Tony Rampton (born 30 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.

Early life and college

Rampton was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

, New Zealand, and attended

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborat ...

. Rampton left New Zealand as a rising 17-year-old talent to play two years of high school basketball in the United States. He attended Waseca High School in

Waseca, Minnesota Waseca ( ) is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,229 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, t ...

, before spending four years at Iowa State between 1995 and 1999, where he averaged 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 80 games.

Professional career

Rampton played his first year in the New Zealand NBL with the Taranaki Oilers in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and won rookie of the year. He joined the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (New Zealand), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the T ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and went on to help them reach the grand final, where they lost to the Auckland Rebels. He was named Kiwi MVP, the league's most outstanding forward, was crowned rebounding champion with 14.6 a game and was included in the league's All-Star Five. Rampton started the 2000–01 season in Finland before finishing with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

of the Australian NBL. After injury saw him only play half a season with the Taipans in 2001–02, he continued on with Cairns between 2002 and 2005. Between 2005 and 2007, he played for the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketbal ...

. He then played two seasons for the West Sydney Razorbacks / Sydney Spirit. His final season in the Australian NBL came in the 2009–10 season with the Taipans. In the New Zealand NBL, Rampton returned to Taranaki in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He played for Taranaki again in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

but did not return in 2007. He played for Taranaki again in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he played for the

. He retired due to a chronic ankle injury that had plagued him since 2000. In March 2021, Rampton was named among the greatest 40 New Zealand NBL players of all time, ranking at No. 36 in the NBL's '40in40' selection for the best players in the 40-year history of the league.

National team career

Rampton first represented New Zealand in 1997 at the World Championship for Men '22 and Under'. He debuted for the Tall Blacks in 1999. In 2000, he played for the Tall Blacks at the Sydney Olympics. He went on to play for the Tall Blacks at the 2003 FIBA Oceania Championship,

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, 2005 FIBA Oceania Championship,

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

, and 2007 FIBA Oceania Championship.

Coaching career

Between 2011 and 2013, Rampton served as an assistant coach with the

. In 2014 and 2015, he coached the Nelson Sparks in the national women's basketball championship.

Personal life

Rampton is the son Taranaki basketball legend Brian Rampton. Tony's brother, Damon, also played in the New Zealand NBL and the pair played alongside each other with Taranaki. Rampton's wife Nicki (née Thompson) also played basketball in New Zealand. She was coached by Tony at the Nelson Sparks. As of March 2021, Rampton was living in China with his wife and two children, and teaching at an international English-speaking school in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

References

External links

Australian NBL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rampton, Tony 1976 births Living people Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Cairns Taipans players Centers (basketball) Commonwealth Games silver medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players Nelson Giants players New Zealand men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for New Zealand People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Sportspeople from New Plymouth Taranaki Mountainairs players West Sydney Razorbacks players Wollongong Hawks players 2006 FIBA World Championship players Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games New Zealand expatriate basketball people in England New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Australia New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Finland New Zealand expatriate basketball people in the United States New Zealand expatriates in China