Top talent on show

HEADING SOUTH: After parting ways with the NZ Breakers, Duane Bailey signed up immediately with the Auckland Choppers to play in HoopNation today.PHOTO/FILE

THE talent has arrived at HoopNation to begin the 2015 moneyed basketball tournament in Wanganui today, including a 23-year-old Tall Black coming straight from the NZ Breakers camp.

Duane Bailey was in the headlines this week when he was dropped from the Auckland franchise's Australian NBL active roster to make way for the return of Corey Webster, back from his attempt to break into the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Having been with the Breakers when they won their 2014-15 title, as well as being a New Zealand NBL champion with the Auckland Pirates in 2012 and Southland Sharks this year, Bailey was considered unlucky to lose his spot.

He was offered a practice position by the club, but declined it to look at opportunities in Europe, although Breakers coach Dean Vickerman said the practice spot would remain open should Bailey change his mind.

With Webster joining the roster, the final position came down to a straight decision between Bailey and Victorian native Shane McDonald.

But the first place Bailey is going to join other former Breakers in the Auckland Choppers squad for HoopNation.

Co-promotor Paul Berridge said it will make the Choppers firm favourites for the Men's Premier title.

"[Bailey] getting picked up by the Choppers - the team that has taken out [the title] the last two years."

Bailey will join the likes of Lindsay Tait, Casey Frank and Hayden Allen in the lineup.

Also arriving yesterday were the members of the Kaia team - the invitational squad which including Sid Adams, Japan's Jun Iwasa and other internationals.

Making himself comfortable was friendly Nigerian player Deola D'Brown Folarin, following up on a two-year friendship he started with Berridge.

They first met when Berridge went to Kuala Lumpur in 2013 to view the Asian All Star team game against the NBA Legends squad.

A year later when HoopNation went back to Kuala Lumpur with a team to play the Melaka International Basketball Championships, Berridge convinced Folarin to join this year's Wanganui tournament.

"The journey - I'm at the furthest end of the world right now," Folarin said, who agreed his sport had taken him to country's he might never otherwise have seen.

"That's real - I'm extremely grateful for what basketball has done for me.

"I've heard a lot about the food and the people out here."

Kaia have a tough start to their tournament meeting NZ Maori this morning and then Hawke's Bay's Rack City, former Premier division runnersup, in the afternoon.

But Folarin was happy to take it in his stride when he heard Rack City would be a hard game.

"I'm a [going to] look out for that."

The first games start at 9am, with Rack City meeting the Junior Airs from Taranaki in the first Premier Men's game. There will also be the Men's and Women's A divisions, with all the finals on Monday afternoon.