NZ U16 rep poised for bigger things

Year 9 Kavanagh College pupil Annabelle Ring (13) back at school last week after her trip to Melbourne with the New Zealand under-16 select basketball team. Photo: Christine O'Connor
Year 9 Kavanagh College pupil Annabelle Ring (13) back at school last week after her trip to Melbourne with the New Zealand under-16 select basketball team. Photo: Christine O'Connor
Annabelle Ring is setting her goals high and she may well be on her way to achieving them.

The 13-year-old Kavanagh College pupil has just returned from Melbourne, where she played for the New Zealand under-16 select basketball team at the national junior classic.

It was the first time she had been involved in a national team, but it is not likely to be the last.

The trip has left her well placed to push on to bigger things.

''It was just a really great experience for me, because I'm 13 and it was under-16s,'' she said.

''So I've got another two years in the team.

''So it was just really great to just be a part of it and seeing the older girls being able to play and me being able to play with them.''

That could set her on the way to her ultimate goal of playing with the world's best.

''I really want to get to the WNBA; that's my goal in life.

''But as long as I'm playing [basketball], I'm happy.''

She is certainly putting herself in the position to go as far as she can.

Having moved to Dunedin from Perth three years ago with her family, Ring is one of the city's most promising talents.

Her father, Jason, played professionally when he was younger and had become involved in coaching.

He had been influential in his daughter's development.

She began playing at the age of 4 and now trained twice a day for three-quarters of the year, taking a break in term four.

While she thought the general standard of play in New Zealand was similar to that in Perth, she felt she had developed further in Dunedin.

''It's a lot more one-on-one, which is better.

''Like, they pay more attention to individual players here, which has helped me a lot.

''I think I've developed more here than I have in Australia, which I'm real thankful for that.''

A strong rebounder who is a defensive presence and can finish around the hoop, she is a key player for both her school and representative teams.

Her Otago under-15 team was preparing for its national championships, to be held in Dunedin from July 19-22, and she also plays for Kavanagh.

On top of that, she plays netball and is a goal attack.

But it was basketball that she hoped could take her places.

Whether that be the US, Europe, Australia or New Zealand, she was happy, re-emphasising a point she made earlier.

''I'm not really picky. [I'll go] wherever I get to play.''

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