He might be polite and well mannered but Antoine Tisby loves the rough stuff.
The American centre joined the Otago Nuggets earlier this month with one firm goal in mind - to clog up the paint and help the franchise get some wins under its belt.
The robust 2.06m-tall athlete made an immediate impact, scoring 23 points and pulling in 11 rebounds in his first National Basketball League match.
In four games, he has scored 92 points at an average of 23. And he is the league's leading rebounder, averaging 10.5 boards a match.
But ‘‘Tis'' has not had a chance to show the local fans what he can do yet. All four of his matches have been on the road and he is looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd when the Nuggets play the Harbour Heat at the Lion Foundation Arena tonight.
‘‘I'm excited and can't wait to see the home crowd and see what everything is like,'' he said.
A product of South Carolina University, Tisby had been playing in a league in Saudi Arabia before joining the Nuggets and was looking forward to playing in a more physical competition.
The NBL, in that respect, he said, had lived up to his expectations ‘‘and some''.
‘‘When it is more physical I feel like I can play more of my game.''
The Nuggets are 2-9 and desperately need to beat the Heat tonight to get their play-offs hopes back on track.
By coach Don Sims' reckoning, the Nuggets will need to win at least five or six of their remaining matches to make the post-season.
It is a tall order but he has been drilling his troops all week and reminding them anything is possible.
Last year, he guided the Seattle Mountaineers into the International Basketball League play-offs with an eight-game winning streak.
Tisby and Nuggets team-mate Lemar Gayle both played in that side and are used to performing with their backs to the wall.
‘‘It is just a matter of believing in yourself and your team. If you believe, then it can possibly turn into victories for us.''
The Heat won 93-82 the last time the sides met, but the Nuggets did not have Tisby on board and struggled to score points on the inside.
The visitors put up 14 more shots than the Heat from the floor but their 35.8% success rate ensured the home side won the contest.
The build-up for the Nuggets' crucial game has been marred this week by revelations starting guard Nat Connell and bench player Steve Robinson tested positive for cannabis.
The pair returned a positive A sample following a random drugs test by Basketball New Zealand after the Nuggets' home game against the Taranaki Dynamos on March 28.
Sims was disappointed with the players but said he was not in a position to comment further.
National teams general manager Grant Chapman said BBNZ became aware of the positive tests on Wednesday and asked the Sports Disputes Tribunal to provisionally suspend the two players ‘‘pending the outcome of an allegation they have committed antidoping rule violations''.
A hearing date has not been set.
‘‘I don't think we can make any comment until that hearing has taken place,'' Chapman said.
Last year, two Hawkes Bay Hawks players appeared before the tribunal after testing positive to cannabis - veteran forward Clifton Bush and American import Kareem Johnson.
Bush was suspended for two months and Johnson received a five-week sentence which was suspended if he took part in a drug education programme.
