The Taipans today officially announced that combo guard Damon Heuir has signed as the team’s 11th and final roster spot for 2016/17.
Heuir, who has been playing in Cairns since becoming a development player in 2014, has been impressive in the Taipans recent preseason match-ups against Melbourne and Perth over the past fortnight, having developed considerably as a player after playing for the Cairns Marlins development team in the QBL.
The Townsville junior averaged 14.9 points, 3.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds for the Cairns Marlins and his improvement was easily noticed by Taipans head coach Aaron Fearne.
“We have all been impressed by Damo’s commitment and productivity during his QBL campaign,” said Fearne.
“He was tested at the business end of the Marlins’ season and he stepped up and answered the calls when it mattered. But, we definitely made him earn it!”
Last season Heuir saw limited opportunities as development player last year. Despite suiting up for a number of games, he played a total of 2 minutes and made only one basket.
Heuir’s role this season will be very different with the team hoping they can utilise his skills as a spot up shooter and with his ability to guard the one, two and three spots, he’s likely to provide some quality minutes on the defensive end as well.
Heuir will be in action with the Cairns Taipans this weekend in a pre-season game against the Illawarra Hawks at home.
“This weekend will be another huge test. Last year against the Hawks was very competitive, very physical and that’s what you need to be able to prepare for the season.” noted Fearne.
The Taipans will face the Hawks with their roster finalised but they will be missing one big piece of it with Nathan Jawai having injured his finger, an injury likely to sideline him for more than a month. Mark Worthington, who is still recovering from minor ankle surgery, is also a question mark for this weekend’s game at this stage.
Prior to joining the Taipans Hueir completed a four-year US college career at Southern Utah University where he averaged 10.8 points and 3.1 assists
Visit our Free Agent Tracker for details of the full rosters for every NBL team in 2016/17.
Cairns Taipans Writer, Historian & Tragic! Cover the Snakes for AussieHoopla as well as host Cairns Taipans Fan Weekly #OrangeArmy
