New Zealand men's national basketball team

New Zealand

FIBA ranking	21
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.

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

• 2000 Summer Olympic Games: 11th
• 2004 Summer Olympic Games: 10th

FIBA Basketball World Cup

• 1986 FIBA World Championship: 21st
• 2002 FIBA World Championship: 4th
• 2006 FIBA World Championship: 16th
• 2010 FIBA World Championship: 12th
• 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup: 15th

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

• 2006 Commonwealth Games: Runners-up

Stanković Cup

• 2007 Stanković Cup: 5th
• 2011/2 Stanković Cup: Champions
• 2015 Stanković Cup: Champions

William Jones Cup

• 2000 William Jones Cup: Champions

Current Squad

New Zealand Tall Blacks – 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Age – DOB Ht. Club PG 0 Ili, Shea – (1992-10-06)6 October 1992 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) New Zealand Breakers G/F 1 Te Rangi, Reuben – (1994-10-14)14 October 1994 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers PG 4 Tait, Lindsay – (1982-01-08)8 January 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Super City Rangers SG 5 Bartlett, Everard – (1986-02-06)6 February 1986 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) New Zealand Breakers PG 6 Kenny, Jarrod – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Perth Wildcats F 7 Vukona, Mika (C) – (1982-05-13)13 May 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers G 9 Webster, Corey – (1988-11-29)29 November 1988 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) New Zealand Breakers SF 10 Abercrombie, Thomas – (1987-07-05)5 July 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers F/C 11 Wynyard, Tai – (1998-02-05)5 February 1998 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) New Zealand Breakers F/C 12 Fotu, Isaac – (1993-12-18)18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) CAI Zaragoza SG 13 Prewster, Dion – (1990-01-10)10 January 1990 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Sydney Kings C 14 Loe, Robert – (1991-08-05)5 August 1991 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Limburg United	Head coach Paul Henare Assistant coaches Pero Cameron Ross McMains Mike Fitchett Video analyst Judd Flavell Scout 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	Isaac Fotu	Robert Loe
PF	Mika Vukona	Tai Wynyard
SF	Thomas Abercrombie	Reuben Te Rangi
SG	Corey Webster	Everard Bartlett	Dion Prewster
PG	Jarrod Kenny	Lindsay Tait	Shea Ili

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.

• Ed Book – National Basketball League legend
• Pero Cameron – 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team, 2-time assistant coach (reappointed for his second stint in 2015, served as assistant to predecessor, Nenad Vucinic)
• Glen Denham – Tall Blacks legend
• Mark Dickel – Tall Blacks star
• Paul Henare – Former New Zealand Breakers captain, head coach from 2015
• Stan Hill – Tall Blacks legend
• Phill Jones – Former Cairns Taipans captain
• Sean Marks – Former National Basketball Association player
• Kirk Penney – Former National Basketball Association player
• Frank Mulvihill - Tall Blacks legend
• Paora Winitana - Tall Blacks star, changed the haka in 2006, only player to not play on Sundays due to religious reasons.

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

External links

• Basketball New Zealand official website