Basketball: Coach bows out as Kiwis go down

Tab Baldwin

When sports fans talk about Tall Black basketball they think of coaching guru Tab Baldwin - who announced his retirement yesterday - kneeling on the sideline during the 2002 world championships in the United States.

The Tall Blacks shocked the basketball world, but not Baldwin, with their fourth placing in that competition. An emotional Baldwin yesterday retired from international coaching after the Tall Blacks gutsy 62-79 loss to Argentina in the knockout stage of the current world championships in Japan. He broke the news to the team after the game but kept details about player reaction to himself. "It was an emotional scene for everybody and it's something I wish to keep private," Baldwin said. "I wanted to get through the campaign this year and see how things progressed but I had talked to Nenad [Vucinic, assistant coach] and my family about retiring.

"There were times this year when I felt I didn't have the ability to push the right buttons with the players. We were gutsy today but we didn't have enough fingers to block all the holes in the dam. We kept them to one of 18 from the three-point line but we couldn't contain them in other areas."

Baldwin leaves the Tall Black programme in a far better state than the one he inherited in 2000 after a pathetic performance at the Sydney Olympics. Defeating Australia in the 2001 World Championship qualifying series underlined the coaching ability of Baldwin and Vucinic.

The Tall Blacks were one of the better prepared teams at the 2002 championships and played well-structured team basketball. The 2002 coaching and playing staff were prepared to a level of professionalism unequalled by any previous basketball team representing this country.

Earlier this year, the Tall Blacks narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games (losing to Australia).

Baldwin believes Vucinic should be appointed as the new coach.

"After six years I believe I understand the job of coaching the Tall Blacks better than most and I hope [Basketball Ball New Zealand] listens to my recommendation."

Baldwin will focus on spending time with his family before assessing coaching opportunities, including the possibility of coaching in Europe.

The Tall Blacks were within striking distance of Argentina throughout a physical game, trailing 29-37 at half-time. However, the well-balanced, athletic South American team burst clear in the third quarter (22-15).

The Tall Blacks closed to within nine points during the final quarter but Argentina were relentless with their half-court offensive execution.