Basketball: Baldwin names Tall Blacks squad

1.00pm

The name Hill may soon return to the national men's basketball team.

Nearly two decades after New Zealand hoops legend Stan Hill and brother John played for New Zealand at international level, Stan's sons Ollie and Ben have taken an important step towards following in their father's footsteps.

Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has included the siblings in a 25-strong squad named today for his inaugural camp of the year and the first stage of his Olympic build-up.

Ben Hill, who averaged 7.2 points off the bench for the Waikato Titans this season, was one of the bolters of the squad .

"I think Ben adds a dimension to any team he's in," Baldwin said.

"He can score with a devastating long-range three-point shot, but he has also proven he is capable of scoring in the low post against bigger guys."

Baldwin has included several newcomers to this level, keen to promote competition for his Tall Black incumbents and groom the next wave of national representatives. American-born Link Abrams and Willie Banks will push centre Ed Book for the one naturalised spot available on the roster.

Baldwin was pleased with his depth at the guard position, especially in the utility role, but conscious of the need to develop some depth in the forward line.

"We have some concerns over our 'bigs', particularly the health of our big guys. Ed Book and Pero Cameron continue to have calf problems, while Tony Rampton has again had ankle surgery.

"They are all in pretty good nick coming into camp, but we have to realise that at any point in time, they could be sitting on the sideline."

Baldwin also hopes to uncover players who can score at international level.

"We know what we can get out of our squad from past experience, but we need to find more natural scorers.

"If teams shut down Phill or Kirk Penney, we often really struggle to find ways to score."

The camp assembles in Whangarei on June 20 and will be whittled back to 15 for the three-match series against Australia from July 9-11.

Squad: Guards - Lance Baker (Nelson Giants), Willie Banks (Taranaki Mountain Airs), Dan Barritt (Auckland Stars), Nat Connell (Canterbury Rams), Mark Dickel (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Paul Henare (Hawks), Phill Jones (Nelson Giants), Troy McLean (Saints), Aaron Olson (Auckland Stars), Lindsay Tait (Auckland Stars), Paora Winitana (Hawks)

Forwards - Link Abrams (Taranaki Mountain Airs), Ed Book (Nelson Giants), Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University, USA), Dillon Boucher (Auckland Stars), Pero Cameron (Waikato Titans), Ben Hill (Waikato Titans), Ollie Hill (Nelson Giants), Mike Homik (Auckland Stars), Miles Pearce (Manawatu Jets), Brendon Polyblank (Saints), Tony Rampton (Cairns Taipans, Australia), Chris Reay (Southern Methodist University, USA), Michael Tompson (Taranaki Mountain Airs), Mika Vukona (Nelson Giants)

Not available - Sean Marks (San Antonio Spurs, USA), Kirk Penney (Auna Gran Canaria, Spain), Luke Ruscoe (Brown University, USA)

- NZPA