Basketball: Stars home for Aussie series

Game runner Paul Henare will be returning from Turkey. Picture / Hawke's Bay Today

The Tall Blacks expect to have their international stars for the four-game home-and-away series against Australia that begins their build-up to the FIBA world championships in August and for other games on their way to Japan.

Tickets for the July 12 and 14 contests at the Pettigrew Arena in Taradale went on sale during the Hawkes Bay-Manawatu game on Anzac Day. Fans apparently left their seats to queue to buy them, one quarter of the 3000 seats available for the Friday night game already gone.

It could be an even bigger week for basketball in the Bay if the Hawks, who lead the competition after five rounds, can gain a home final.

That would mean the NBL would be decided at the Arena on the weekend of July 7-9, followed by the Tall Blacks' games. The Australians then host two games on July 18 and 19, venue to be determined.

Basketball New Zealand is in negotiations to set up other pre-world championships games, as many as 14 planned before the Tall Blacks fly to Hiroshima to play their pool games.

Coach Tab Baldwin, captain Pero Cameron and game runner Paul Henare will return from Turkey once the Banvitspor team is eliminated.

Shooting guard Phill Jones has already told the Nelson Giants he will return from Italy next month. Kirk Penney's calendar is not so clear, but he wants to be part of the programme.

Point guard Mark Dickel is to rest and recuperate in the US after his Europe season, and is expected in New Zealand when the Tall Blacks assemble.

Sean Marks is being kept informed, despite his announced retirement, with no pressure applied but slim hope he will reverse his decision.

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CROCKER'S LEGACY

When David Crocker took over as chief executive of Basketball New Zealand six years ago, the game was struggling for recognition, financial backing and credibility.

Today most of the national league teams are healthy, the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns enjoy respect on the world stage and the national development of the game is sound.

Basketball got no funding from Sparc pre-2000. Now it is the fifth-highest funded sport.

Crocker resigned this month to take up a post working for the Australian Sports Commission in Canberra, consulting with several sports, and leaves this week with wife, former Tall Fern Kim Weilens, and their twins Cameron and Paihia, born last year. Paihia was named after the Bay of Islands town where they honeymooned.

"I'm a romantic," he said. "It's lucky it wasn't Whakatane."

His interim replacement is former board member Barry Wilson, who takes the reins until a new appointment is made. Applications close on May 9.

Crocker said he was happy with his achievements but frustrated at not being able to build a bigger television audience for the sport.

"There's a magic ingredient and we and the broadcaster have been trying to find what that might be," he said.

One of Crocker's best achievements has been in attracting international teams to play test series in New Zealand as well as arranging internationals overseas.

The profile at home had helped the sport, he agreed.

There had been tensions with NBL franchises and with the Breakers in their formative stages.

"Some tension makes it better - if we all sat around patting everyone on the back you're not going to get better."

Burton Shipley, a former BBNZ board member now on the Breakers' board, had a good understanding and overview of the sport. Relationships with NBL teams were now solid.

Crocker would not say which other countries he was lining up as opponents for the Tall Blacks ahead of the world championships, because negotiations were incomplete and a knockback in one area might open another possibility, and the schedule was in a state of flux.

But he gave a hint when he said that former Canadian basketball chief executive Leslie Dalzeil, who was employed by BBNZ last year, was handling negotiations and had contacts in North and South America.

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CONFIRMATION DUE

The Breakers are expected to confirm signing of an American power forward today after completing contracts and achieving ANBL registration for the player.

That leaves just one spot on their roster, for a back-up point guard to Paul Henare, and that player will come from the domestic league.

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36ERS FOR SALE

The South Australian state government is encouraging the sale of the financially troubled Adelaide 36ers into private ownership. The 36ers are owned by the Basketball Association of South Australia, as are the city's WNBL team and the Super Dome stadium they play in. The other 11 teams are privately owned.

Adelaide have lost several top- players in the off-season and are finding recruitment tough, given their money woes. The ANBL wants to keep a team in the city, and expects much interest in taking up the franchise licence if it is put on the market.

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FRIDAY NIGHT REVISITED

Television coverage of the NBL begins this weekend with TV2 replaying the Friday night game between Wellington and Hawkes Bay.

Manawatu host the Waikato Pistons on Friday and Auckland has the first of its two away games against the Rams in Christchurch before playing Otago on Saturday.

North Harbour also travel for a double-header with Nelson on Saturday and Wellington on Sunday and must win one to keep playoff hopes alive.

Taranaki host Waikato on Saturday.