Basketball: Sparkly shoes ready to fly

Tom Abercrombie. Photo / Chris Skelton

The shoes are the loudest statement Tom Abercrombie makes. They're shiny, gold Nikes, complete with the trademark swoosh Michael Jordan made famous.

They should be on view quite a bit because Abercrombie is destined for a breakthrough year. He is stepping up from 'development player with potential' to a Breakers first-team regular expected to make an impact from the bench.

The Breakers were clinical in assessing their squad after last season's impressive showing. They cut Phill Jones, who won the Best Sixth Man of the Year award, to hand Abercrombie a three-year contract.

Jones is the highest points scorer in New Zealand NBL history and ranked second among all points scorers at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Bigger things are expected of Abercrombie.

From the time the 22-year-old was dominating high school basketball with Westlake Boys, drifting through games with his natural talent and athleticism, Abercrombie was earmarked to rank among New Zealand's best ever. Sometimes, though, expectations and reality can be quite different.

He found that out when he went to Washington State University on a basketball scholarship. He was red-shirted in his first year - he trained and travelled with the side but didn't play to allow him another year at the end of his studies - but struggled with limited minutes in his second. It was then the bombshell was delivered.

"I met with the coach [at the end of the season] and I was ready for him to say, 'we want you to step up next year'," Abercrombie explains.

"But he said he didn't see me playing as much as I wanted to. He gave me the choice to stay and fight for minutes or try to transfer to a smaller school where I would play more minutes. I didn't want to start all over again.

"It was a really big setback for me. I was pretty devastated after that. Things came pretty easy in high school. There's not a lot of competition in New Zealand and I could get away with things just based on raw talent.

"When you get to America and everyone is as talented as you, if not more, you have to find other things to drive you. It's not that I didn't have those things, it's just tough finding the right fit for you to do that. Each school and coach is different. I fitted in well there but they had a lot of seniors who dominated game time so it wasn't ideal and put me on the back foot from the start."

Rather than look for another school, Abercrombie joined the Breakers. He felt valued and played in 12 games last year - development players don't travel - averaging 7.9 minutes and 4.3 points a game.

Behind those statistics, however, are more indefinable qualities. He nailed a three-pointer for his first ANBL points and followed it up with a dunk. Most rookies might be satisfied with a simple layup or short jump-shot. Not Abercrombie.

But the 1.98m swingman admits there was little pressure on him in those early days. He usually came on for the "garbage time" at the end of games when the result had already been decided.

In a sign of things to come, coach Andrej Lemanis often turned to Abercrombie during the playoffs and he looked comfortable there.

"This year I will have a completely different role in the team," the young Tall Black says. "I will be looked on to contribute during games, scoring, rebounding, blocking shots. They will rely on me to do those things. There's a lot more pressure but I think I'm ready. I think I am starting to live up to the potential. The New Zealand league prepared me well."

Abercrombie was a standout in helping Waikato win the title in his first season in the New Zealand NBL. He was the league's Most Outstanding Forward, Most Outstanding Kiwi Forward and Rookie of the Year.

It was the first time a rookie had claimed the Most Outstanding Forward Award and the first time since Glen Denham in 1987 that a rookie had won the Most Outstanding Kiwi Forward award.

He carried that form on to the international stage, helping a youthful Tall Blacks upset Australia and he played the most minutes behind Kirk Penney in the recent ANBL pre-season tournament in Darwin.

It was during that event that Abercrombie did something that has set tongues wagging and, if any doubt existed, highlighted his athleticism.

Very few spectators were there but the wonders of You Tube mean anyone can see him miss his own free-throw, climb over two defenders and dunk the ball. It was a remarkable moment in a largely unremarkable game.

"It will be an interesting year for him," Lemanis says. "Last year no one really knew who he was and he surprised some people with his athleticism. The league is understanding who he is now, though, and he will get scouted and tactics will be worked out to nullify him. How he deals with that will determine how he goes [long term].

"I think he could be a world-class defender. That's an area we are trying to grow this year.

"The ability to change a game by shutting down an opposition is a pretty special talent and I think Tom has the ability to do that.

"It's still to be played out if Tom can make it to the NBA. If you just look at his raw physical attributes, you would say it's there. But there are many guys around the world like him who aren't playing in the NBA for whatever reason. Sometimes it's being in the right place at the right time.

"There's no doubt we are going to rely on Tom [this season]. We let Phill go because I felt Tom could help us. We believe he is going to be a long-term Breaker. It was time to let him step up and take on more responsibility."

That first chance will be against Jones' Cairns Taipans on Thursday night. Breakers fans will get a chance to see the past and future on court at the same time.

They should also get a glimpse of Abercrombie's sparkly, golden shoes.

Tom Abercrombie
Age: 22.
Height: 1.98m.
Weight: 87kg.
Abercrombie credits his mother, Judy, for his jumping ability. She was a former high jumper and provincial basketball player. His older brother, Hayden, is fullback for the North Harbour rugby team.