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A 6 ft guard who cheekily sold herself to US colleges as 6ft 2 to get their attention. Shearer shooting for NZ at the FIBA Asia Cup. Photo: Supplied<\/p>\nThree hundred emails, four responses and one American college that was willing to give Emme Shearer a chance to kickstart her basketball career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how many emails Shearer sent to colleges in 2020, asking for a spot on their team. While most basketball prospects go through a recruitment agency, Shearer was encouraged by people in the basketball community to approach colleges directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After finishing school in 2019, she had only been on one college visit that she quickly found out wasn\u2019t for her. She was talking to a few schools but then Covid hit and those schools stopped talking to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She started working a nine-to-five job at a retail store and thought that would be her reality for the next year, but mum Allison encouraged her to go to university and start her degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought maybe this is what my next year is going to look like, I just have to ride this out. But then my mum said, if you\u2019re going to be here you have to apply to go to Auckland University. You\u2019re not going to just sit here and do nothing, you\u2019re going to start your degree,\u201d Shearer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum was serious about it so at that point I kind of rerouted and started hassling schools again, telling them that I still need a spot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With over 360 division one women\u2019s basketball programmes in America, former Tall Fern and experienced coach Justine Reed helped Shearer find a couple of conferences that suited her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy subject line was national team player, six foot wing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t getting recruited and Justine said to bump my height up a little, so by the end of it I was a 6 ft 2 wing which I\u2019m definitely not but I thought I\u2019m probably athletic enough to get away with it,\u201d Shearer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After months of hoping and waiting, in May of 2020 Michael Meek, the head coach at the University of Portland, reached out to her with a last minute spot. After three zoom calls in three weeks, she signed with the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that same drive and belief that has led Shearer back home for her debut professional campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starring on the Shore<\/p>\n
The 6-foot guard was born and raised in Auckland, spending most of her childhood in Herne Bay, before moving to the North Shore \u2013 a hub for basketball in Aotearoa, producing some of the country\u2019s basketball stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old was a Westlake Girls High School basketball and volleyball standout. She played age grade hoops for North Harbour and the Junior Tall Ferns, while also winning national titles in volleyball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shearer played in mixed teams from Year 3 and it wasn\u2019t until she was in her second year at Ponsonby Intermediate school that she moved to an all-girls basketball team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a huge reason why I enjoyed basketball so much,\u201d Shearer said. \u201cI liked being able to rough and tumble with the boys in a sense. I have two brothers myself, so it was definitely an environment I was comfortable in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
An empty campus<\/p>\n
In August 2020, Shearer moved to Portland to begin her new chapter which would soon become the hardest year of her life, being in the midst of Covid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only people on campus were the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams because we were the only teams who had our seasons guaranteed to be played,\u201d Shearer said. \u201cThere were literally 30 kids on a huge campus. I didn\u2019t really have a social life and we took all our classes online. We were getting tested for Covid three or four times a week. Then you throw in being an 18-year-old in a foreign country away from my family for the first time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shearer went on to have a decorated college career, playing the most NCAA Division One games by any Kiwi. She became known for her scoring prowess and defensive grit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In her junior and senior year, Portland won their conference and went to March Madness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my biggest highlight because you put so much time and effort into it for eight months of the year. You\u2019re in the gym every single day for hours and hours, and finally at the end you get the rewards. Both years I absolutely loved my team. It was so much fun and they\u2019re all my best friends to this day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Due to Covid, Shearer got a fifth year of eligibility so she could play and study for another season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In her final year, Portland lost their match to qualify for March Madness but made the Women\u2019s Basketball Invitational Tournament, and beat one of the most successful colleges, Stanford.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shearer\u00a0scored a game-high 28 points in the win and shot the game-winning free throw. It was a huge achievement, with previous encounters seeing Stanford beat Portland by 30 or 40 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the end of her five years in Portland, Shearer achieved an undergraduate degree and Masters in Finance, all while keeping up six hours of training a day, plus extra hours of training in her own time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you leave New Zealand you realise how small it really is. The experience I got to have is so invaluable and you couldn\u2019t replicate that anywhere else. Being able to go over to America and play basketball, get an education and that life experience, it really makes you grow as a person,\u201d Shearer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it so much because I had great coaches and the people who brought me over are just great people who care about me as a person and not just a product for them or someone who creates wins for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Making the Tall Ferns<\/p>\n
A 6 ft guard who cheekily sold herself to US colleges as 6ft 2 to get their attention. Shearer shooting for NZ at the FIBA Asia Cup. Photo: Supplied<\/p>\n
Shearer recently starred for the Tall Ferns at the FIBA Asia Cup where they finished fifth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a dream come true. It\u2019s something I had on my list of things I wanted to do after college. That experience was awesome, it\u2019s a pretty new team and quite a lot of veterans have moved on. But I loved it and had a really great experience,\u201d Shearer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing from New Zealand, you already have this bond and everyone buys into the Tall Ferns culture. It was a very fun and easy team to be around. I think we all share the same goals and they\u2019ve done some really good work installing firm values to keep the culture going.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After forging her own path to America, the investment from her parents since the beginning paid off when they saw her pull on the black singlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents are my biggest supporters. They were so excited\u00a0when I made the Tall Ferns because it was something that I had spoken about and dreamt about for a while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shearer is focused on helping the Tall Ferns qualify for their first World Cup since 1994, with the team playing in World Cup Qualifiers early next year. She also has her sights set on an Olympic games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now for Tauihi<\/p>\n
Shearer was the Whai\u2019s first signing for the 2025 season that begins later this month. She says she\u2019s looking forward to making her debut for the reigning champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty set on Europe but I think as it got closer to the time to make a decision, I thought actually I do want to go home,\u201d Shearer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw how huge the league had become in a few years and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The opportunity to be back home for Christmas, closer to her family and getting to play alongside a special childhood friend was also hard to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to play with one of my longtime best friends, Tayla Dalton who I played against on the Shore growing up. We played against each other a lot and she was in my conference at college in America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After her first conversation with head coach Tane Bennett, Shearer said she was impressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had spoken with friends who had been coached by him and they just said how much of a great person he was and how well he knows basketball.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a very technical player and I always want to know why I\u2019m doing things. Tane\u2019s philosophy and the way he understands basketball, the specifics and details was something that definitely stood out to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shearer loves the outdoors and surfing in her spare time so is looking forward to being home to explore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s ready to bring her own unique style of play to the Whai lineup, building on their success last year and using her experiences overseas to add a new chapter to her story.\u00a0<\/p>\n