The 19-year-old finished at Hillmorton High School last year and was not sure what path to take next when Lincoln University offered him a four-year basketball scholarship the week classes started.
“I got offered the scholarship a week into the uni year so I was behind but the opportunity came up and I thought it was a good one.”
Kendrew shot a Thomson Trophy Canterbury secondary school record 58 points in a game last year while captaining his high school.
“I finished school and didn’t have much, on,” he said.
“I’d thought about trying to go to America and try to get a college scholarship but that hadn’t happened so this opportunity to study at Lincoln came at the right time.”
Kendrew is now studying commerce and playing for Lincoln University’s top team.
He has also started playing three-on-three basketball as part of the 3x3.EXE premier South Island conference, with the team heading to Japan this weekend, along with a team from Canterbury University, for a tournament where the winner gets $20,000.
Kendrew, a sharp shooter from beyond the arc, said their long-range shooting would be a help in Japan but the Lincoln team’s lack of size may be an issue.
He said since leaving Hillmorton, he believes he shoots the ball less and he has more vision for open teammates on the court.
