Same Sam, But Different

Sunday, July 2, 2023

"I felt that betting on myself and going pro was what I wanted most and what I felt most comfortable with."

Sam Mennenga has only been in Cairns for two weeks, but he’s already making his presence felt.

At 21 years of age, the New Zealander has turned pro. He has high expectations on his performance, and a work ethic to match, working out or at the gym every day.

It’s a big step up from college to the NBL, but the Tall Blacks’ representative has lofty goals, even if he’s a little coy on exactly what those are. NBL fans will just have to wait and see.

“I’m just excited to compete, to be a pro,” Mennenga said on Friday.

“That was my thing with leaving college, I want to be a pro, I want to approach everything day-to-day as a pro. I want to compete and show everyone.

“The media likes to say a lot of things, but I want to show everyone what I’m capable of and how hard I work for this.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? Mennenga speaks on this season's squad ? Join Sam and sign up now: <a href="https://t.co/Rw7IrPMCZS">https://t.co/Rw7IrPMCZS</a><br><br>Taipans EOFY membership sale ends today! ? <a href="https://t.co/iZTQAkbNBV">pic.twitter.com/iZTQAkbNBV</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1674657854270377985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mennenga said he wants to surprise people, with full confidence in his ability to perform in the NBL.

“I won’t surprise myself, but I’ll surprise people,” he said.

“That’s straight-up, the only reason I’ll say that is I did put everything into this.

“Every day my goal is to just get a little bit better, one step in front of the other.

“Being a kiwi, yeah you get overlooked a little, but my time will come.”

The former Davidson College forward chose to sign a two-year deal with the Taipans, forgoing his final year in North Carolina.

He averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in his most recent season, while impressing at the FIBA Asia Cup with New Zealand, leading all scorers on debut.

“It was inevitable I would be a pro,” Mennenga said.

“After the season I had in college, I knew I was going to be a pro, just whether I wanted to do another year at college or whether I wanted to go pro and get it myself.

“I felt that betting on myself and going pro was what I wanted most and what I felt most comfortable with.

“I felt that was an opportunity I wanted to take, now I’m taking it, and I’m going to use it.”

The 6’9” forward is one of a number of exciting signings for the Taipans, alongside Next Star Bobi Klintman and Australian young gun Taran Armstrong.

The Taipans tip off their NBL24 campaign in enemy territory against the New Zealand Breakers on Saturday, September 30.