New Zealand men's national basketball team

New Zealand New Zealand
FIBA ranking 21 Steady
Joined FIBA 1951
FIBA zone FIBA Oceania
National federation Basketball New Zealand
Coach Paul Henare
Nickname(s) Tall Blacks
Olympic Games
Appearances 2
Medals None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances 5
Medals None
FIBA Oceania Championship
Appearances 22
Medals Gold: 1999, 2001, 2009
Silver: 1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015
Uniforms
Light
Dark

The New Zealand men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Tall Blacks, represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. The Tall Blacks name is one of many national team nicknames (indirectly) related to the All Blacks and/or the New Zealand silver tree fern.[1]

History

The Tall Blacks competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and finished with a 1–5 record, their only win coming against Angola, in the playoff for eleventh place.

In 2001, they defeated Australia, in a three-game series to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, United States. At the tournament, they finished fourth, after beating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals, before losses to Serbia and Montenegro and Germany. Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron was the only non-NBA player named to the All-Tournament team in Indianapolis.

The Tall Blacks also qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but again finished with a 1–5 record, and lost to Australia in the playoff for ninth place. Their most noted moment was on the 7th day of the games, when they defeated reigning the World Champions Serbia and Montenegro, by a score of 90–87.

2006 FIBA World Championship

At the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish from 2002. After an 0–3 start, the Tall Blacks rallied into the second round, with two straight wins to close out the group stage. However, they would fall in the round of 16 to defending Olympic gold medalists Argentina, 79–62. After that disappointment, Tab Baldwin resigned as the coach of the Tall Blacks, and was replaced by Nenad Vučinić, his longtime assistant coach.

2011 Stanković Cup

The squad competed at the 2011 Boris Stanković Cup in China. They played 3 games against difficult opposition, China, Russia, and Angola. After going down to Russia in the first game by just 3 points, the Tall Blacks quickly put that behind them, to smash China in their second game, which led to a good win against a strong Angolan team. The Tall Blacks came up against a strong Russian team in the final, but the Russians were no match for Tall Blacks star shooting guard Kirk Penney, as he scored 30 points, to give the Tall Blacks the win and the gold medal for 2011.

Haka

The Tall Blacks perform a traditional Haka (Māori challenge) before every game, but due to the influence of Paora Winitana and Paul Henare, it is very different to the ones performed by All Blacks.

Performance table

Olympic Games

FIBA Basketball World Cup

FIBA Oceania Championship

Year Position Host
1971 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1971
1975 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1975
1978 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1978
1979 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1979
1981 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1981
1983 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1983
1985 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1985
1987 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1987
1989 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1989
1991 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1991
1993 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1993
1995 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1995
1997 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 1997
1999 1 FIBA Oceania Championship 1999
2001 1 FIBA Oceania Championship 2001
2003 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2003
2005 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2005
2007 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2007
2009 1 FIBA Oceania Championship 2009
2011 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2011
2013 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2013
2015 2 FIBA Oceania Championship 2015

Commonwealth Games

Stanković Cup

William Jones Cup

Current Squad

New Zealand Tall Blacks – 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Age – DOB Ht. Club
PG 0 Ili, Shea 22 – (1992-10-06)6 October 1992 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
G/F 1 Te Rangi, Reuben 20 – (1994-10-14)14 October 1994 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Brisbane Bullets Australia
PG 4 Tait, Lindsay 33 – (1982-01-08)8 January 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Super City Rangers New Zealand
SG 5 Bartlett, Everard 29 – (1986-02-06)6 February 1986 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
PG 6 Kenny, Jarrod 29 – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Perth Wildcats Australia
F 7 Vukona, Mika (C) 33 – (1982-05-13)13 May 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
G 9 Webster, Corey 26 – (1988-11-29)29 November 1988 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
SF 10 Abercrombie, Thomas 28 – (1987-07-05)5 July 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
F/C 11 Wynyard, Tai 17 – (1998-02-05)5 February 1998 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) New Zealand Breakers New Zealand
F/C 12 Fotu, Isaac 21 – (1993-12-18)18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) CAI Zaragoza Spain
G/F 13 Prewster, Dion 25 – (1990-01-10)10 January 1990 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Sydney Kings Australia
C 14 Loe, Robert 24 – (1991-08-05)5 August 1991 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Limburg United Belgium
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Video analyst
  • Judd Flavell
Scout
  • United States Tim Fanning
Strength and conditioning coach
  • Gavin Cross
Physiotherapist
  • Anousith Bouaaphone
Team manager
  • Andrew Dewhurst
Operations manager
  • Peter Kadar
Groupie/Ball bag
  • Greg Elliot
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 15 August 2015

Depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Inactive
C Alex Pledger Robert Loe Tai Wynyard Jack Salt
PF Isaac Fotu Mika Vukona B. J. Anthony Duane Bailey
SF Thomas Abercrombie Reuben Te Rangi Leon Henry Marcel Jones
SG Corey Webster Everard Bartlett Dion Prewster Kirk Penney
PG Tai Webster Jarrod Kenny Shea Ili Lindsay Tait

Notable players

Probably the most well-known former New Zealand Tall Black player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is former San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Marks. Another New Zealand player, former University of Wisconsin star Kirk Penney, briefly played in the NBA, and later played with top European teams Maccabi Tel Aviv and Žalgiris, but now plays with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Spain, after being released by the New Zealand Breakers. In past generations, players such as Stan Hill and Glen Denham, were well revered and respected players, who were the face of New Zealand basketball.

Past rosters

Scroll down to see more.

1986 World Championship: finished 21st among 24 teams

Gilbert Gordon, Peter Pokai, Stan Hill, Neil Stephens, Dave Edmonds, Ian Webb, Dave Mason, Tony Smith, Colin Crampton, Frank Mulvihill, Glen Denham, John Rademakers (Coach: Robert Bishop)

2000 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 12 teams

Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Nenad Vučinić, Tony Rampton, Paul Henare, Brad Riley, Ralph Lattimore, Peter Pokai (Coach: Keith Mair)

2002 World Championship: finished 4th among 16 teams

Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Dillon Boucher, Damon Rampton, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Judd Flavell (Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2004 Olympic Games: finished 10th among 12 teams

Sean Marks, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Pero Cameron, Kirk Penney, Dillon Boucher, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Aaron Olson, Craig Bradshaw (Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2006 World Championship: finished 16th among 24 teams

Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Craig Bradshaw, Aaron Olson, Mika Vukona (Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2010 World Championship: finished 12th among 24 teams

Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Michael Fitchett, Casey Frank, Phill Jones, Jeremy Kench, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona (Coach: Nenad Vučinić)

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: Peak [2]

References

  1. ↑ "Video:Today on YouTube: New Zealand's Tall Blacks' haka confuses the USA basketball team". Telegraph:Sport. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. ↑ 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship - New Zealand, FIBA.com, Retrieved 30 September 2015.

External links

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