Basketball: Dickel signs for Southland

The Southland Sharks have signed former Tall Blacks guard Mark Dickel. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

The Southland Sharks have snapped up former Tall Blacks guard Mark Dickel for next year's National Basketball League (NBL) campaign.

Dickel will link up with older brother Richard, who coaches the Sharks, as the Southlanders prepare for an assault on the title in their second season in the NBL, the Southland Times newspaper reported today.

"We've played a lot together and won a lot together. We've both got that fire," Richard Dickel said.

"(Coaching him) is not going to be too much off an issue. We had a long discussion and we've both set some boundaries."

Dickel's signing is seen as a big coup for the Sharks franchise, which made the playoffs in their first year in the league this season.

The gifted point guard played for the Tall Blacks between 1994 and 2007 and has been to two Olympic Games and two world championships.

The 33-year-old has spent extensive time in Europe's top leagues during the past decade. He most recently played in Greece before taking up the coaching reins of the Albanian national team earlier this year.

- NZPA