New Breakers coach Dan Shamir on adjusting to life in New Zealand and the excitement around the upcoming NBL season
In the midst of a disjointed pre-season, Dan Shamir has been thrown in the deep end.
Between local players being away with the Tall Blacks and imports arriving at staggered intervals, the New Zealand Breakers' new director of basketball will have just a month with a full squad before their season opener.
The Breakers begin their ANBL campaign on October 18 against the Sydney Kings, with a number of pre-season fixtures before then.
It's not an ideal way to begin life with a new team, but Shamir is up for the challenge.
"I wouldn't say problematic because I don't want to paint it a bad colour, but it's a very challenging thing," he said.
"These guys are experienced, that's a good thing. They know how to play physically, obviously being part of the Tall Blacks prepares them for the season so they will come in good shape … it's just a thing of chemistry and building a team which is a little tricky here. Everybody will have to invest a lot in it."
Shamir takes the reins of the club after a decorated career in Israel, not only tasked with leading the Auckland side back into serious contention in the ANBL, but also developing young American superstar RJ Hampton as he prepares for the 2020 NBA Draft.
The teenage phenom elected to join the Breakers instead of joining a collegiate programme in the United States, taking the professional route to prepare for next year's NBA draft.
Touted as a top-five prospect, Hampton joining the Auckland club will bring plenty of worldwide attention to the Breakers as the basketball world tracks Hampton's progress.
Dan Shamir has joined the Breakers as director of basketball. Photo / Photosport
Shamir said it was a unique opportunity, but while he and the club want to nurture Hampton's development, they want to do so while winning and playing the "right" brand of basketball.
"It's a very interesting situation for everybody," Shamir said. "He's definitely a great talent … he's got some gap to bridge in terms of the physicality of this league and the details and everything defensively and offensively. When you play high school it's not like that so there's a lot of work to put in for everybody, but we want to do it while we're winning and playing the right way as a team."
In putting together the squad, the 44-year-old has been sure to get a number of local players familiar to the organisation as well as some experienced and well-travelled imports who will help the team both on and off the court as soon as they arrive.
Corey Webster, Thomas Abercrombie, Rob Loe, Finn Delany, Jordan Ngatai and Tom Vodanovich are currently with the Tall Blacks squad and most, if not all, are expected to make the final squad for the World Cup in China which runs from late August to mid-September. The rest of the squad will filter into the country over the next month.
"We've got a lot of continuity which is a great thing. We've got a base, especially a local base, that is familiar with everything and can lead, and can help imports here for the first time and me as a newcomer to the situation," he said.
"We're going to have to be very smart with everything we do every day, every minute of practice so there's no time for us to experiment and figure things out while we go. There are a lot of things we don't think about right now, but we have to think about everything we can and being here is very valuable."
