BIO: Prewster was born in Santa Ana, California, to a African-American father, Norvell Prewster, and a Samoan mother, Ana Hunt. He was raised by his mother in American Samoa and spent time in Hawaii before moving to Wellington when he was seven.

He grew up in the suburb of Johnsonville and attended Wellington College, before moving to the United States for his senior year of high school. He enrolled at Iowa City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, where he led his team to the Class 4A state championship in 2007/08.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Dion Prewster made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 21 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After winning their first NBL championship, the Breakers suffered two major losses, the first being leading scorer Kirk Penney’s decision to play in Europe and a off-season achilles injury to Kevin Braswell that saw him still unable to play at the beginning of the 2011/12 season. Coach Andrej Lemanis would replace him with Cedric Jackson and then finalised their roster by adding Daryl Corletto, who the Melbourne Tigers had just released to make room for NBA star Patty Mills.

Jackson (12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.2 steals) would lead the league in both assists and steals and ensure the Breakers didn’t skip a beat as the defending champs. Gary Wilkinson (16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas Abercrombie (15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) both boosting their offensive output in the absence of Penney, propelling New Zealand to a first-place finish (21-7) for the second consecutive season.

New Zealand would meet Townsville in the semifinals where they would lose the opening contest (82-99) behind big games from Crocodiles stars Peter Crawford (26 points) and Eddie Gill (21 points and 4 steals).

The Breakers re-grouped with CJ Bruton (18 points) top scoring in a game two win (94-83) that saw five New Zealand players all score in double figures. Bruton (20 points) continued to lead the way offensively in game three (97-80), winning the series for New Zealand and propelling them into the Grand Final.

New Zealand would go on to face Perth, winning the opening game in a overtime victory at home (104–98). Bruton (20 points and 3 assists) and Jackson (25 points and 8 assists) led the way in scoring, while Wilkinson added 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal.

Despite Wilkinson (28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) delivering his best game of the season, the Wildcats would rebound from the loss and claim a narrow victory in their second meeting (87-86). Jesse Wagstaff (15 points) and Kevin Lisch (15 points and 5 rebounds) led the way for Perth, while six other Wildcats players also scored in double figures. This set up a third game back in Auckland, where the Wildcat’s built up a slight lead in the second quarter through some brilliant play from Matthew Knight (17 points and 6 rebounds), who had 11 points in the quarter. With centre Luke Nevill (4 points and 3 rebounds in 9 mins) getting into foul trouble and the Breakers defence all but neutralising Shawn Redhage (18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists), the Breakers clinched back-to-back titles with a six-point victory (79–73) in front of 9,000 fans.

After Perth levelled the score with seven minutes to go, Abercrombie (12 points and 4 rebounds) pulled in a offensive rebound and set up Bruton (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), who nailed a three-point dagger to extend the lead to seven with less than two minutes to play. Gary Wilkinson (23 points) led all scorers, while Alex Pledger (13 points on 4-of-6 shooting) made huge contributions from the bench. The Breakers became the first side to win consecutive titles since Sydney in 2002-2005, a championship team that Bruton was also a part of. Bruton finished 4-of-7 from downtown and was awarded the Larry Sengstock Medal for the Most Valuable Player of the series.

This season, Lemanis was recognised as Coach of the Year, Jackson and Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL First Team, and Wilkinson gained All-NBL Second Team recognition as well. As a development player Prewster say limited playing opportunities, appearing in 12 games and scoring a total of 12 points.

SYDNEY KINGS
2015/16
Since re-entering the league in 2010, Sydney had never finished with a winning record, something they came narrowly close to last season, until a season-ending injury to star Josh Childress derailed things.

The Kings bounced back by loading up on talent to surround Childress and blossoming young stars like Jason Cadee, Tom Garlepp and reigning Rookie of the Year Angus Brandt. Veterans Julian Khazzouh, Steven Markovic and Rhys Carter were brought in, and NBA draftee Marcus Thornton was signed as the team’s second import.

Although Childress would miss the first four games of the season (1-3) with a foot injury, he returned to the court to face Adelaide (Oct 23) at home, only to break his right hand. Childress still managed to score 23 points and played out the Kings’ loss to the 36ers (91–80) before being ruled out for a further four to six games with a boxer’s fracture.

Childress returned in late November, but two games later, he suffered a fractured left hand back and was subsequently ruled out for three weeks. He was reactivated once again on December 29 and played out the rest of the season.

All in all, Childress (21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks) played in only 13 games for the Purple and Gold. Starting centre Khazzouh (13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.8 blocks) delivered great numbers in his return before ripping his right quadriceps tendon off the bone in mid-December, missing a third of the season and Markovic (3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) played a grand total of 3 games for the season due to illness and subsequent recovery. With most of the team’s starting line-up missing, the Kings were so decimated at one stage that assistant coach Ben Knight suited up for four games.

In early January 2016, Craig Moller and Jordan Vandenberg were also brought in to help cover the loss of Khazzouh and backup forward Jeromie Hill (4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.4 assists).

During the absence of Childress, the Kings brought in former NBA players Damion James (7.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) for 5 games, Al Harrington (17.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) for 6 games with James being a disappointment and Harrington becoming a fan favourite during their brief stints, but both failed to deliver team success and coach Damian Cotter was released mid-season.

Former Washington Wizards assistant Joe Connelly was brought in as a new head coach and helped youngsters Cadee (14.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), Garlepp (14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) and Brandt (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) continue to develop (Brandt earning a gig with the national team at year’s end), it wasn’t enough for the under-manned Kings to avoid finishing dead last (6-22) during the regular season.

Prewster appeared in every game for the Kings this season, averaging 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

2016/17
The Kings began the season searching for relevancy both on the court and amongst the Sydney public. The first move made to accomplish this was inking Australian basketball icon Andrew Gaze to a three-year deal as the team’s head coach.

Shortly after, the team convinced star import Kevin Lisch to turn down a contract extension from the Illawarra Hawks to sign a lucrative three-year that made him the highest-paid player in the NBL.

Gaze and Kings GM Jeff Van Groningen then looked to bolster the Kings roster with new talent after a listless season the year before which resulted in a 6–22 record and a last place finish.

More major signings were incoming when the team convinced two Australian Boomers to join the club on multi-year deals, first swingman Brad Newley (Spain) and shortly after Aleks Maric, whose nickname ‘Truck’ explains clearly the type of game he would bring to the Kings.

Lisch, Newley, and Maric would be added to the returning Aussie core of Tom Garlepp, Jason Cadee, Jeromie Hill and Julian Khazzouh.

An additional bonus for Sydney was Lisch becoming an Australian citizen in March, creating three open import roster spots for the team to use. The Kings had been carried by imports Josh Childress and Al Harrington the year prior but chose not to re-sign either player, replacing them with Michael Bryson, Greg Whittington and Josh Powell.

Powell’s signing proved critical as shortly after it became apparent that a quadriceps injury would keep Khazzouh off the court for the entire season.

In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2016/17 season, Lisch was appointed team captain and the team began the season. In the opening game of the season, Lisch (20 points) led the Kings in scoring but couldn’t get the win over a motivated Brisbane squad (73–77). Josh Powell would arrive in time to play in the Kings’ second game and racked up 14 points and six rebounds in a 88–84 win over the Illawarra Hawks. The win preceded a video of the team celebrating their first win, which went viral and had many picking the team to reach the playoffs for the first time since the Kings re-entered the league.

Import Michael Bryson (1.8 points, 1 rebound, and 0.8 assists) struggled to make a impact in his short stint with the Kings and was replaced with 13-year NBA veteran, Steve Blake. Despite Bryson’s lack of production, Lisch (16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 steals), Newley (17.6 points, 5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals), and Cadee (13 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) were firing on all cylinders and the team were sitting in top spot on the ladder with a 3-1 record.

On November 12, 2016, when Kevin Lisch scored a season-high 30 points to deliver a 87–71 win over Melbourne, the team became title favourites. The play of Lisch led coach Gaze and new teammate Steve Blake to say Lisch was good enough to play in the NBA.

However, things began to deteriorate after that. The Kings’ ‘front-heavy’ home schedule began to catch up to them. Blake (5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) struggled to provide any of the ability he had shown during this NBA career, and after being granted indefinite leave on compassionate grounds to return home to be with a sick family member, it was clear he would not be returning.

Lisch saw his production decrease and seemingly started to burn out, and Powell (9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds), who would go on to deliver a couple of big games, finished the season coming off the bench.

At this stage, Sydney had lost five of their past eight games and, by Christmas, had fallen to third on the ladder (11-8). Instead of maintaining a search for a suitable replacement for Blake, signed forward Garrett Jackson, who had been playing in the state league and was also a training player for the Kings for several seasons.

An unfortunate season-ending ankle injury suffered by Tony Tolovae, who had appeared in only one game for the Kings, resulted in opening up a additional spot on the roster. Sydney would use it to William McDowell-White (2.1 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in seven games) as a development player for the rest of the season. McDowell-White, had been heavily recruited by several NCAA programs, including powerhouses like Michigan State, Louisville and USC but McDowell-White but after committing to play with the University of Fresno State, he was unable to gain clearance to play in the NCAA.

Under first-year coach Gaze, the Kings tried and tested a number of different line-ups, but nothing saw them reclaim their early form. After a 8-3 start, they went 5-12, including losing nine of their final twelve games.

Sydney finished in seventh place (13-15) and missed the playoffs in disappointing fashion, while new additions Lisch and Newley earned All-NBL second team selection.

Prewster would appear in 17 games, averaging 0.9 points, 0.2 rebounds, and 0.1 assists.

MELBOURNE UNITED
2021/22
After winning the 2021 championship, Melbourne lost its leading scorer Jock Landale to a NBA opportunity with San Antonio and starting point guard Mitch McCarron, who became the league’s highest paid local player as a result of signing a three-year deal with Adelaide. United then quickly turned their attention to rebuilding the roster for the NBL22 season, immediately re-signing Lual Acuil, David Barlow and Shea Ili, received a boost from the return of Jack White, who missed the second half of last season to a ACL injury, and added free agents Brad Newley (via Sydney) and Prewster, who had just won the NZNBL MVP award. Next, United secured the biggest free agent of the year, inking NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova to a three-year deal. Lastly, Caleb Agada, who had just played for Nigeria at the Olympics was replaced import Scotty Hopson and talented young German Ariel Hukporti was added to the roster under the Next Stars program.

Outside of a 0-2 start, United were dominant all season, winning their next three games to end December and then losing only one game (5-1) in January while playing all of their games on the road.

In January 2022, Goulding reached 5,000 NBL points, becoming just the second active player to reach the milestone behind Daniel Johnson (Adelaide).

In February, United would win four of their five games and with a record of 12-4 sit atop of the NBL ladder where they would stay for the remainder of the season. Jo Lual Acuil (16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks) would lead the team in scoring and earn selection to the All-NBL First team while Chris Goulding (15.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) was named to the All-NBL Second Team. The impact of Shea Ili (8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals) off the bench was also recognised around the league with him winning the Sixth Man of the Year award. Prewster would appear in 13 games, while averaging 1.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists and helped United finish the regular season in first place (20-8).

Tasmania would finish fourth on the ladder in their first NBL season, setting up a semi final series against United. As expected, United defeated the JackJumpers in game one (74-63) but playing their first game of playoff basketball at home, Tasmania leveled the series (1-1) with a win in game two. Heading into the deciding game three, captain Goulding was deemed unfit to play, which allowed Tasmania to take clamp down on the defensive end. Without Goulding, United couldn’t buy a basket from outside, with Dellavedova (1-7), Agada (0-7), White (0-5) and Baba (0-2) shot a combined 1-21 from beyond the arc. Overall, United went 6-29 (20 per cent) from three, compared to the JackJumpers 10-32 (31 per cent). Still, United were able to keep it close, and it was only in the final moments that Tasmania secured the victory (76-73), ending Melbourne’s playoff run and making history by reaching a Grand Final in their debut season..

Dion Prewster played four seasons across three NBL teams. This included the New Zealand Breakers, Sydney Kings and Melbourne United. He averaged 1.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 67 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.