Taipans release Mennenga

The Cairns Taipans have announced the departure of New Zealand-born forward Sam Mennenga ahead of NBL25, despite the former Davidson Wildcat having initially committed to the club for two years upon signing for NBL24.

Mennenga played 27 of a possible 28 games for the Taipans in his rookie season, and averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game across the campaign. His standout game for the club came in Round 13 when he had 22 points and 11 rebounds over eventual Championship Series contender, Melbourne.

The 22-year-old thanked the Taipans for his opportunity in NBL24.

“The Taipans were an outstanding initiation into the NBL and gave me a great starting point for my professional basketball career going forward,” he said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THANK YOU SAM ?<br><br>The Taipans and Sam Mennenga have agreed to his mutual release, ahead of the 2024-25 NBL season. <br>?: <a href="https://t.co/vJYqlZn6xk">https://t.co/vJYqlZn6xk</a><br><br>The club wishes him the very best! ? <a href="https://t.co/ILPioJMgEV">pic.twitter.com/ILPioJMgEV</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1768412927902802119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I would like to thank the organisation and the coaching staff for everything they have done for me over the past 12 months.”  

Taipans CEO Mark Beecroft expressed gratitude to the departing Mennenga for his contributions over the season.

“The club was glad to offer a talent like Sam his first break in the NBL. We will continue to provide local players a launchpad into this league," he said.

“Sam is an outstanding young man. We thank him for his professionalism and contributions, and hope he becomes another Cairns success story.” 

Mennenga is currently playing for Greek side AS Karditsas.