Basketball: Out with the old and in with the new

Point guard Paul Henare faces a fight for his starting five position. Picture / Richard Robinson

You have to feel some sympathy for new Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis - even before the season starts.

The Breakers are in Australia this weekend to compete in the NBL Blitz in Cairns in what will be their first pre-competition games as a squad - well, most of them are in Cairns.

New import Brant Bailey has been given leave to attend his sister's funeral in the United States after she was killed in a car crash and isn't due back until September 1.

He's had just two practice sessions with the full squad and the season opens against Cairns at Trusts Stadium two days after he flies back.

Add to that the last-minute departure of Mike Chappell and the fact that the four Breakers in the Tall Blacks have toured China and Australia then played a series here.

Point guard Paul Henare suffered a bruise to his thigh and couldn't train; the Breakers' other import, Rich Melzer, has twice turned an ankle and has been unable to play in pre-season.

Lemanis played for the St Kilda Saints and was a head coach in the Victorian state league before becoming assistant to Ian Stacker at Townsville in the national league from 1998 until last season.

He's clearly been nervous about the lack of pre-season build-up. He's also concerned that some of his players have had back-to-back ANBL seasons, two seasons in the domestic league and time with the Tall Blacks, and may suffer mental or physical burnout.

He says Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has been trying to get the best out of them.

"Now I have to try to get the best out of them. We need to give them appropriate rest while still integrating them into the team pattern."

The Breakers have undergone a major clear-out after two years of under-achievement, gaining new owners, new management, new coaches and new players.

Gone are founding shareholder Michael Redman, coach Frank Arsego, star Tall Blacks Pero Cameron and Dillon Boucher, general manager Peter Chapman and key scorer Chappell, whose heart wasn't in it.

Among the new boys are Paul Blackwell, investor and board member, who was part of a three-man team that appointed Lemanis. Blackwell, married with four children, got into basketball for fun, he says, and as a family entertainment. "It's something we can all do together."

The family bought season tickets in the Breakers' first year. In their second season, when the team base shifted from the North Shore Events Centre to Trusts Stadium in Henderson, he sponsored a three-game series on the Shore.

Later, he was approached to get involved with the team. There was no money in it, says Blackwell, but he was happy to lend support.

Since Lemanis' appointment the franchise has brought in former player John Dorge as a specialist, to teach the "bigs" how to score on the inside. It has exchanged small forwards with the Perth Wildcats, buying AJ Majstrovich who was born in Turangi but represented Australia at junior level and is thus not eligible for the Tall Blacks. And after the NBA summer camps it signed Melzer and Bailey.

Much of the Breakers' season may depend on how the new coach and the two new imports perform and whether the rest gel.

There are some constants. Assistant coach Wayne Brown is one. Point guard Henare, who will face a major challenge to hold his starting five position ahead of Lindsay Tait, is another.

Last season's development players Mika Vukona and Tait have stepped up and centre Ben Pepper, one of the biggest guys in the league, is clearly committed after re-signing when he might have bolted.


Breakers breakdown

2003/04: won 12 lost 21, 10th
2004/05: won 9 lost 23, 11th and last


Players out


Pero Cameron (Banvitspoor, Turkey)
Dillon Boucher (Perth Wildcats)
Mike Chappell (US)
Ben Thompson
Shawn Redhage (Perth Wildcats)

Players In


AJ Majstrovich (Perth Wildcats)
Tim Behrendorff (Cairns Taipans)
Rich Melzer (US)
Brant Bailey (US)


Also


Paul Henare (Hawkes Bay)
Lindsay Tait (Auckland)
Aaron Olson (Auckland)
Clifton Bush (Canterbury)
Mika Vukona (Nelson)
Ben Pepper (Aust)
Brent Charleton (North Harbour)