New Zealand national basketball team

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New Zealand
FIBA ranking	13th
FIBA zone	FIBA Oceania
Coach	Nenad Vucinic
Nickname(s)	Tall Blacks
Olympic Games
Appearances	Unknown
Medals	None
World Championships
Appearances	2
Medals	Fourth: 2002
Oceania Championships
Appearances	Unknown
Medals	Gold: 2001 Silver: 1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005
Uniforms
Light     Dark

The New Zealand national basketball team is the national basketball team of New Zealand. It is nicknamed Tall Blacks, as it reminds people of New Zealand's Rugby Union team, the All Blacks. For sponsorship reasons, they are occasionally referred to in New Zealand media as the Dominion Finance NZ Tall Blacks. .

[edit] 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.

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

The Tall Blacks 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 beat Serbia and Montenegro (the world champions) 90:87.

The Tall Blacks went on a South-American tour in 2006 as a lead up to the FIBA Basketball World Championships. They played Argentina (Olympic Champions and runners up in 2002 FIBA Championships), Brazil and Venezuela. They played four games against each country. The Tall Blacks got swept by Argentina and Brazil. They only managed one win against Venezuela but still loss the series 3-1.

[edit] 2006 FIBA World Championships

In 2006, a few months before the FIBA world championships. The Tall blacks took on the Australian Boomers in a post-tournament 4 game series. The Tall Blacks won a 2 game tie by points difference. The Tall Blacks also swept Qatar in a 2 game match up post tournament as well.

In 2006, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish as in 2002. Instead, they finished in the final 16 of the FIBA Basketball World Championships, after a second round loss to Argentina, 79-62 which knocked them out of the tournament.

After that disappointment, Tab Balwin resigned as the coach of the Tall Blacks, and the position was, as ,expected, replaced by Nenad Vucinic, his long time assistant coach. The Tall Blacks just managed to make it to the final 16 as they were beaten by: Spain, 86-70 (New 2006 FIBA World Champions), Germany, 80-56, Angola, 95-73.

Their only wins coming from: Panama, 86-75 Japan, 60-57.

The Tall Blacks 'fourth place' spot went to Argentina, the very team who knocked them out, and swept them in the post tournament series.

[edit] Olympic Games record

• 2000: 11th
• 2004: 10th

[edit] FIBA World Championship record

• 2002 FIBA World Championship: 4th
• 2006 FIBA World Championship: 9th

[edit] Famous players

Probably the most well-known former New Zealand Tall Black player in the National Basketball Association is Phoenix Suns forward Sean Marks, who is in his fifth NBA season. 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 the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL.

[edit] Current squad

[edit] Rosters

1986 World Championship: finished 21th 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, Phil Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Nenad Vucinic, 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, Phil Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Dillon Boucher, Damon Rampton, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Judd Flavell (Coach: Thomas "Tab" Baldwin)

2004 Olympic Games: finished 10th among 12 teams

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

2006 World Championship: finished 9th among 24 teams

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

[edit] External links

• Basketball New Zealand's home page

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