American import Chris Cokley will join the Auckland Tuatara for the team’s weekend road trip south to play the Southland Sharks on Friday night and the Otago Nuggets on Sunday.
The 6’8 power forward will provide some cover after the departure of big man Chris Johnson and the injury to Tall Black Dan Fotu.
Cokley, a 25-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, was a standout with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and helped the 14th seeds beat third seed Iowa State in 2018. Cokley was named to the Second Team All-Conference USA.
He went undrafted and has spent time playing professionally in Europe where he had a couple of stints with Ukrainian teams as well as playing in Macedonia, Luxembourg and more recently in Senegal.
While Johnson was always set to leave early having committed to the Big3 tournament in the United States before signing with the Tuatara, the Fotu injury has left the Auckland outfit in need of reinforcements.
Coach Aaron Young thinks Cokley will help solidify the side’s defensive needs while providing some scoring support as well.
“I’ve been impressed with what I have seen from Chris on film and think he can really help us,” Young said.
“He is a talented player that should fit in nicely with our group and I’m excited to see what he can do.”
Cokley arrives in New Zealand on Friday morning and, despite a full day of travel, will join the team on their road trip to Invercargill and then Dunedin.