| Jeremiah Trueman | |
|---|---|
| Position | Centre / Forward |
| Height | 207 cm (6 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 102 kg (224 lb) |
| Team | Perth Wildcats |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Born | 19 May 1987 New Plymouth |
| College/University | San Diego Christian College University of Alaska Anchorage |
| Debut | 2009 |
| Games Played | 50 |
| Previous Clubs | New Zealand Breakers (2009-10) |
| Career Highlights | Junior Tall Blacks representative: 2005 New Zealand Tall Blacks representative: 2006-present Nelson Giants (NZNBL) Rookie of the Year: 2004 New Zealand Secondary School National Team member |
Jeremiah Kloeten Trueman (born 19 May 1987 in New Plymouth, New Zealand) is a professional basketball player currently with the Perth Wildcats. He was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, on 19 May 1987 to Marty and Cathy Trueman of Stratford, Taranaki. He spent his childhood in Brazil where his parents worked as Christian missionaries, until returning to Stratford when Jeremiah was 13 years old. It was only then that he took up basketball, having played football while a child in Brazil.[1] .
Trueman quickly developed as a basketballer. He was selected for the Nelson Giants National Basketball League team in 2004 while still at school, finishing his secondary education at Nelson College. Giants coach Nenad Vucinic saw Trueman's potential and chose to develop him as a power forward rather than import a better player for the position. Trueman didn't disappoint, receiving the Giants’ Rookie of the Year Award for his performance in the 2004 season.[2][3]
In December 2004 Trueman was selected for a New Zealand Secondary School side to play its Australian counterpart in Auckland, giving a stand-out performance.[4] In January 2005 he was selected for the Junior Tall Blacks to attend the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, and scored 14 points in the 90-59 loss to Australia in the final.[5] He again represented the Junior team at the San Diego International Invitational Tournament in June, where the side finished 5th place overall.[6] Trueman took up a scholarship with San Diego Christian College around the same time, and in the 2005-2006 season helped the College basketball team to a second-place finish in the Golden State Athletic Conference.[7]
In July 2006 Trueman was a surprise selection for the Tall Blacks team to play Australia, due largely to the unavailability of Dillon Boucher and veterans Sean Marks and Ed Book.[8] He made a brief but sturdy appearance in the 12 July game at Napier, satisfactorily marking renowned Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut.[9][10] Trueman missed out on selection for the 12-man squad to tour Australia and South America, although ironically fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese. However, at 6'9" (207 cm) tall and still only 19 years of age Trueman has a big future ahead of him, and may yet be the answer to the New Zealand team’s lack of size and height.
In summer of 2007, Trueman transferred from San Diego Christian to play NCAA Div. II basketball for the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. As a junior at UAA in 2007-08, he was the top post reserve for a Seawolf team that posted the best record in school history (29-6), won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. He led the squad with a .618 FG% and was the team's 5th-leading scorer (5.5 ppg) and rebounder (2.8 rpg). As a senior in 2008-09, Trueman earned Team MVP honors and was an All-GNAC honorable mention selection, averaging 15.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He also led the team in field-goal percentage (.597), free-throw percentage (.870), and blocks per game (1.0), and he was the only player in NCAA Div. II to rank in the top 25 of the national stats in both FG% and FT%.
For the 2009/10 Australian NBL season, Trueman played with the New Zealand Breakers. After the Australian NBL season, he joined the New Zealand NBL team Taranaki Mountainairs for the 2010 season. However, for the 2011 season, Trueman will play for the Manawatu Jets.
In May 2010, it was announced he had signed a 2 year contract with the Perth Wildcats.
|
||||||||