NZ Breakers guard Corey Webster promises he is a changed man, after confirming a three-year contract to return to the Auckland-based Australian NBL club next season.
The 29-year-old shooter is the latest addition to a Breakers roster that has undergone almost wholesale change under new ownership since the end of the 2017/18 season, when they were eliminated by eventual champions Melbourne United in the semifinals.
Webster's previous stints with the Breakers were marred by two drug bans and ended badly in January 2017, after he was charged with assault during an incident in a Takapuna bar.
He ended his season early to undergo hip surgery that never eventuated and was eventually found guilty of two assault charges, but was discharged without conviction.
Webster, who went to school at Westlake Boys High School - just a stone's throw away from the Breakers' North Shore Events Centre home court - insists he's changed his ways.
"I am very excited about returning to the club," he says. "I have done a lot of growing as a person, and learned a lot about myself and what I want to be.
"I think the timing is perfect for me to come back, not only as a basketball player, but also as a man and a father.
"With my son being in Auckland, I am excited for the years ahead on and off court.
"I am back to full health and fitness. When I left I was battling injury and was scheduled to have surgery, but I overcame that and found ways to return to full health naturally without surgery.
"I am back to 100 percent and playing well. I am just in a better place all around."
In between his previous transgressions, he helped the club to three ANBL titles and through his stellar play for the Tall Blacks, developed a reputation as one of the world's premier international shooters.
Webster has just finished a successful season in Israel, where he averaged 15.3 points and four assists for Ironi Nahariya. He won the three-point shooting competition at the Premier League All-Star weekend, but parted ways with his club earlier this month.
"I always thought that last year wasn’t the end of my time at the Breakers," he says. "It didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but I have done a lot of growing as a player and as a man, and I think I have a lot to prove on and off court.
"It was always in the back of my mind to come back and prove that to all the people at the club, all the fans and my family, to leave a legacy behind.
"This is a great opportunity to do that and there is no other place I would want such an opportunity. The Breakers is my home club, where I grew up and learned the game, and I am excited at having such an opportunity."
He has an established relationship with new Breakers coach Kevin Braswell, having played alongside him and won NZ national league titles under him with Wellington Saints.
"I have no doubt Corey returns to the NBL a better player and just as importantly, a more mature person," says Braswell. "He is coming to the Breakers with the expectation that he will lead us on and off court, and set the tone for others in the group.
"He is hungry for success and keen to show that increased maturity to everyone in his on and off-court actions."
Webster's signing brings the Breakers roster to eight, with three full-time spots still open (including imports) and three development players to be named.
The current roster is Tom Abercrombie, Finn Delany, Shea Ili, Majok Majok, Jordan Ngati, Corey Webster, Jarrad Weeks and Tai Wesley.
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