New Zealand national basketball team

New Zealand
FIBA ranking 19 Decrease1
Joined FIBA 1951
FIBA zone FIBA Oceania
National federation Basketball New Zealand
Coach New Zealand Paul Henare
Nickname(s) Tall Blacks
Olympic Games
Appearances 2
Medals None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances 5
Medals None
FIBA Oceania Championship
Appearances 21
Medals Gold: 1999, 2001, 2009
Silver: 1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013
Uniforms
Light
Dark

The New Zealand national basketball team represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. It is nicknamed the Tall Blacks, which is one of many national team nicknames related to the All Blacks Rugby union team.[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

Commonwealth Games

Stanković Cup

William Jones Cup

Current Squad

Roster for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

New Zealand National Basketball Team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Age - DOB Ht. Club
G 4 Tait, Lindsay 32 – 8 January 1982 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Wellington Saints New Zealand
SF 6 Penney, Kirk 33 – 23 November 1980 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) CB Sevilla Spain
PF 7 Vukona, Mika (C) 32 – 13 May 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Pallacanestro Virtus Roma Italy
G 9 Webster, Corey 25 – 29 November 1988 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) KK Mega Basket Serbia
SF 10 Abercrombie, Thomas 27 – 5 July 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) San Sebastián Gipuzkoa BC Spain
PF 11 Anthony, B. J. 26 – 20 July 1988 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Adelaide 36ers Australia
PF 12 Fotu, Isaac 20 – 18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Zaragoza Spain
F/C 13 Frank, Casey 36 – 23 October 1977 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Waikato Pistons New Zealand
C 14 Loe, Rob 23 – 5 August 1991 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) KAOD Dramas Greece
PG 15 Webster, Tai 19 – 29 May 1995 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) University of Nebraska United States
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Operations manager
  • Peter Kadar
Trainer/Team manager
  • Claire Dallison
Assistant manager
Scout/Video coach
  • United States Tim Fanning
Groupie/Ball bag
  • Greg Elliot
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 30 August 2014

Depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Inactive
C Rob Loe Casey Frank
PF Mika Vukona Isaac Fotu B. J. Anthony
SF Thomas Abercrombie Everard Bartlett
SG Kirk Penney Corey Webster Lindsay Tait
PG Tai Webster Jarrod Kenny

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

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)

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.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Zealand national basketball team.