Jeremiah Trueman
Encyclopedia
Jeremiah Kloeten Trueman is a New Zealand
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.http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=63734&c=w
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.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?sID=29&intArticleID=1731&det=1http://www.nelsoncollege.school.nz/pdfs/thebulletin01.pdf
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.http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz/juniors.htm 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.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?sID=26&intArticleID=796&det=1 He again represented the Junior team at the San Diego International Invitational Tournament in June, where the side finished 5th place overall.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=1886&sID=18 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
.http://www.sdcc.edu/athletics/content2.asp?id=2442
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.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=2382&sID=18 He made a brief but sturdy appearance in the 12 July game at Napier
, satisfactorily marking renowned Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut
.http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz/tb_26nzaus.htmhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3731017a12155,00.html 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 2.05m high 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.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player currently with the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
. He was born in New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
, New Zealand, on 19 May 1987 to Marty and Cathy Trueman of Stratford, Taranaki
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
. He spent his childhood in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
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.http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=63734&c=w
Trueman quickly developed as a basketballer. He was selected for the Nelson Giants
Nelson Giants
The Fico Finance Nelson Giants are a basketball team that play in the National Basketball League in New Zealand. Their home games are played at the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson....
National Basketball League
National Basketball League (New Zealand)
The National Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NBL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in New Zealand.There were 10 teams in the 2010 season with teams based in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, North Shore, Palmerston North,...
team in 2004 while still at school, finishing his secondary education at Nelson College
Nelson College
Nelson College is a boys-only state secondary school in Nelson, New Zealand. It teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private Preparatory School for year 7 and 8 boys...
. Giants coach Nenad Vucinic saw Trueman's potential and chose to develop him as a power forward
Power forward (basketball)
Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
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.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?sID=29&intArticleID=1731&det=1http://www.nelsoncollege.school.nz/pdfs/thebulletin01.pdf
In December 2004 Trueman was selected for a New Zealand Secondary School
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
side to play its Australian counterpart in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, giving a stand-out performance.http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz/juniors.htm 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
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the final.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?sID=26&intArticleID=796&det=1 He again represented the Junior team at the San Diego International Invitational Tournament in June, where the side finished 5th place overall.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=1886&sID=18 Trueman took up a scholarship with San Diego Christian College
San Diego Christian College
San Diego Christian College is a private, evangelical Christian college located in El Cajon, California, in suburban San Diego, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.-History:In January 1970, Tim F...
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
Golden State Athletic Conference
The Golden State Athletic Conference is a college athletics conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . The conference commissioner is Cliff Hamlow of Azusa Pacific University. Conference leadership is shared among the member institutions. The conference was formed in...
.http://www.sdcc.edu/athletics/content2.asp?id=2442
In July 2006 Trueman was a surprise selection for the Tall Blacks team to play Australia, due largely to the unavailability of Dillon Boucher
Dillon Boucher
Dillon Boucher is a New Zealand professional basketball player.Boucher plays for the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian National Basketball League from their inception in 2003 until 2005 when he signed for the Perth Wildcats for whom he played in the 2005/06 Australian NBL season...
and veterans Sean Marks
Sean Marks
Sean Andrew Marks is a New Zealand-American professional basketball player. He is the first native New Zealander to play in the NBA.-Basketball career:...
and Ed Book.http://www.basketball.org.nz/index.cgi?det=1&intArticleID=2382&sID=18 He made a brief but sturdy appearance in the 12 July game at Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, satisfactorily marking renowned Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut
Andrew Michael Bogut is an Australian professional basketball player. He plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the United States' National Basketball Association....
.http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz/tb_26nzaus.htmhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3731017a12155,00.html Trueman missed out on selection for the 12-man squad to tour Australia and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, although ironically fluent in both Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. However, at 2.05m high 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
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...
. After the Australian NBL season, he joined the New Zealand NBL team Taranaki Mountainairs
Taranaki Mountainairs
Taranaki Mountain Airs are a New Zealand professional basketball team that compete in the National Basketball League. They have previously been known as the New Plymouth Bulls , the Taranaki Bears , the Taranaki Oilers and the Devon Dynamos Taranaki .They play their home games at TSB Stadium in...
for the 2010 season. However, for the 2011 season, Trueman will play for the Manawatu Jets
Manawatu Jets
The Manawatu Jets, formerly referred to as the Palmerston North Jets, are a professional basketball team that play in the New Zealand National Basketball League. They play their home games at Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The biggest signed import to play for the Jets was Brandon...
.
In May 2010, it was announced he had signed a 2 year contract with the Perth Wildcats.