#FakeNews - can't be having NBL off season news...

Stupid and highly unlikely guess: Tevin Jackson. Based purely on all the noise he's been making in the qbl about wanting a roster spot rather than be a DP. If they went cheap with him it would leave a lot more money for the star PG and PF spots they need to fill.

Tevin Jackson, ex DP, averaging about 15ppg in the qb would not be costing the Cairns taipans a lot of money.

I suspect @CT is probably right. I kind of hope so, in terms of the fact I think Tevin Jackson could become a really good player, particularly if he works on his shooting action. On the other hand, you would have to assume that means Stevie Weigh is the back up to Mitch McCarron at 3, which promotes Damon Heuir up the pecking order as back up at 1/2.

Don't get me wrong, I think Damon has plenty to offer; I just think it starts to make the team look pretty thin.

Import 1/Weeks/Heuir
Gliddon/Heuir
McCarron/Weigh/Jackson
Import 4/Loughton/Jackson
Jawai/Egwu/Loughton

That import 4 wants to be a gun.

There's also been a rumour floating around that the Snakes have another St Mary's Aussie to reveal. I'd love that to be Jock Landale, but realistically it could only possibly be Emmett Naar, and I don't think he's ready to be a lead NBL 1, or Kyle Clarke, who is probably only ready to back up at 3, not start.

I think the Facebook post said the player had no previous NBL experience

Taipans facebook site hints "he's even new to the NBL", so it's not Tevin Jackson.

I guess there's always a chance, before he left, Phil Jackson traded Melo to us for some magic beans.....

THE CQUniversity Cairns Taipans look forward to welcoming 6'5" Australian guard Kuany Kuany to their program for the next two years, as their ninth rostered player for the upcoming 2017/18 NBL season.

Kuany joins the Taipans for his first NBL contract, after attending Chaminade University of Honolulu, where he averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his senior year, playing all 26 games.

The 22-year old graduates third in the school’s all-time scoring list (1600 points) second in rebounding (876) and was part of the program’s first ever four-time All-Pacific West Conference selection.

"Kuany’s had an outstanding career at Chaminade - they have a really good Division II program. They’re part of the Maui Invitational that plays against some of the best Division I schools in the country,” said CQUniversity Cairns Taipans Head Coach Aaron Fearne.

“He posted really consistent numbers over his four-year career, which is a fairly good marker for me. It’s very evident that Division II players with numbers like that, can come into the NBL and perform at a great level. There’s nothing to say he won’t come in and perform like that in his first season.”

Born in South Sudan, Kuany moved to Melbourne when he was nine years old and went to St. Kevin’s College where he was named his team’s MVP in 2011 and 2012. He was also named the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Rising Star in 2011.

Kuany was invited to Cairns last month to train with the team and meet with front office staff and Taipans coaches. Ahead of his NBL debut, he will join the Cairns Marlins for the remainder of the QBL season, and will suit up tomorrow in Townsville.

“We really liked what we saw when he came up for those few days. He worked out with our guys, and practiced with the Marlins. We put him through his paces and he caught the eye of our Taipans players. We were all impressed with what he was able to provide,” said Fearne.

“I’m glad he has the opportunity to play Marlins and learn our system while playing in the QBL. The Marlins are obviously a development program for us, and he’ll get to play with Damo, Weeksy, Fish and now Stevie. Coach Jamie [Pearlman] will be able to lay down the expectations for him and hopefully we can hit the ground running when our pre-season begins.”

On his return to Australia, Kuany spoke to a number of NBL teams, but said he chose Cairns for their focus on player development, club success and culture.

“I spoke to a couple of clubs when I came back, but when Fearney got me to Cairns, I knew I could really fit in here. I really liked the weather – it’s similar to Hawaii – and I enjoyed my time with the team. I could immediately see it was a good group to be around and the coaches were great,” said Kuany.

“First and foremost, I want to be a good team mate. I can play defence as well as offence, so I think I’ll bring a bit of everything but I’m prepared to play my role. I know last year the Taipans finished second overall and just fell short, so hopefully I can help them make it to the Grand Final this year.”

Kuany joins Cam Gliddon, Nate Jawai, Mitch McCarron, Nnanna Egwu, Jarrad Weeks, Alex Loughton, Stephen Weigh and Damon Heuir on the Taipans’ 2017/18 roster.

Import 1/Weeks/Heuir
Gliddon/Kuany/McCarron/Heuir
Weigh/McCarron/Kuany
Import 4/Loughton
Jawai/Egwu

We might see a bit of Loughzy backing up Nnanna early in the season, which should see Stevie play some 4, so I expect we'll see quite a bit of both Kuany Kuany Kuany and Damo.

Through the season, I expect the import guard, Weeks, Gliddon, McCatron and Weigh will get lots of minutes from 1 through 3, but if Fearnie likes enough of what Kuany brings, he could feature.

I hope Damo gets more minutes this year, but I don't expect Fearnie will suddenly decide to trust him.

He shot at .455 from behind the arc at NCAA level, so his jump shot can't be too bad.

@Freethrows, anon referring to Kuany's jumpshot mechanics I think. He does 'jump' when he shoots the 3 but its only a few centimeters at best and at 6'7" it may not be enough to get it off in the NBL.

The press release says he's 6'5", reverse pacific shrink?

Ummm... I did see some high school footage that showed him making a corner three, amidst lots of assists and some dunking and driving. I'll see if I can find it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TGIvL25pkW0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j6ffxqWrvx4

The first video shows him splashing a couple of 3s late in the video (including one late in the game).

The second I didn't watch to the end. There are 3s at 1:25 and 2:50.

I'm excited by the fact he likes to drive and can find an open man if he draws too much D. He's also got long, active arms on D and rebounds well. If he's 6'7, as some places claim, he'll be a real asset at 2 and 3. If he muscles up a bit, he could even play some stretch 4 in a small-ball lineup.

I don't think his (not quick jumping) jump shot mechanics are bad. He's got a quick release, a huge wing span and the small jump is similar to a few high % 3 shooters in the NBA - inc Ingles.

Freethrows - I am also excited by these things! He looked a little underdone but willing for the Marlins on the weekend, splashed his first 3 too.

Questions for The King: Billy Ross & Kuany K, more than 2 decades apart but both arriving in Cairns at the same point in their careers (fresh out of college). Who you gonna pick for today's fantasy team? The guy who can scuttle the lane like a guard and also get off the uncontested trey at high percentage (KK), or the powerhouse who can lose the D off a dribble-step, jump the 3 or rip off a screen (BR). One is picked out for an NBL career, the other ...
You going with Kuany K?

hahaha Billy's still playing and looks as fit as he did in his prime - i'm picking Billy all day, every day. If he'd gotten the chance in his prime I reckon he would have been an excellent NBL import.

I still remember his first season when i was waterboy for the Marlins..... feels like 30000 years ago......

Long live the King (and his memories).

They're addled by time and rum but they’re still there... somewhere....

Note: I maintain the best Marlins import was a guy named Chucky White (the 2nd Chucky White that played for Cairns). First guy I ever saw (in person) dunk his own free throw miss. Admittedly, it was probably not as spectacular as it seemed to my 10 year old eyes......

Anonymous re water boy: in a Marlins era that packed out every game with insane(ly noisey) fans, getting to be 'water boy' was a pretty neat achievement.
In fact, I suspect PrincelyPodge may have used royal prerogative to get the gig.

It was a special time to have been involved.

Hahaha it didn't hurt Greybuou ;) being exposed to guys like Johnson and Pop was a great way to start a basketball education.

good times!