The Sunday Mail
TATENDA Maturure describes his rookie season with the Panthers as a surreal experience and believes it is the first step to bigger and better things.
The former Harare City Hornets small forward returned home last week, fresh from a very successful debut season across the Limpopo where he won the Basketball National League title with South African giants Soweto Panthers.
“I have moved a lot during my basketball career, due to the need to gain as much exposure and experience. And with the Panthers I think I have made the first proper steps towards that,” said the 28-year-old small forward. “Basketball in South Africa is a totally different ball game. The league is professionally run, competition is intense and basketball is a real profession back there.
“Being part of a team with such rich history and plying my trade is such a big league, like that, was really surreal.”
Despite playing just 11 games due to his midseason move, Maturure did enough to make an instant impact at the Soweto giants. The 28-year-old finished with 160 points, 24 assists and six blocks; earning himself a Most Valuable Player award for his club and a place on the league’s All-Star team. Also impressive were the improvements in his game.
“When I was playing here in Zimbabwe, there were so many distractions, things to do, people to visit and places to go,” said the small forward. “However, in South Africa basketball was all I did; I would wake up in the morning and go to the gym, train, rest and then train again. I believe such a lifestyle really helped up my game;
“One of the major highlights, for me in SA was how I managed to up my game. Back home, I had never really been rated a perimeter shooter, but I remember in this one game shooting four straight three-pointers.
“I managed to incorporate such little things into my game, and feel more of a well-rounded player for it,” he said. From the free-throw line, Maturure shot an impressive 73 percent from 33 free throws; while making a career high 19 three-pointers.
The improvements were not isolated to his offensive game alone, as Maturure finished the season with 17 defensive rebounds and six blocks.
