Former Ashburton College basketball player Josh Lowe will be playing basketball for Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, when the American school year begins in August. Photo supplied.Mid Canterbury basketballer Josh Lowe will pull on the maroon strip of Lee University in the United States later this year.

The 18-year-old former Ashburton College player has just accepted a scholarship with the Tennessee university and will suit up for their basketball team, the Flames, when the American school year begins in August.

The Flames are a NCAA division II school and invited Lowe for a visit last month while he was training at the Impact Basketball Academy in Sarasota, Florida.

Having watched the 6’8” Kiwi in action on highlight reels from the academy, they put him on the gym floor to test his skills then invited him to join the roster.

Lowe will be the first New Zealander to attend Lee on a basketball scholarship, which covers a large chunk of the cost of playing and studying towards a business degree.

He said he was excited by the chance to play the sport he loves and study abroad.

It has been a whirlwind past 12 months finishing his secondary schooling in Ashburton last year then heading to Sarasota to work on his game at the academy.

But the hard work has paid off and he now joins a throng of talented young Kiwis playing college basketball in the US.

Cleveland, Tennessee, has a population of around 44,000 people and around 5000 students attend the university.

The city is home to the company that produces Mars bars and M&Ms, as Lowe and his father Andrew discovered on their pre-scholarship visit.

The Flames play their basketball in a gym with seating for 2000 spectators and Lowe said the side enjoyed great community support.

Once the season gets under way, he expects to spend three days at university and the remainder with the team, travelling to games.

He will redshirt his first year, training and travelling with the team, but not taking the court.

Lowe has been an age-group rep for Mid Canterbury basketball and was a core player for Ashburton College in the past three years.

The sport at secondary school level has grown in both popularity and skill level in New Zealand in that time and American schools are paying attention to the country that gave them NBA star Steven Adams.

Lowe said the game was faster-paced and more focused on players shooting from the three-point line than in New Zealand.

He has been averaging about 38 per cent from that range.

He returned only this week from the Impact academy and hopes to keep his form by training with a Christchurch club until he heads back to the US in August.

In the meantime, he has plenty of time to fill up on home cooking by mum Jodene.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 4 May 2018