New Breakers signing CJ Bruton is fresh from an arduous Olympic campaign with Australia but can't wait to hit the court in a new jersey.
Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke said Bruton was looking forward to throwing himself into the new campaign.
"The priority for CJ right now is to recharge the batteries and reacquaint himself with his family. On the playing side of things Andrej has spoken with CJ prior to the Olympic campaign about his role and the way the team will play," Clarke said.
"CJ picked up his playbook and DVD of all our stuff when he was in Auckland with the Boomers, so he should be able to step into the team systems without too much trouble.
"Clearly he is an experienced player well used to adapting to new environments, so while he won't have a great deal of time we have no doubt he will settle in quickly upon joining the team."
The Boomers bowed out of the Olympic tournament in the quarter-finals, losing to eventual gold medalists USA.
Bruton played a key role in the Boomers run through group play and looks to be in great form ahead of the new season.
Bruton was third on the stats list for minutes played by the Boomers at the Games and led them in steals, assists and free throw percentages.
Player profile - CJ Bruton
Australia's premier point guard joins the Breakers to continue a stellar career that started as a teenager with the Perth Wildcats in 1994 and has included stints with Brisbane (twice), Wollongong, Canberra and Sydney in the NBL, as well as overseas missions in Venezuela and the USA (at college, CBA and NBA level).
He was considered one of the best junior college players at Indian Hills Christian College (Div 1, 1995-97) but was then declared ineligible to compete in the NCAA because he had previously played professionally for Perth.
The 32-year-old former NBA player with the Portland Trailblazers - originally selected in the second round (#53) of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies - has won three NBL titles, two with the Kings and another with the Bullets in the 2006/07 season.
The Kansas-born, Australian-raised son of ANBL Hall of Famer and championship-winning coach Cal Bruton averaged 19.1 ppg and 4.6 assists per match last season - with a 46.1 percent 3-point success rate - and loves the ball in his hands with matches on the line.
An Australian Olympian in 2000, 2004 and 2008, Bruton won Commonwealth Games gold in Melbourne two years ago, co-captaining the Boomers with fellow Breaker Tony Ronaldson.
