Canterbury Rams announce the signing of Luke Aston

The Canterbury Rams would like to announce the signing of Luke Aston, for the 2019 Sal’s NBL Season. This announcement comes as new Rams head coach Mick Downer’s eighth addition to the team.

Aston was born in Dunedin and played his High School basketball at Otago Boys High School, continuing on to play his college basketball at BYU (Hawaii). Since leaving high school in 2008 he has played for a few regional NZ NBL teams including the Otago Nuggets, Bay Hawks and most recently the Southland Sharks where he played the past two seasons. In the past few years, Aston has been a part of the New Zealand Select team and in 2017 played in the Tall Blacks at the FIBA Asia Cup where New Zealand finished 4^th place.

Head coach, Mick Downer is looking forward to working with Luke saying “We are really excited at the Rams to have a player of Luke’s calibre join our team for the season. In the prime of his career and hungry for more success, Luke’s addition bolsters our perimeter player depth as well as giving us more experience and leadership for our younger players.

Lukes championship winning and Tall Blacks experience will be invaluable to the playing group. His ability to shoot the ball at a high level will compliment that talents of our backcourt players such as Naar, Gliddon and Britt who all distribute the ball well. Having another 3pt threat on the team will suit our style of play and should see Luke play a very comfortable and confident role for the team.”

We look forward to having Aston’s experience, leadership and sharpshooting ability for the Rams this season, and we can’t wait to see the big impact he’ll have on the court in 2019!

The Rams are coming off a season in which 6,000 attended the Rams vs Saints game at Horncastle Arena which was a Sals NBL Record Crowd.  The team is looking forward to taking 2 games to Horncastle Arena in 2019. 

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About the Canterbury Rams-

The Canterbury Rams have been revived by a group of basketball enthusiasts with a combination of business and basketball acumen and experience who are committed to establishing a long-term and successful Canterbury Rams franchise that plays a significant role in increasing the numbers participating in community basketball, provides an aspirational development pathway for our talented Canterbury youngsters and contributes to community re-development in Christchurch.

The objectives of the Canterbury Rams involved are philanthropic in nature which is reflected in the fact that the sole beneficiary (limited partner) of the Canterbury Rams is a charitable trust established for the benefit of growing basketball and community development. The vision for the Canterbury Rams is:

1. For the Rams to contribute significantly to the growth of basketball throughout the region with a highly performing and well run elite team greatly enhancing the profile and popularity of basketball.
2. For the Rams players and coaches to directly benefit junior talent through the region.  Youngsters throughout the region will receive coaching from high quality coaches and their heroes, inspiring them to work towards their goals.  The support the Rams receive through physiotherapy, podiatry, strength & conditioning, nutrition and sport psychology will also be provided for young up and coming juniors in the region.  The Rams will provide a pathway, exposure and access for a significantly greater number of Canterbury players to play successfully at the higher levels.
3. For the Rams to facilitate and provide development opportunities and a pathway for coaches throughout the region.  By supporting regular group coaching clinics and mentoring opportunities for the coaches in Canterbury, the sharing of knowledge will raise the standard of basketball.  Coaches will get access to the latest coaching methodology and through a common goal of developing basketball players, Canterbury’s coaching network will continue to grow.
4. For the Rams to assist in providing a development pathway for young talented players who currently struggle to participate due to the extensive financial commitment required through the establishment of a Rams ‘scholarship’ system for promising players that puts a mentoring and financial support structure around them as required.
5. For the Rams to make a major contribution to not only the basketball community but also to the Christchurch re-build through bringing an outstanding entertainment option to the city and contributing to the development of best practice basketball and community programmes.