Basketball: Can Hawks do unthinkable when Saints march in?

Hawks co-skipper Jarrod Kenny with his second ANBL championship ring won with the Perth Wildcats last month. PHOTO/Duncan Brown

The probability of striking a long shot is the very reason why sports-mad fans converge at a stadium or park to experience.

Those odds can be mind boggling but if you're not there then you'll be among the majority left to draw conclusions on hearsay.

The chances of the Taylor Hawks doing the unthinkable in a 7pm tip off in Napier today against defending champions Wellington Saints require a lot of things going the way of the hosts to break their 23-match hoodoo in the National Basketball League (NBL).

Having lost 107-84 away to the rampant Saints in the opening round on March 17, it's fair to say coach Kirstin Daily-Taylor's stocks are looking healthier with the arrival of Tall Blacks point guard Jarrod Kenny last week from his Perth Wildcats title-winning exploits in the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL).

But the discerning will argue a few more variables need to go the way of the hapless Hawks - clutch shot maker Corey Webster slipping in the shower this morning and fellow Tall Blacks Shea Ili, Tai Wesley and Leon Henry eating something dodgy for lunch - to offer some parity at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Taradale.

But may the good lord forbid anything so drastic should happen to the adroit men Saints coach Kevin Braswell orchestrates with such aplomb but, invariably, it's what the Hawks do that will be the catalyst to turning what appears to be another blind corner tonight.

"Obviously I'd like to win every game and that's the goal - no one just goes out there to participate - but I'm just trying to get the boys on the same page," says Kenny, who many see as the key piece to the Hawks' jigsaw puzzle, if not the saviour

"I think it'll be a massive corner. Just to learn how to win again. Learning isn't something that comes easily."

The point guard is coming off a high again - his second ANBL title-winning ring after the Perth Wildcats won back-to-back crowns.

The 31-year-old feels having the mental fortitude to eke out points from those tight situations is crucial after an overtime loss to Canterbury Rams and a gut-wrenching one-point defeat to Taranaki Mountainairs last Sunday.

"To get over that hump, I think, will take a lot of weight off the shoulders of some of the people in the organisation as well as some of the boys, to be fair."

He is relishing returning to roost with the Hawks after spending last season with the Nelson Giants, who also sit pointless on the NBL ladder but below the Hawks.

"It's a shame I couldn't be here last year," says Kenny, revealing when the two parties were negotiating it didn't look like the Hawks were going to field a team.

Consequently it was in his best interests to take up the opportunities the Giants were offering.

"When the Hawks came back to me to say they were back in, it was too late so Ailbhe [Madden] and I were disappointed that I had to leave," says Kenny of his Irish partner.

His aunty, Doreen Hone, lives in Nelson so the couple met some relatives and explored the region.

"There are some lovely people down there and it's quite similar to Hawke's Bay, really."

Needless to say, he reckons it's always a good time to be in the Bay.

"Win or lose last year, I think the organisation is on the rebuild and there are a lot of enthusiastic people who are putting a lot of time and effort to get them back to where they were several years ago, so it's awesome to be part of that rebuild to re-establish the Hawks; to get them back to the top."

Kenny doesn't mince words when you ask him about their chances of doing the unthinkable tonight against Wellington but he has to champion the values of upsets otherwise in the face of futility.

"Oh, they are a very good team but they are a little bit vulnerable. They have a lot of talented players but, at the same time, if they don't come together as a team and we step up to play to our ability - which, I think, we will - it could be a good match."

Exploiting that vulnerability entails nullifying the wizardry of shooting guard Webster, never mind the likes of Ili, Wesley and swingman Henry.

Webster, Wesley and Henry's worth is reflected in the top 10 player-of-the-week rankings but, the prudent will tell you, it's the intangible chemistry that gives the Saints a celestial presence in the micro-level of existence in the NBL.

"He [Webster] is very dangerous on the court. I think you just have to have many touches of the ball and try to keep it out of his hands," he says, emphasising if the former New Zealand Breaker does gain possession then it's imperative to double team him in marking.

A temperamental soul who is awaiting his time in the court of law, Webster has reportedly signed a deal that will make him Kenny's go-to man in the ANBL next season.

"You just got to make it very uncomfortable for him all night. Don't let him get ahead as a group and just try to keep him off tilt."

Daly-Taylor continues tweaking while awaiting the impending arrival of American import centre Amir Williams on Monday although his fill-in, South Africa import power forward Grant Fiorentinos, has been a consistent contributor.

Co-skipper Everard Bartlett is finding the buckets but newcomer Joshua Fox, a Fiji-born, US-based forward who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, has shown his potential as well.

US import Lamar Roberson's intent is obvious but it appears he's finding the brand of basketball a work in progress, although he'll need to adapt smartly to help change the Hawks' fortunes from 23 losses on the trot, dating back to 2015.

"Basketball is such an intricate game that you have to learn what each other likes to do instinctively, so that takes time," says Kenny in Roberson's defence.

"The rules are pretty much the same but the interpretations are different when it comes to travelling calls in different leagues where you have to be a little more hands on and be a bit more physical and adjust, and adjust as quickly as you can."

It's early days but he echoes the sentiments of the team that if they make incremental gains daily they'll be in with a shot come the business end of the season.

Kenny's experience in the ANBL is career-defining and one he will treasure.

"It's been awesome, an eye-opening experience you'll need as a player so I really enjoyed myself there and I'm looking forward to going back again," he says of the stint under Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson.

Kenny's appraisal of Perth factors in the franchise's intent to champion on-court performances first before mustering everything else necessary to strive towards achieving the bragging rights.

"In the [season] we had a rough patch for a while so we released a couple of imports and got a few new players in - and what not - but, I think, the overall direction of the team never really varied or wavered and Trevor did such a good job of keeping everyone on track and the focus of what the end goal is although we took a few different roads to get there."

Daly-Taylor visited Perth for a week during the height of Christmas holidays to brainstorm ideas on what makes the Wildcats' tick in the hope of adopting excerpts to help nut out her blueprint.

"She's a good coach and she knows she doesn't know everything but, in saying that, she's willing to learn and that's awesome to see," says Kenny, who becomes the prototype of the Wildcats' culture for the Hawks in the NBL kingdom.

"I'm bringing back what I can to help the boys and to just help us as a team," he explains.

Kenny and Madden are living with a friend in Napier.

The Hawks are 3-0 down and the Saints 3-0 up but referees Dallas Pickering, Marty Davison and Jacob Cromb will be crucial on who goes down for the count when the physicality stakes hit a crescendo to defy the gargantuan odds of what makes sport what it is.