Tall Blacks announce former player Judd Flavell as new head coach

Judd Flavell has been appointed as head coach of the Tall Blacks. Photo / Photosport

Judd Flavell has been named as the new head coach of the the Tall Blacks.

Flavell is already familiar with the Tall Blacks programme, having played for the team and served as a coach and will now take on the role of leading the team.

He represented New Zealand in 38 games from 1999 to 2002, including the 2002 Fiba World Championships, where the team achieved a fourth-place finish.

Flavell’s coaching experience includes 13 seasons as an assistant with the NZ Breakers in the Australian NBL, where he won four championships.

He also served as an assistant coach for the South East Melbourne Phoenix and has been involved with the New Zealand men’s U18 team and the Junior Tall Blacks.

At the domestic level, Flavell has had success as a head coach in the NZ NBL, winning titles with the Auckland Pirates, the Southland Sharks, and the Canterbury Rams.

The Tall Blacks, currently ranked No 22 in the world, finished third at the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup and 22nd at the 2021 Fiba World Cup.

Flavell expressed his honour and excitement at taking on the responsibility of coaching the national team.

“There’s a lot of emotions that came up for me, because I feel so passionate about the black singlet, about the Tall Blacks, what we’ve done and achieved on the international stage in the past,” says Flavell.

“And also seeing where we are currently at with the programme; you can’t help but get excited looking ahead at the pool of talent that we have coming through with the youngsters.

“For me it’s been a long journey, coming from being part of the Tall Blacks programme as a player – growing up and having that dream of putting on the black singlet – and then being involved in some of our finer moments in 2001/02, then being an assistant coach. I feel really feel privileged and honoured to be given this responsibility.”

Basketball New Zealand CEO Dillon Boucher believes that Flavell’s character and experience make him the right person to lead the Tall Blacks to success in the upcoming cycle.