Former Otago Nuggets centre Sam Timmins is set to return to New Zealand with his team the Washington Huskies.
Timmins moved to Seattle late last year to take up a scholarship and the 19-year-old is settling into his new life.
The former Otago Boys' High School pupil spent his first two semesters as a redshirt but is a fully-fledged member of the team now.
The Huskies have just resumed training and will tour Australia and New Zealand in August.
The team would not normally include New Zealand on its pre-season itinerary but has decided to add Christchurch to the schedule, so Timmins' family and friends can see him play.
The team is only in the country for three days but Timmins will remain in New Zealand and travel to Dunedin to spend time with family before heading back to university in late August.
Sam's father, former Highlanders lock Brendon Timmins, said his son was lapping up the experience which included playing alongside Boston Celtics guard, 2016 NBA All Star and former Huskies player Isaiah Thomas in a pick up game.
"Seattle has such a great reputation for basketball that a lot of the NBA players go and live in Seattle over the summer and work out there at the University of Washington because of the environment they have,'' Brendon said.
"They have all these pick up games and Sam was there and so the boys said, ‘look, play with us'.
"He had a moment afterwards when he said ‘I've just being playing with an NBA All Star'.''
Two of Timmins former team-mates were picked in the NBA draft yesterday.
Power forward Marquese Chriss was the eighth pick but the Sacramento Kings are expected to trade him to the Phoenix Suns, while guard Dejounte Murray was the 29th pick, and point guard Markelle Fultz is being touted as top five pick in next year's draft.
Mixing with players of their calibre is doing wonders for Timmins' game but he has not neglected his studies and had a very good last academic quarter.
