breakers' other import is last season's finals MVP, point guard Cedric Jackson.

Like his namesake, the new recruit is also know as CJ, but he's happy to yield in terms of moniker.

"I'm not going to take anybody else's, especially the greats," he said.

"Whatever they pick for me, I'm happy to have."

Coach Dean Vickerman said Jackson had shown he was an excellent rebounder at both ends of the floor.

"There's a desire and hustle that we see as well," Vickerman said.

"He's more than happy to dive on the floor and do some intangible things."


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world