Canterbury Knights History 1998-2004

  • The Knights have a strong history in tournaments having won the NZ CBL Championship (CBL) in 2003 and made the final four in 2004. The Knights name and national competitions at second divison level were in limbo until 2016.

  • 2004: Qualified for the National Final Four series, 3rd place. All Star Five: Gerard Bowden (Knights). Roster: Joel Hart, Gerard Bowden, Ritchie Howell, Nathan Hyde, Luke Osborn, Scott Howell, Markham Brown, Ash Rees, Ollie Cumming, Ben Jeffrey. Coach: Mo Corkery. Assistant: Piet Van Hasselt.

  • 2003: National Champions (8-1) Southern Conference Regular Season (vs Nelson, Otago, Nelson College), (5-1) Finals Series, (13-2) Overall. Grand Final - Canterbury Knights 80, Hutt Valley 69 - ChampionsFinals Series MVP - Boyd Smart (Knights).  All Star Five - Smart, Clifton Bush, Gerard Bowden (Knights), Darryl Jones (Hutt Valley), Rob Wilson (Suns).  Roster: Travis Dixon, Joel Hart, Ritchie Howell, Gerard Bowden, Mark McLaughlin, Mark Morrison, Carl Nicholson, Boyd Smart, Luke Osborn, Clifton Bush, Paul McFarlin, Scott Howell, Glen Bremner. Co-coaches: Pete McAllister & Dene Robinson.

  • 1999-2002: Competed in the Southern Conference. Did not qualify for National Finals.

  • PLAYER PROFILE & INTERVIEW

    Ritchie Howell, Canterbury Knights 2000-2004.  If there was one Knights player that summed up hard work and fighting for every possession it is former Knights Captain Ritchie Howell.  He was also in the Canterbury Rams squad over the 2003-2004 years and took court for six games.

  • QUESTION: There were a large number of players that went from the Knights to train and play for the Canterbury Rams. How do you think the Knights programme helped with the development of Canterbury Basketball players?

  • “The Knights were a great feeder for the Rams as it gave the bench/ development players the opportunity to play in a competitive competition. The year we won it was the year Clifton Bush hadn’t received his NZ residency so he played with us. We used to scrimmage against the Rams on a Wednesday and we would beat them on a number of occasions.”

  • QUESTION: Please talk us through the 2003 season and what it was like to Captain a Championship side?

  • “We were lucky as we had a good balance in 2003 Championship side and we had great coaching staff (Pete McAllister and Dene Robinson). We had a great group of guys and worked well together throughout the year. I remember that year we played Otago down in Dunedin and were down by 19 going into the 4th quarter – we ended up winning in overtime and that summed up our season. We never gave up and had faith in each other. Was a great season playing with an awesome group of guys.”


1999-2002
​​​​​​​Competed in the Southern Conference. Did not qualify for National Finals.

Some Players: Gerard Bowden (2002-2004), Glen Bremner (2002-2003), Myles Sutherland (2000-2001), Jeremy Kench (2002), Ritchie Howell (2001-2004), Scott Howell (2001-2004), Joel Hart (2002-2004), Tim Edmonds (2000-2001), Luke Ruscoe (2000), Mark McLaughlin (2000-2003), Boyd Smart (2000-2003), Hayden Smart (2000-2001), Blase Dowall (2000-2001), Nigel Buchanann (2000-2001), Nathan Hyde (2000-2004), Danny Wilson (2000-2001), Coach: Peter McAllister (2000-2003), Assistant: Dave Harrison (2000)