Dannevirke basketballers get flying visit from Hawke’s Bay Hawks

The Hawke's Bay Hawks with Dannevirke junior basketballers all in team shirts in the stadium on Tuesday.

Dannevirke’s junior basketballers got a bit of coaching and a few goodies following a visit from Hawke’s Bay’s Taylor Hawks.

The six Hawks players who came south to help coach. From left: Kobe Kara, Jordan Ngatai, Josh Roberts, Isaiah Moore, Clifton Bushill, Keanu Rasmussen.

The six Hawks were brought down by part sponsors AWE McNicol Transport as a way of putting a bit back into the sport, and schools were happy their basketballers got the chance to mingle with top talent.

There were three Americans, two Kiwis and one Australian player, along with Aussie coach Sam Grudgen. Former player Jarrod Kenny, now general manager, had played for the Hawks every year but two from 2009 and said he loved bringing his players to schools where there was such energy and enthusiasm.

The Hawks introduced the students to competitive dribbling drills.

Handling skills are vital.

The 35 juniors were put through a fun collection of skills built around competitive exercises.

Jordan Ngatai is off to Greece to help the Tall Blacks qualify for Paris Olympics.

Doing a high-five can be a challenge.

One player was travelling a bit further, with Kiwi Jordan Ngatai joining the Tall Blacks next week to compete in an Olympic repechage event in Greece to qualify for Paris.

He will be sorely missed for the next five weeks as a key forward in the Hawks, his team sitting in sixth place in the national league when the top six qualify for the finals.

The Dannevirke basketballers finished the day on a high, each being given a Taylor Hawks shirt and a poster.

Dave Murdoch is a part-time photojournalist based in Dannevirke. For the past 11 years, he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.