Slam dunk: Tall kid brings rugby lineage to the court

By PETER JESSUP

New Zealand's basketballing strength continues to improve, with players of Kiwi heritage increasingly part of the sport's elite programme.

But when the Tall Blacks train-on squad of 25 assembled yesterday there was one tall kid among them who no one recognised.

Chris Reay, 19, is the son of former Waikato rugby player Kevin from Te Aroha.

His mother is from Dallas and the pair met in Hawaii when Kevin was on a rugby trip. Chris was born and raised in the United States, with a three-year spell in New Zealand when the family returned home in the mid-90s.

He watched the Tall Blacks compete at the world championships in Indianapolis and was inspired.

Chris emailed coach Tab Baldwin and sent videotapes - with the result that the boy from Southern Methodist University has a chance to impress for the next four days at least.

On Sunday night, Baldwin will play the probables side for the upcoming three-match tour by Australia against the possibles.

Reay will doubtless be in the latter, but he's determined to keep on coming back to force his way up the ladder.

"If they want me, I'll be here."

They may well want him because the Tall Blacks' main shortage is at power forward, both depth and height-wise, and Reay may grow beyond his 2.06m.

One who made a similar trip is Aaron Olson, who turned up for camp yesterday as a domestic league champion with Auckland, and proud of it - "Don't forget to put that in," he said.

Three seasons ago he sent tapes to Baldwin from his home in Victoria, Canada and was invited back to prove himself.

Olson, 26, looks a sitter for the Australian campaign and the Athens Olympics because he can score.

Mark Dickel arrived fresh from Europe and declared the ankle he turned while playing in Turkey was healed.

Captain Pero Cameron, one of the few veterans of the Sydney 2000 campaign, said he was more optimistic about their chances this time.

He cites the added international experience of the team, more depth in the playing roster and more players who are in professional leagues overseas, not least the Breakers.

"Nothing in the past counts for anything now. But we do know what lies in front of us.

"The Olympics were an unknown last time. It was a real buzz but in the end disappointing and we don't want to come back like that again."

Baldwin brings a winning attitude: "We all have to buy into that and if we do we have a greater chance of success."

The three games against the Boomers are over consecutive nights - Friday, Saturday and Sunday next week in Hamilton, Christchurch and Invercargill - a tough ask that readies the Tall Blacks for back-to-back games in Athens.

Ten players will be cut from the squad on Monday morning. The rest go to Hamilton to prepare for game one.

At the end of the series a further two players will be cut to accommodate Kirk Penney and Sean Marks.

Training sessions in Whangarei this week start at 5.30am, to get the players accustomed to rising early - in Athens their roundplay games start as early as 9am.

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Hip-hop performer King Kapisi will accompany the Tall Blacks on their internal tour, performing pre-game and at halftime in the three matches against Australia.

Kapisi is a big basketball fan and was at the North Shore Events Centre yesterday to welcome the team as they assembled before the drive to Whangarei.

He'd met them before after a performance, so he walked up to Dillon Boucher and Cameron all smiles and ready for high-fives. The basketballers were tentative and stuck their hands out for a shake.

"You guys don't know who I am, do you?" he said.

No, they admitted. Kapisi had cut his hair, grown a beard and wasn't wearing his stage beanie and glasses.

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The Boomers had a three-win, two-loss tournament in Italy. They dropped to the world ninth-ranked home team 72-78 and 67-71, beat 11th-ranked Croatia 82-73 and 90-56 and ended with a 90-59 hammering of fifth-ranked France.

Captain Shane Heal has joined the squad from Greece.

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Former Hutt Valley and Waikato coach Jeff Green is talking to Otago about the coaching job after six-year coach Todd Marshall stepped back.

There are rumours that Waikato are seeking a coach who can work both weekend days to take the head coach role from Mormon Ken Strother, who pulls out on Sundays.

North Harbour are casting about for a coach so you'd have to expect that the assistant fill-in from mid-season, Ollie Bryce, is an outsider.

The Jets have yet to appoint a replacement for Wayne Brown. Confirmed are Kenny Stone's return for Auckland, Shawn Dennis at the Hawks and Warren Osborne at Taranaki.

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Former Breakers forward Brad Williams has signed with Adelaide.