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WHORTON
ANNOUNCED AS RAMS RESTRICTED PLAYER
8 MARCH 2001
By
Piet Van Hasselt
2.05m American John Whorton
will be the WestpacTrust Canterbury Rams
restricted player for the upcoming 2001 New
Zealand Basketball League season.
The powerfully built 113kg Whorton will bring a
solid inside presence to the Rams. "We
expect John to provide scoring, rebounding and
solid defence," said Rams' director John
Watson. Whorton will play the Centre position and
will mark the opposing team’s tallest
player.
Whorton, 22, completed his University career last
year with the Kent State Golden Flashes in Ohio.
Whorton led the team in rebounds and blocks and
was second in points during his senior year. He
also shot a remarkable 63% from the field. In his
Junior year, Whorton propelled the Golden Flashes
to berths in the season-ending elite NCAA
tournament. To make the tournament Whorton
produced a stellar 18 point, 6 rebound
performance in a victory over current NBA player
Wally Szczerbiak’s Miami Team.
With only one restricted player allowed per team
this year, Rams co-director John Watson went to
great lengths to ensure the Rams obtained the
best player available. Watson first witnessed
Whorton play on a recent trip to the USA and was
impressed by his all-round ability and leadership
qualities.
"I spoke with his coaches and one of the
players from Kent State, three coaches from his
league, and his mother. We finalised the deal
after a two hour trial that my brother organised
in Ohio. I am quite satisfied that John brings
both the right attitude and physical abilities to
the Rams," noted Watson.
Whorton majored in Sociology at Kent State and
won several Scholar-Athlete awards. He comes from
a large family and is the youngest of seven
children.
Whorton will arrive in Christchurch in early
April and has a few weeks to acclimatise to New
Zealand conditions before the Burger King
Challenge over the Easter period.
The Rams begin their NZBL 2001 campaign on the
road with a double-header against Palmerston
North and Wellington on May 5 and 6. The first
home game at the WestpacTrust Centre is against
the Nelson Giants on May 11.
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