Basketball: Tall Blacks full of spirit, says Baldwin

By DAVID LEGGAT

Tab Baldwin reckons his Olympic Games-bound Tall Blacks have the right mix of spirit and talent to make their mark in Athens next month.

The squad of 12 was named yesterday, and nine were in the world championships team which finished fourth in Indianapolis two years ago.

Seven are survivors from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 - captain Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Paul Henare, Kirk Penney, Sean Marks and Tony Rampton - so the experience is there.

And in gifted young beanpole Craig Bradshaw, Baldwin has the future of the Tall Blacks.

The 20-year-old Bradshaw, who is based at Winthrop University in South Carolina, was the big mover during the Tall Blacks training camp in Whangarei at the start of this month, and enhanced his claims with encouraging performances against Australia last weekend.

"The games at the Olympics are going to be as tough as you can get, but I think we've got a team that can win games in that environment," Baldwin said last night.

He relishes the fact that he rates this group of players as people, as well as for their ball-playing talents.

"I don't just believe in them as players I like, but as people I want to work with, and I believe in them as potential winners.

"I'm satisfied this is a group of fighters, but also a group of winners," he said.

Big centre Rampton - along with guard Aaron Olson and Bradshaw the three absentees from the 2002 world champs - has a question mark over his fitness as he recovers from a broken finger.

The 2.13m Rampton will have hard, then soft, casts on his finger for four weeks.

"That takes us to about August 7, which is cutting it a bit fine. But we will have reserves in place who will have worked with the team just in case the situation doesn't unfold the way we hope," Baldwin added.

Five players missed out from the Boomers series: Wellington Saints pair Troy McLean and Brendon Polyblank, teenage forward Christopher Reay and Auckland Stars pair Mike Homik and Lindsay Tait.

Although most selections appeared relatively straightforward, Baldwin admitted one choice presented significant head-scratching. That's likely to have been the toss up between Polyblank and Hawkes Bay guard Paora Winitana.

"The two players both gave us slightly different things and either way we went it would have been serving the team well."

The inspirational Cameron joins his sister Jodi Tini in the Olympic team. Tini was named in the Tall Ferns team for Athens last month.

The Tall Blacks are back in camp, with an announcement on their American and European leadup tour plans expected on Friday.

NZ: Pero Cameron (captain), Ed Book, Dillon Boucher, Craig Bradshaw, Mark Dickel, Paul Henare, Phill Jones, Sean Marks, Aaron Olson, Kirk Penney, Tony Rampton and Paora Winitana.

Olympic programme

Aug 15: v Italy

Aug 17: v China

Aug 19: v Serbia and Montenegro

Aug 21: v Argentina

Aug 23: v Spain

Aug 24: Playoffs begin