Collapso Kiwis?

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - The big news international news this week was the announcement that the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) would be held in Serbia, Italy and the Philippines for men, with the women's edition in France.

From a Downunder perspective this is of interest to the New Zealand Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns, but it will have more meaning once the draws are completed and they know where they're headed.

Right now though, Kiwi men's basketball has got some pressing issues they need to deal with. For those that don't know, around half of the Tall Blacks play professional basketball for the New Zealand Breakers, who over the past five years have become the greatest dynasty of all time in the Australia NBL.

It looked like that dominance would continue this season when the Breakers overcame an injury-riddled opening to reach the top of the ladder with a 10-5 record. But since then word has emerged of a major internal issue involving two players which has derailed their seemingly unstoppable train.

New Zealand have lost six of their last seven games, and their 23-point capitulation at the hands of the Townsville Crocs - second last on the NBL ladder - was the lowest point for Kiwi basketball for quite some time. To be blunt, the players didn't look like a unit and many seemed more interested in pointing fingers than fixing the problem. They looked cooked.

In the space of weeks, possibly days, one of the most respected professional basketball outfits in the world has been reduced to rabble. Now some might say the Breakers are not the Tall Blacks, and the national team won't be affected by these issues come July, but there are huge parallels that run through both.

That's been exemplified by the appointment of national team coach Paul Henare as Breakers coach from the end of this season, marking the first time one person has held both roles. I actually thought his appointment as Tall Blacks coach last year was too early, the 36-year-old needing a little more time under an experienced international coach. But I was wrong as Henare kept the core of Nenad Vucinic's program, added in a dash of his own personal aggression to the style of play and had his guys playing hard as hell.

When I asked Boomers coach and former Breakers boss Andrej Lemanis the difference he noticed with Henare in charge, he said "Paulie epitomised what it meant to be a Tall Black and he is now bringing that out in his team".

Spot on.

Henare also epitomised what it meant to be a Breaker - his singlet was the first raised to the rafters - and it must be hurting to see that legacy being tarnished so badly. But on a more practical note, Henare may well inherit a number of players in a funk, where five weeks ago the Tall Blacks were seemingly making hay in every location.

Last international season, and early in the NBL year, Corey Webster was a man with every offensive trick in the book. Lately he's got lazy, firing again and again from the three-point line and mostly shooting blanks. 

Tom Abercrombie was having the best year of his career - top 10 in scoring, rebounding and three-point shooting at one stage - but he is now shooting with hope rather than confidence and only making occasional appearances on the boards. 

Reuben Te Rangi was a revelation for the Tall Blacks last winter, playing four different positions and showing an ability to finish at the rim he’d only previously displayed at underage level. Starved for minutes early by Abercrombie’s stellar form, he now looks like a boy amongst men, shooting 23 per cent from range, 33 per cent overall and just looking horribly tentative. 

Even on Australian shores, Kirk Penney has injured a hamstring after producing something close to his best form with Illawarra this season. It is reportedly only a minor tear, but the last thing Henare needs is a run of niggles that would make the ageing Penney think twice about Tall Blacks duties.

In Perth, point guard Jarrod Kenny was one of the stories of the season while Damian Martin was injured, his strong defence, intelligent decision-making and clutch shooting exactly what the national team needs from him. Unfortunately, since Martin's return he has only seen limited minutes.

Even in Spain, emerging Tall Blacks power forward Isaac Fotu has suffered in an unsettled year. After excelling for Manresa while on loan last season, Fotu has averaged just six shot attempts at Zaragoza this season and his brilliant boardwork for the national team is rarely seen in the ACB.

There is some good news. 

Steve Adams continues to impress in the NBA and Alex Pledger is finally starting to find some old form after his horror run of injuries, averaging 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his past 17 outings. Tai Webster has finally cracked the code in Nebraska and Dion Prewster has been one of the few bright spots for Sydney.

But Henare may well walk back into a Tall Blacks job that has a number of new challenges if the Breakers can't break their funk and get their players back to the elite level again. A lot of hard work and sacrifice has got Kiwi basketball to where it is, let's hope something away from the hardcourt doesn't undo all that.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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