Basketball: Tall Blacks get to prepare against the best in the world

By DAVID LEGGAT

Tim Duncan squaring off under the basket against Ed Book; Allen Iverson trading quickstep moves with guard Mark Dickel.

They are the sort of enticing prospects for the Tall Blacks as they eye an organised scrimmage session with the United States as part of their Olympic Games leadup in Florida this month.

The Tall Blacks programme was outlined yesterday - six games, plus the scrimmage session, and the hope of nailing one more game once they get to Athens on the 11th, four days before competition begins.

New Zealand have met the US twice, on their two visits to the game's biggest stages, losing 102-56 at the Sydney Olympics four years ago and 110-62 in Indianapolis en route to their remarkable fourth place at the world championships in 2002.

The US are aiming for a fourth successive gold medal since introducing NBA players at Barcelona in 1992.

The beauty of this meeting is that it's likely to be broken down into 10-minute blocks. One might start with the score 0-0, another with the Tall Blacks 10 points ahead and so on, as the coaches look to put strategies in place for specific situations.

"I'm very happy, for all the reasons it's good to play the US," Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin said. "It's a team which is chockful of NBA All Stars, [San Antonio Spurs hero] Duncan is arguably the best player in the world, [Philadelphia 76ers star] Iverson arguably the greatest offensive guard in the world.

"It's going to be very good developmentally for our team."

The Tall Blacks will renew acquaintances with the Puerto Ricans in two games. They eliminated the Central Americans 65-63 in the world championship quarter-finals. They will be tough, Turkey will be competitive and although the Bulgarians are internationally average, Baldwin expects they won't be a pushover in their own backyard.

Sean Marks joins the Tall Blacks from his stint at San Antonio next week. Kirk Penney links up on July 26 after working with Minnesota Timberwolves and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA's summer league.

Having the Tall Blacks based in Baldwin's home town of Jacksonville in Florida has a special resonance. He has three brothers and a sister "and all the associated nieces and nephews" there, and the gym the squad will use was named after his father. "It's kind of neat."

* The Tall Ferns leave on Monday with eight leadup games in Europe pencilled in before the Games tournament begins.

They will play a four-nation tournament against hosts Poland, Germany and the Ukraine in Krasno, followed by a six-nation event in Ankara, Turkey, where their opponents will be Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Nigeria and the hosts. A training camp in Sofia, Bularia, provides the final preparation.

* BBNZ's hopes of sharing the hosting of the 2010 men's world championships have been dashed with major partner Australia withdrawing their bid.

COUNTDOWN

Olympic leadup (NZ time)

July 26: v Puerto Rico, Jacksonville, Florida.

July 28: v Puerto Rico, Florida.

July 31: v United States (scrimmage), Florida.

August 4: v Turkey, Istanbul.

August 5: v Turkey, Istanbul.

August 8: v Bulgaria, Yambol.

August 9: v Bulgaria, Yambol.