Basketball: American's helping hand to stretch the Tall Blacks

By PETER JESSUP

A combination of Olympic exposure and Herald coverage on a lack of competition for the Tall Blacks has produced some from the United States.

US Basketball yesterday confirmed its youth side will play New Zealand in Melbourne as both build to the eight-team tournament at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane next month.

The US team already has a game against Australia's Boomers on August 30 and will meet the Tall Blacks the next day at Melbourne's exclusive Caulfield Grammar. The session will be closed to the public.

Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin described it as a great opportunity.

"It's a huge coup for us," he said. "Obviously anything we try to do on the court is going to be put under serious examination."

The Tall Blacks side will be announced today. Guard Sean Marks is sure to be named, despite uncertainty over his availability.

Marks, just married and soon to return here as part of his honeymoon, has had trials with Seattle in the summer league, but has not signed anywhere.

There is a fear he will be called up for further job-opportunity trials that will clash with the Tall Black games.

Although the rules state that players must be available for their countries ahead of clubs, Baldwin said there would be no demand that might impinge on Marks' ability to make a living at the game, should an NBA side offer him a get-here-or-forget-it chance.

The Tall Blacks travel two days after the national league finals at the end of this month and hope to have two lead-up games against Australian league sides before meeting the United States team.

The haka that the Tall Blacks performed for the Americans after the sides played in Olympic qualifying last September had greatly impressed them, said NBA Australasia director Ben Amarfio, as had their court presence.

"The United States has a great amount of regard and respect for New Zealand after the Olympics," Amarfio said.

The United States side is made up of 11 NBA players and the NCAA's university player of the year.

Amarfio said an NBA staffer spotted a Herald story on the paper's web site that bemoaned the lack of international competition for New Zealand in their Goodwill Games build-up, following the cancellation of a proposed tour by Czechoslovakia.

"We wanted to give New Zealand a hand up," he said. "It is part of the NBA's mission to develop the game globally."

The American league passed on the bad news and the United States team agreed to help.

The Games competition has New Zealand grouped with Canada, who they meet in their first tournament game on September 3, Brazil and Australia. On the other side of the draw are the United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Cuba.

A further NBA nurturing of the game in New Zealand will take place in Auckland today, with the father of the triangle offence, Tex Winter, conducting a clinic for national league coaches.

Winter, the LA Lakers assistant and at the Chicago Bulls before that, has had a hand in training eight NBA title-winning teams.

Baldwin, an admirer of Winter's technique, and an imitator with his Auckland side, will get a special session with the septuagenarian expert, the main aim being improving the scoring.

United States Goodwill Games team:

Forwards: Shane Battier, Memphis College, NCAA player of the year; Rashard Lewis, Seattle Supersonics; Wally Szczerbiak, Minnesota Timberwolves; Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns; Kenyon Martin, New Jersey Nets, NBA rookie first-team.

Forward/centre: Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers.

Centre: Marc Jackson, Golden State Warriors, NBA rookie first-team.

Guard/forward: Mike Miller, Orlando Magic, NBA rookie of the year.

Guards: Baron Davis, Charlotte Hornets; Jason Terry, Atlanta Hawks; Andre Miller, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Coach: Flip Saunders, head coach Minnesota Timberwolves. Assistants Glenn Rivers, head coach Orlando Magic, Tom Izzo, head coach Michigan University, and Oliver Purnell, University of Dayton, Ohio.