Basketball: It's North-South rivalry

By PETER JESSUP

Many of the players at the Tall Blacks training camp this week will play for the North v South All Star game in Christchurch on Saturday.

The national league takes a break this weekend, giving Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin, from Auckland, and assistant Nenad Vucinic, from Nelson, a chance to call together the prospects for a busy season.

There's the Goodwill Games in Brisbane in early September followed by the Oceania qualifying series for the world champs, with the possibility of three tests between the Tall Blacks and Aussie Boomers.

Basketball New Zealand wants international competition for the side before that and hopes the Czech Republic will come late June-early July.

The Czechs were one of 40 countries invited here after the Olympics and look first to take up the offer . The tour dates are expected to be confirmed soon.

The only sure-things missing from the Tall Blacks' camp are Sean Marks, still in Seattle hoping for game-time, and Kirk Penney, who is with the Wisconsin Badgers college side. Baldwin said he could not see any reason why they would not be selected.

Some of the others were in camp as prospects, Baldwin said.

"There are some chosen with an eye to the future, but they're here because they're performing."

The squad are learning the style of play expected, with a long way to go to the big games, but with one eye on the possibility of a three-test series with the Czechs.

They will split and regather as the North and South Island All Stars today, with two team training sessions before the game.

Baldwin scotched any talk of fun after the hard work. "We want the players to push themselves and each other."

He said if there was the chance to use what had been learned in the Tall Blacks camp well and good, but with that game the aim was to win.

"We want to establish a real State of Origin feel to it," Baldwin said in reference to the NSW-Queensland league wars. It was a great chance to look at the Tall Black players in real action.

He would adopt that approach with his assistant, he said. "Nenad and I put everything aside to co-operate for the Tall Blacks, but when we're against each other it's all on." The All Stars game will be shown live on TV One, tip-off 3.30 pm.

Tall Blacks training squad in Christchurch: Brendan Cathie-Pongia (North Harbour), Dillon Boucher, Paul Henare, Daryl Cartwright, Lindsay Tait (Auckland), Pero Cameron (Waikato), Chris Pollard, Willie Burton (Hawkes Bay), Glen Newbold, Ed Book (Palmerston North), Phill Jones, Ben Simon, Judd Flavell, Damon Rampton (Nelson Giants), David Langrell, Andrew Gardiner, Luke Ruscoe (Canterbury), Hayden Allen (Otago), Mark Dickel (Victoria Titans), Tony Rampton (Cairns Taipans).

North Island All Stars: Cathie-Pongia (NH); Boucher, Henare, Cartwright (Akl); Cameron, Nat Connell, David Hopoi (Waik); Willie Burton (HB); Newbold (PN); Terrence Lewis (Wgtn); sponsor invites Clifton Bush (Waik) and Brian Gomes (NH).

South Island All Stars: Jones, Rampton, Flavell (Nel); Langrell, Gardiner, Ruscoe (Canty); Hayden Allen, Murray Clarke (Ot); sponsor invites John Wharton (Canty, Tony Rampton (Cairns).