Basketball New Zealand announce coaches for national junior teams

Today Basketball New Zealand announced their 2018 coaching line-up tasked with leading the Aon New Zealand age-group basketball teams through the FIBA calendar, including the FIBA Oceania Championships and, if they qualify, the FIBA Asia Cup and World Cup.

Already the Aon Under 17 Women have made history by being the first junior-womens New Zealand team to qualify for a World Cup, which they did by finishing fourth in the FIBA Under 17 Asia Cup in Bangalore last October. Theyve set the bar for the Under 17 men, who will play in the FIBA Under 17 Mens Asia Cup in the Guangdong Province of China, 26 March to 1 April 2018. The Under 15s are about to start their FIBA road with the Oceania Champs in December, while the Junior Tall Blacks and Junior Tall Ferns will be aiming to qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cups by looking for a top four finish in the FIBA U18 Asia Championships this year.

Basketball New Zealands High Performance Director, Leonard King, said the organisation has appreciated the dedication these coaches have given to junior basketball and that he looks forward to working with them as they each target their pinnacle events.

"It is with a great deal of enthusiasm that we announce the national junior-teams coach appointments for the 2018 international competitions. We are extremely pleased with the calibre of the coaches involved in our programme, which is made up of a combination of experience, and youth and enthusiasm. These coaches are the second cohort of coaches to lead New Zealand teams into the new FIBA qualifying system. We wish the teams much success and trust they enjoy the challenges ahead."

Aon New Zealand Under 15 Girls

Head Coach: Natalie Visger

Assistant Coach: Justine Reed

Assistant Coach: Frances Tilly

Manager: Glenda Kaan

Pinnacle Event in 2018: FIBA U15 Oceania Championships, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 2 to 8 December.

Aon New Zealand Under 15 Boys

Head Coach: Zico Cornell

Assistant Coach: Morgan Maskell

Assistant Coach: Brent Matehaere

Manager: TBC

Pinnacle Event in 2018: FIBA U15 Oceania Championships, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 2 to 8 December.

Aon New Zealand Under 17 Girls

Head Coach: Lori McDaniel

Assistant coach: Aik Ho

Assistant Coach: Gina Farmer.

Manager: Ushma Shah

Pinnacle Event in 2018: The FIBA Under 17 World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, 21-29 July.

Aon New Zealand Under 17 Boys

Head Coach: David Bublitz-Head

Assistant Coach: Doug Courtney

Assistant Coach: Aaron Young

Manager: Delwyn Whale

Pinnacle Event in 2018: The FIBA U16 Asia Championships in Dalang, Guangdong Province, China. 26 March to 1 April 2018. Should the team qualify by being in the top four at this event, they will head to the FIBA U17 World Cup in Rosario, Santa Fe in Argentina, 30 June to 8 July.

Aon New Zealand Under 19 Women (Junior Tall Ferns)

Head Coach: Jody Cameron

Assistant Coach: Leeane Walker

Assistant Coach: Tim Dennis

Manager: Justine Reed

Pinnacle Event in 2018: FIBA U18 Asia Championships, in Bengaluru, India. 28 October to 4 November.

Aon New Zealand Under 19 Men (Junior Tall Blacks)

Head Coach: Gavin Briggs

Assistant Coach: Leyton Haddelton

Assistant Coach: Miles Pearce

Manager: Charles Maaka

Pinnacle Event in 2018: FIBA U18 Asia Championships, Bangkok, Thailand. 5 to 11 August.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand