Kruz Perrott-Hunt
{{Short description|New Zealand basketball player}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Kruz Perrott-Hunt
| image =
| caption =
| position = Guard
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 195
| league = NZNBL
| team = Tauranga Whai
| number = 5
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2000|11|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = Auckland, New Zealand
| high_school = Rosmini College
(Auckland, New Zealand)
| college = South Dakota (2019–2023)
| draft_year = 2024
| career_start = 2018
| career_end =
| years1 = 2018–2019
| team1 = New Zealand Breakers
| years2 = 2019
| team2 = Nelson Giants
| years3 = 2023
| team3 = Auckland Tuatara
| years4 = 2023
| team4 = KK Borac Čačak
| years5 = 2024–present
| team5 = Tauranga Whai
| years6 = 2024
| team6 = Korihait
| years7 = 2024–2025
| team7 = BC Komarno
| highlights =
- Second-team All-Summit League (2022)
}}
Kruz Ambrose Roger Perrott-Hunt{{cite web |title=Kruz Ambrose Roger Perrott-Hunt – 2018 FIBA U18 Asia Cup |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/en/history/258-fiba-u18-asia-cup/208014/players/236016-kruz-ambrose-roger-perrott-hunt |website=fiba.basketball |access-date=26 February 2025}} (born 23 November 2000) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Tauranga Whai of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the South Dakota Coyotes.
Early life and career
Perrott-Hunt was born in Auckland, New Zealand.{{cite web |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt |url=https://www.aba-liga.com/player/4600/24/1/kruz-perrott-hunt/ |website=ABA Liga |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en}} He attended Rosmini College, where he won back-to-back national championships.{{cite web |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt - Men's Basketball |url=https://goyotes.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kruz-perrott-hunt/12008 |website=University of South Dakota Athletics |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=ROSMINI AND SAINT MARY'S TRIUMPH IN THE SCHICK CHAMPIONSHIPS |url=https://nz.basketball/rosmini-and-saint-marys-triumph-in-the-schick-championships/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=nz.basketball |date=7 October 2017 |language=en-AU}}{{cite news |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt commits to Div 1 Basketball Scholarship in US |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/basketball/kruz-perrott-hunt-commits-to-div-1-basketball-scholarship-in-us/4QLUW7Y4FF7TZCKLL7LKPYX5WA/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=nzherald.co.nz |date=9 November 2018}}
Perrott-Hunt joined the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League as a development player for the 2018–19 season.{{cite news |last1=Hinton |first1=Marc |title=Tall Blacks teen prodigy Kruz Perrott-Hunt heading to South Dakota University |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/108499618/tall-blacks-teen-prodigy-kruz-perrotthunt-heading-to-south-dakota-university |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=9 November 2018}} He played one game for the Breakers during the season, making his debut on 21 December 2018 against the Illawarra Hawks.{{cite web |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Basketball Player, News, Stats - australiabasket |url=https://basketball.australiabasket.com/player/Kruz-Perrott-Hunt/370207 |website=Eurobasket LLC |access-date=26 February 2025 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt |url=https://nbl.com.au/player/3684/910135/kruz-perrott-hunt |website=NBL.com.au |access-date=26 February 2025}} He then joined the Nelson Giants of the New Zealand NBL for the 2019 season, where he averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 13 games.
College career
Perrott-Hunt played four years of college basketball in the United States for the South Dakota Coyotes between 2019 and 2023.
As a freshman in 2019–20, Perrott-Hunt action in 22 games with seven starts and averaged 1.5 points, 9.6 minutes and 1.1 assists per game.
In 2020–21, Perrott-Hunt was one of three players to start every game, averaging 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 27.6 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 16 points against Omaha on 29 January 2021.
In 2021–22, Perrott-Hunt started in all 31 games and led the team in scoring and assists with 15 points per game and 71 assists. He finished ninth in the conference in scoring, recording five 20-plus point performances including a season-high 25 against Tennessee State and Denver. He was subsequently named second-team All-Summit League. In January 2022, he reached 490 career points, moving ahead of Stan Hill into 17th spot on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in NCAA Division I men's basketball.{{cite news |title=Perrott-Hunt overtakes Tall Blacks legend Stan Hill |url=https://laceylowdown.com/2022/01/26/perrott-hunt-overtakes-tall-blacks-legend-stan-hill/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=laceylowdown.com |date=26 January 2022}}
In 2022–23, Perrott-Hunt played in all 31 games for the Coyotes and started 30, averaging a team-high 31 minutes per game. He led the team in scoring and ranked 12th in the conference at 14.3 points per game. He had six 20-plus scoring efforts and 23 double-digit scoring outings, becoming a member of the 1,000 point club during the season. He scored a career-high 30 points against Western Illinois on 31 December 2022.{{cite news |title=Perrott-Hunt has 30, South Dakota defeats W. Illinois 80-63 |url=https://www.espn.com.au/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401470191 |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=ESPN.com.au |date=31 December 2022}} He earned All-Summit League honorable mention honours.
Professional career
In April 2023, Perrott-Hunt signed with the Auckland Tuatara for the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.{{cite news |title=Tuatara add Perrott-Hunt to 2023 roster |url=https://tuatarabasketball.com/tuatara-add-perrott-hunt-to-2023-roster/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=tuatarabasketball.com |date=4 April 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403214210/https://tuatarabasketball.com/tuatara-add-perrott-hunt-to-2023-roster/ |archive-date=3 April 2023}} He initially signed to begin his professional career, but he was released in May to pursue going back to college for a final season. With that possibility not coming to fruition, Perrott-Hunt opted to return to the Tuatara in June.{{cite news |title=Perrott-Hunt re-joins Tuatara |url=https://tuatarabasketball.com/perrott-hunt-re-joins-tuatara/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=tuatarabasketball.com |date=9 June 2023}} In nine games for the Tuatara, he averaged 6.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
For the 2023–24 season, Perrott-Hunt joined KK Borac Čačak of the Serbian League. He played in only one game for Borac in the ABA League on 27 November 2023 against KK Partizan.
In March 2024, Perrott-Hunt signed with the Tauranga Whai for the 2024 New Zealand NBL season.{{cite news |title=Welcoming Kruz Perrott-Hunt: Adding Grit and Talent to Whai's Backcourt! |url=https://www.facebook.com/whaibasketball/posts/pfbid033vvKGLawnGbtV4eVkSRuUsSp99ZVr7aXpKp9idkbpnhpk9w24hDaX4cx55R5TWDZl |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=facebook.com/whaibasketball |date=8 March 2024}} In 20 games, he averaged 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
In August 2024, Perrott-Hunt signed with Korihait of the Finnish Korisliiga.{{cite news |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt (ex Whai) joins Korihait |url=https://www.australiabasket.com/New-Zealand/news/885916/Kruz-Perrott-Hunt-ex-Whai-joins-Korihait |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=australiabasket.com |date=7 August 2024}} He appeared in seven games for Korihait before joining BC Komarno of the Slovak Basketball League in November 2024.{{cite news |last1=Duchovic |first1=Michal |title=Komarno signs Kruz Perrott-Hunt |url=https://www.australiabasket.com/New%20Zealand/news/901525/Komarno-signs-Kruz-Perrott-Hunt |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=australiabasket.com |date=13 November 2024}} He was cut by Komarno on 4 January 2025 after appearing in eight games.{{cite news |last1=Duchovic |first1=Michal |title=Komarno cut Kruz Perrott-Hunt |url=https://www.australiabasket.com/New%20Zealand/news/910356/Komarno-cut-Kruz-Perrott-Hunt |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=australiabasket.com |date=4 January 2025}}
In February 2025, Perrott-Hunt re-signed with the Tauranga Whai for the 2025 New Zealand NBL season.{{cite news |title=Winding it back for season 2! Welcome home Kruz!! |url=https://www.instagram.com/whaibasketball/reel/DF-6Qxqh6Uh/?hl=en |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=instagram.com/whaibasketball |date=13 February 2025}}
National team career
Perrott-Hunt played for the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks at the 2017 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championship, 2018 FIBA U18 Asian Championship, and 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.{{cite web |title=Kruz Perrott-Hunt (New Zealand) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age {{!}} FIBA Basketball |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/236016-kruz-perrott-hunt |website=www.fiba.basketball |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en |date=26 February 2025}}
Perrott-Hunt debuted for the senior New Zealand national team, the Tall Blacks, during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers. He played for the Tall Blacks at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, where he averaged 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in seven games.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://goyotes.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kruz-perrott-hunt/12008 South Dakota Coyotes bio]
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kruz-perrott-hunt-1.html Sports-Reference.com profile]
- [https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/236016-kruz-perrott-hunt FIBA profile]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrott-Hunt, Kruz}}
Category:Auckland Tuatara basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Auckland
Category:KK Borac Čačak players
Category:Nelson Giants players
Category:New Zealand Breakers players
Category:New Zealand expatriate basketball people in the United States
Category:New Zealand men's basketball players
Category:People educated at Rosmini College