BASKETBALL - Japanese test will give young players feel for internationals

Nothing is a slam dunk in the world of the New Zealand women's basketball team
Their fragmented existence means the Tall Ferns, home base aside, inherit a crash-course type of foundation to come to terms with the harsh realities of a global game.
The current crop has a predominantly late-teenage look about them, with several still at high school.
 Samara Gallagher is just 17, which means the likes of Lisa Wallbutton, 23, and Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, 29, have become veterans in the space of just five seasons.
But a circumspect Wallbutton doesn't see that as an arduous babysitting exercise but a concerted drive to mould raw talent with an eye on the horizon.
"A lot of people have retired and that's the reality of it. We're starting to get a programme together now as we're aiming for the 2012 Olympics," the Aucklander tells SportToday in Napier where they are preparing with head coach Shawn Dennis for a test match against Japan tomorrow night.
"You have to start somewhere and we've got to be patient because we've all been in that same position," says the 1.83m tall forward who has just returned from playing for the Dandenong Rangers in the Women's National Basketball league (WNBL) in Australia for the past six months.
Tipping off against the fleet-footed, free-range shooting Japanese is not the ideal preparation for the world champion Australian Opals next Monday but Wallbutton feels it's a great introduction to international basketball for the younger members.
"We're slower so we'll have to be a bit more physical because they're generally not as strong as us," she explains, adding the Opals play more of an "inside-outside" game while Japan mostly favour the perimeter approach.
The yawning gap between age-group basketball and the international game is not one they can easily stifle.
"We're going in as underdogs [against the Opals] and we aren't expected to win at all. It's going to be tough for us in all honesty but it's a good starting point.
"You might as well get thrown into the deep end," Wallbutton points out at the Westshore Inn, where the squad is staying while bonding and training with Dennis at the Woodford House gym.
Wallbutton is familiar with Australian Dennis who was the assistant Tall Ferns coach, when she made her debut in 2005, and also her national under-21 coach.
"He's extremely knowledgeable and really passionate. He's a straight talker so you know pretty much where you stand with him."
It's not ideal to not have a home base although she reveals the bulk of the players live in Christchurch.
"We haven't had much involvement since the Beijing Olympics [August/September last year]."
While the accommodation and hospitality here have been great, she said they still have to build a rapport with the Pettigrew-Green Arena crowd tomorrow at 7pm.
"I suppose they have good home crowds here and it'll be good to have community support," she says, mindful of Dennis' effort to establish Napier as their home base.
Wallbutton, who feels she still has at least another five years to offer at a national and professional level, will head back to Australia for another WNBL season after the Tall Ferns' campaign is over.
She is finishing a degree in sport and recreation at Auckland University and is also doing a few business papers with Massey University.