BASKETBALL: Face of the Hawks puts his family first

HAMISH BIDWELL
It's a scene everyone can relate to. You're just settling in for an afternoon nap on the couch and thump, thump, thump, there's some nitwit at the door. You mutter to yourself about what kind of idiot would burst round unannounced and before you can answer your own question, there they are.
Replete with bike helmets, badges and bibles - it's them all right, the bloody Mormons.
The temptation is, obviously, to swear and slam the door in their face and, as Paora Winitana can tell you, many people do. Others don't and the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks captain knows about that, too.
He's been on both sides of the door frame, first as an impressionable 12-year-old, eager to forge a relationship with Jesus Christ, then when he served a mission of his own in his early twenties. They were the experiences that made him the man he is today: Husband and father, pillar of the community, outstanding sportsman and inspiration to thousands of people here in the Bay.
It wasn't always so and, even when religion had become an integral part of his life, he wasn't immune to doubts he was treading too difficult a path. It wasn't until his athletic talent intervened that Winitana finally found the serenity that's characterised his life ever since.
"I was at Hastings Boys' High School and every time we played Church College, I'd do really well against them," Winitana explained recently.
"Their coaches wanted to recruit me so, initially, I went there purely for basketball but I came away with a lot more. My testimony within the church grew and I also met the most beautiful girl in the world - my wife Tia.
"It was awesome and it was at the Church College of New Zealand that the seed was planted to serve a mission."
But first came Rookie of the Year honours with North Harbour in his first season in the NBL. And while he was feeling pretty content, that desire to go on a mission wouldn't subside.
"I decided 1999 was going to be the year and then the head coach at the University of Wisconsin, Dick Bennett, offered me a full scholarship. They were top-four in the United States but I told him I'd already made my decision.
"I said 'I'll serve two years and maybe we can talk about a scholarship then' and he said 'it doesn't work like that, come play for four years and then go on your mission'. He tried to twist my arm, but I said no and the next year he took Kirk Penney.
"A lot of people said to me 'your church has a lot to answer for if things don't work out'. But, I mean while basketball is an important part of my life, it's not my life, or even my first priority - there's a lot of things above that."
So off he went to Sydney for two years.
"That really taught me a lot about me," he said.
"It taught me my humility, discipline and dedication to a cause that you believe is right, even though there were challenges every day. That was probably the best two years of my life - those two years of service.
"It was hard but adversity can do two things to you: It can make you or break you and I chose not to be broken."
Once home, it wasn't basketball Winitana wanted but Tia. Eight months after his return, they married. It's been her, and sons Paora and Niwhai, who have shaped much of his journey since.
"Family first - that's my motto," he said.
"Every time I run out on the court I look for them and it eases me to know they're there. I feel I can do anything with their support - especially my wife's - and that's why I always make sure they're there and blow a little kiss.
"Family is the most important unit on the planet and I love the korero 'there's no success in this world that can compensate for failure in the home'."
Along the way, Winitana has become the face of the Hawks, the living embodiment of everything the club tries to represent. Team boss Jeremy Bayliss makes no secret of that and the hundreds of autographs Winitana signs after every home game are testament to his impact on the community.
"I want to be a great parent, I want to be the best husband, I want to be a good citizen and I do that to try and make my environment a better place. I don't do that to get good remarks from people, I do it because I believe it.
"My wife and I were in the shopping centre the other day and I don't know how many people wanted to say hello to me. We were talking about it later and my wife said 'did you ever think you'd be famous?'
"I was like 'I'm not famous, babe'. 'Well, you are in the Bay,' she said.
"And I guess I am and it feels good. Not to be famous, more that it means people know what I'm about and recognise that I'm not a just a basketball player, but a good person."