Three hundred emails, four responses and one American college that was willing to give Emme Shearer a chance to kickstart her basketball career.
That’s 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.
After finishing school in 2019, she had only been on one college visit that she quickly found out wasn’t for her. She was talking to a few schools but then Covid hit and those schools stopped talking to her.
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.
“I 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’re going to be here you have to apply to go to Auckland University. You’re not going to just sit here and do nothing, you’re going to start your degree,” Shearer said.
“My 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.”
With over 360 division one women’s basketball programmes in America, former Tall Fern and experienced coach Justine Reed helped Shearer find a couple of conferences that suited her.
“My subject line was national team player, six foot wing.”
“I wasn’t 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’m definitely not but I thought I’m probably athletic enough to get away with it,” Shearer said.
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.
It’s that same drive and belief that has led Shearer back home for her debut professional campaign.
Starring on the Shore
The 6-foot guard was born and raised in Auckland, spending most of her childhood in Herne Bay, before moving to the North Shore – a hub for basketball in Aotearoa, producing some of the country’s basketball stars.
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.
Shearer played in mixed teams from Year 3 and it wasn’t until she was in her second year at Ponsonby Intermediate school that she moved to an all-girls basketball team.
“I think it’s a huge reason why I enjoyed basketball so much,” Shearer said. “I 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.”
An empty campus
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.
“The only people on campus were the men’s and women’s basketball teams because we were the only teams who had our seasons guaranteed to be played,” Shearer said. “There were literally 30 kids on a huge campus. I didn’t 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.”
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.
In her junior and senior year, Portland won their conference and went to March Madness.
“That was my biggest highlight because you put so much time and effort into it for eight months of the year. You’re 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’re all my best friends to this day.”
Due to Covid, Shearer got a fifth year of eligibility so she could play and study for another season.
In her final year, Portland lost their match to qualify for March Madness but made the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, and beat one of the most successful colleges, Stanford.
Shearer scored 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.
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.
“When you leave New Zealand you realise how small it really is. The experience I got to have is so invaluable and you couldn’t 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,” Shearer said.
“I 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.”
Making the Tall Ferns
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
Shearer recently starred for the Tall Ferns at the FIBA Asia Cup where they finished fifth.
“It was a dream come true. It’s something I had on my list of things I wanted to do after college. That experience was awesome, it’s a pretty new team and quite a lot of veterans have moved on. But I loved it and had a really great experience,” Shearer said.
“Being 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’ve done some really good work installing firm values to keep the culture going.”
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.
“My parents are my biggest supporters. They were so excited when I made the Tall Ferns because it was something that I had spoken about and dreamt about for a while.”
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.
Now for Tauihi
Shearer was the Whai’s first signing for the 2025 season that begins later this month. She says she’s looking forward to making her debut for the reigning champions.
“I 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,” Shearer said.
“I saw how huge the league had become in a few years and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
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.
“I’m 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.”
After her first conversation with head coach Tane Bennett, Shearer said she was impressed.
“I 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.”
“I’m a very technical player and I always want to know why I’m doing things. Tane’s philosophy and the way he understands basketball, the specifics and details was something that definitely stood out to me.”
Shearer loves the outdoors and surfing in her spare time so is looking forward to being home to explore.
She’s 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.
The 2025 Tauihi basketball league begins with round one from September 26.