Basketball: Mair pleased at team's build-up

Coach Keith Mair will this week name his Tall Blacks team for the Olympic Games but says there will be no surprises.

For once in his long coaching life Mair has had the benefits of an international programme to prepare his side, and the win at the weekend in the William Jones Cup tournament in Taiwan showed what New Zealand basketballers can achieve.

The next step, in Sydney, is daunting but he believes the side can acquit themselves well.

"Every time we have had a proper programme, we produce results," he said. "We went over there [Taiwan] with an international programme of preparation. Don't forget we went there last year and finished third with a team including six development players.

"We have a well-balanced team now with lots of depth. There were several players back here who could have fitted in well in Taiwan."

The side had seven players who averaged 18 minutes a game and no one had fewer than 12 minutes.

Making the next step, against the best in the world, would be more difficult and in the camps the side will have in preparation for Sydney he will be working with the team on their quickness and skill levels.

The players understand what lies ahead and even after becoming the first New Zealand team to win at Taiwan, after 20 years of trying, they were not ecstatic.

"We would have liked to play Taiwan in the final after they beat us last year. We would have liked the challenge of playing them in their conditions," Mair said.

The success has ensured one date on next year's post-Olympics programme, because the Taiwanese would like New Zealand to return.

The tournament allowed big men Tony Rampton and Robert Hickey to maintain the momentum they developed against England.



In an average of 20 minutes a game, Rampton scored 13 points and made 10 rebounds. Hickey averaged 18 minutes, eight points and five rebounds, with Peter Pokai making eight points and four rebounds.

Added to the continued improvement of Ralph Lattimore with eight points and three rebounds, the shooting skill of Phill Jones with 12 points a game through the tournament and Kirk Penney, Brad Riley and Chris Tupu averaging six points each, gave the Tall Blacks some firepower they have not always enjoyed.

- NZPA