Maskell assisted Coronel with the national under-16 boys' campaign last year and this year. Under the pair's tutelage, the team made it to the semifinals of the Australian Junior Championship equalling New Zealand's best result at the tournament.
Maskell, who has settled in the Bay, also has assumed the mantle of basketball co-ordinator at Basketball Hawke's Bay, the amateur body in the province.
The 25-year-old's resume includes working at Harbour Hockey as competitions and social media co-ordinator, as well as stints at the University of Auckland and as an IT project management consultant in Sydney.
He mentored the 2016 Harbour under-17 boys to a national title and was at the helm as coach of the NZ U14 boys (Korus) when they claimed the Australian Country Cup in 2015.
Maskell has coached in the NZ Breakers' academy for the past two years.
"I'm thrilled to learn from Zico and with the prospect of working with an outstanding group of people and players," he says. "I know that we will build an inclusive culture that will see everybody involved with the Hawks grow and develop. Helping to build something new is exciting."
Hokianga is a former NBL player who represented the Otago Nuggets, Taranaki Mountainairs and the Manawatu Jets in the 15-year stint.
From 2009-11 he captained the Jets, leading them to the 2011 playoffs after a seven-year absence.
Hokianga settled in the Bay two years ago, returning to his wife's home province where the couple are teachers — he at Havelock North High School and Kim at Hastings Girls' High School.
Last season's caretaker Hawks coach, Benny Hill, appointed the 36-year-old and Clifton Bush II as his assistants to see the team through the NBL season after then coach Kirstin Daly-Taylor resigned suddenly two years into a five-year term.
"I'm excited to contribute to getting the Hawks back to being regulars in the playoffs and consistent title contenders. I also want to build on my coaching practice by working alongside Zico and Morgan," says Hokianga who shared two seasons with Coronel in the Jets' stable in 2008-09.
Coronel says they personify hard-work ethics in a time-consuming job where due diligence and attention to detail are crucial.
"It requires them to make a lot of sacrifices and put in a lot of time so those were probably the No 1 criteria."
He says Maskell is technologically savvy so he'll handle video analysis and player scouting.
Hokianga, he stresses, is a former elite player/leader who has carved a niche in the noble profession of teaching, which the coach relates to.
"His day-to-day work is explaining concepts and building culture-type things."
Coronel says the assistants had already got involved in a camp for development players a couple of weekends ago and they all will earn the mana (respect) of players in different ways.
"All indications are the group will work well and cohesively."
Coronel says his own portfolio as an NBL backbencher helped, especially with Maskell, because he has built a rapport with him perhaps through their liaison with former Tall Black and NBl coach Kenny Stone.
"I was certainly not surprised but most impressed with Morgan's dedication and his willingness to push himself and make sacrifices to ensure the teams were adequately prepared," he says, revealing it was a trait he bought into as well.
"I think Morgan was one of the absolutely best candidates we could have found and we're pretty fortunate that he was prepared to relocate his whole life after resigning from his job at Harbour Hockey."
Coronel says although Maskell hasn't lived here before it obviously wasn't too big a sacrifice to make because of what the province offers but the coach was extremely grateful of the sacrifice he made to support him and the franchise.
Franchise board chairman Keith Price says: "We're 100 per cent behind their appointments. The management team is coming together well and we're keen to identify more quality people to contribute to the growth of our franchise."
