Basketball: Dickel impressed by schoolboy triallists

Mark Dickel. Photo / Getty Images

Experienced point guard Mark Dickel has been impressed by the ability and confidence of two towering schoolboy basketballers trialling this week for the Tall Blacks.

Steven Adams and Isaac Fotu are among 17 players in contention for 12 spots in the New Zealand squad to play Australia in September in a three-game series for a spot in next year's Olympics.

Dickel, 34, is also among the triallists in Auckland and the young talent on show was one of the first things that struck him.

"It's really kind of surprising because we've never really had big guys like that and young good big guys," he said today.

"Both the 17-year-olds have a chance to be really good. Basketball is in a good position."

The 2.10m Adams, half-brother of world and Olympics shot put champion Valerie Adams, is in his final year at Scots College in Wellington, with entry to the University of Pittsburgh on the cards if he can meet the academic criteria.

Fotu, who stands 1.98m, attends Rangitoto College in Auckland

Dickel made his own international debut as a teenager and said age wasn't a factor in deciding whether a player could step up.

"Your basketball dictates whether you're ready or not, not your age," he said.

"If they're not ready now, they will be."

Despite having been a young debutant himself, he didn't have any special advice for Adams and Fotu.

"They love to play basketball, they're going to be fine," he said.

"As long as they keep their love for it, they're not going to have a problem."

Both were confident and weren't afraid to play what was in front of them.

"They may be 17 but they go out and play," Dickel said.

"They're not afraid to go out there. They shoot when they're open.

"I think that's the hardest thing when you're young is to get over the fact that you're playing with older players. Both of them handle themselves well."

The New Zealand squad will be named tomorrow and their build-up to their series against Australia will include tournaments next month in China, Macedonia and Turkey.

Dickel, who has spent a significant part of his career in Europe, returned to the New Zealand NBL this year to skipper the Southland Sharks.

He has two Olympics under his belt, as well as two world championships, including the 2002 campaign in which the Tall Blacks' reached the giddy heights of the semifinals.

However, he hasn't been in the national singlet since 2007.

"The only reason I ever stopped playing was that I just wasn't physically able to do it," he said of his absence from the international arena.

"Once I was able to get on top of my health I wanted to be involved. If I'm good enough to make it, well, I make the team. If not, on to the next one."

- NZPA