BASKETBALL: Team's desire delights Dennis

HAMISH BIDWELL
In many ways, the Hawks were always going to win last year's National Basketball League.
Devastated by the loss of the 2005 Grand Final at home, by a point to the Auckland Stars, Shawn Dennis' team were determined to move heaven and earth to atone. So while the ease of their 84-69 triumph over the Stars, at the North Shore Events Centre, in the 2006 decider was surprising, the result wasn't.
Fast forward to 2007 and Dennis says his 0800 Easy LPG Hawks are hungrier than ever. How does he know? Well, we'll let him pick up the story.
"I just had the best moment in my three years as a coach here," Dennis told SportToday.
"It was Sunday, after the game against the Stars in Rotorua (won 101-94) and I brought the guys together and said 'look, I know we were a bit lethargic today, but I think it would be okay if you guys wanted to skip tomorrow's 6.30 session. Enjoy a sleep in and we'll catch it up another time'.
"Now by 6.30, I mean 6.30am, but they all said 'no, we want to practice. We're not happy with today's performance'.
And, to me, that speaks volumes for this group and the level of responsibility and professionalism that's developed here.
"When I got here three years ago, that would never have happened. So to have that response from them now is wonderful. I did that whole trip home from Rotorua with a big smile on my face, because I know that the attitude is right.
"I'll be honest, I wouldn't have minded a little sleep in myself, but when your players take the attitude that 'we want to be at practice and we want to do whatever it takes to win' then it's pleasure to get up at 6am to be there with them."
The Hawks put their reputation on the line in Wellington this weekend, as part of the pre-season "Blitz" tournament.
All 10 Dominion Finance NBL clubs will be there, with the Hawks due to play the Waikato Pistons and Otago Nuggets this afternoon and tonight, before clashes with the Nelson Giants and Harbour Heat and, presumably, the semis and finals that follow tomorrow.
Again, the mood that Dennis encountered in Rotorua will be crucial, as the rest of the league attempts to land an early psychological blow ahead of the start of the regular season in a week's time.
"The guys are more highly motivated than ever and, from a coach's point of view, that's exactly what you want," Dennis said.
"One of the hardest things to do in sport is to keep winning. It's always easy to be highly motivated when you've been losing but how do you go about getting players to be motivated once they've won?
"We've been able to do that because the team has changed and we're not doing things the same way we did last year. We'll be going down to the Blitz to try and play our best basketball, but we'll be without our big men again and I'll be giving game time to players who might not get it in a normal fixture.
"But we need to find out what they can do and to continue to build competition with the squad. Look at what Graham Henry has done with the All Blacks over the last two years. He's created huge competition for spots.
"Go back a couple of years and he said he wanted to have at least two players competing for each position. Now, they might say that was to create cover for injuries, but I think it was to stop complacency.
"That means that players know that they need to keep fighting for their spots. Our starting line-up may stay the same for much of the season, but they also know that if they don't perform they'll sit, because we're developing guys capable of taking their spot."