The Wellington Saints have moved quickly to make an import change for the stretch-run of the National Basketball League (NBL) regular season.
After announcing the release of Australian-born South Sudan-qualified shooting guard Lat Mayen on Friday, the 13-time NBL champion Saints confirmed the signing of American Terry Henderson on Saturday.
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Henderson, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, has NBA Summer League, G-League and pre-season experience, along with professional stints in Poland, Canada and Italy in 2018. He split his NCAA career between West Virginia and NC State.
The North Carolinian's arrival will come just in time. The Saints have six games remaining, starting with Sunday's crucial home game against the Franklin Bulls (tip-off 6.30pm), with players required to appear in five regular season games to qualify for the playoffs.
It was an eventful week for Mayen. He was suspended one game by the NBL for a headbutt in last week's game against the Taranaki Airs, before being named in South Sudan's Olympic trial group on Thursday.
"It is every basketballer's dream to play in the Olympics, and we wholeheartedly support Lat in this amazing opportunity he has," said Saints general manager Jordan Mills. "Lat has been an outstanding player for us this season”
Mayen averaged 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while shooting 56 percent from the field and 37 percent on threes, in 10 games for the Saints.
Henderson, 30, is coming off averaging 11.1 points, 3.6 boards and 1.9 assists, while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 37 percent from deep, in 29 games for GTK Gliwice in Poland's OBL in 2023-24.