The seasoned shooting guard did not end up with a set of Ginsu knives or a George Foreman grill. He got something a lot better — a job offer.
It was Otago Nuggets coach Jeff Sparrow on the other end of the line.
He had phoned on the off chance Rusbatch was a free agent and he hit nothing but net.
‘‘He just randomly reached out just to see what I was doing,’’ Rusbatch said.
‘‘He assumed I’d already signed somewhere, but I hadn’t. And then once he realised that, he kind of jumped at the opportunity.
‘‘And for anyone who knows Jeff, he’s a very high-energy guy.
‘‘His enthusiasm towards recruiting me and wanting me down here was initially the thing that kind of grabbed my attention.
‘‘And then talking about the system he was going to run, all the things that we were going to do within the organisation and the team, it just kind of drew me in.
‘‘You always want to be wanted. So I jumped at the opportunity to be back in the South Island — I love the South Island.
‘‘It’s just around the corner from home, Christchurch, so yeah.’’
Rusbatch grew up in Twizel, then moved to Wellington for a period. But he has spent 20-odd years in Christchurch.
He made his NBL debut for the Southland Sharks in 2012. He had a year with the Taranaki Mountainairs the following season before returning home and playing for the Canterbury Rams from 2014 to 2017.
Rusbatch, who captains the Nuggets, has also played for the Hawke’s Bay Hawks, the Franklin Bulls, the New Zealand Breakers and had overseas stints in Finland and the Philippines.
The 33-year-old has forged a solid international career as well. He won bronze with the Tall Blacks at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
His decision to sign with the Nuggets was a boost for the franchise, which changed ownership late last year.
The Nuggets won just three of their 20 games in 2025 and finished last.
However, they have started 2026 with back-to-back wins, albeit against teams that do not have a complete playing roster yet.
The Nuggets had five weeks together ahead of their opening game against the Southland Sharks on April 10.
‘‘This might be the first team I’ve actually been in where everyone’s there for the whole preseason.
‘‘You can look around the league and there are so many teams that aren’t complete.
‘‘They’re still waiting on guys, still haven’t signed guys, whatever it might be.
‘‘I think it does play a factor into games. Normally, early on, it’s quite janky and a little bit rough.
‘‘But I think we got rid of most of that in the preseason.’’
Other teams will catch up, though. For that reason, it is hard to know where the ceiling is for this Nuggets’ lineup.
Their 86-77 win against the Nelson Giants in Dunedin on Wednesday night was arguably a better team performance than the comfortable 95-68 win against the Sharks.
Isaac Miller-Jose made a big impact off the bench. Point guard Alain Louis was more effective on offence, and Buay Tuach had a strong opening half.
Rusbatch scored 14 points in a useful performance. He tends to get marked closely on the perimeter, which frees up space for others.
‘‘If we win, I don’t care. I’ll take zero.’’
The Nuggets’ next assignment is against the Tauranga Whai in Dunedin on Friday night.
