48 hours: Inspiration and magic slam-dunk bad times

Time magazine didn't pull punches last week as it detailed the United States' slide in international basketball competitions since the dream-days of the 1990s.

As for the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis ...

"Tragedy: the US is trounced at home. The US finished an astounding sixth place - behind even New Zealand," it lamented.

The man who inspired that unlikely outcome for NZ called it a day over the weekend.

Florida export Tab Baldwin, the Tall Blacks coach, told his team about the decision to retire as New Zealand's coach after they exited the world championships in Japan.

In an era of moderately famous players capable of earning a living in the heights of American basketball, Baldwin has been the face - and the comforting, American-twanged voice - of the sport in this country.

Basketball is very much a coach's sport. In comparatively tiny arenas, they are visible lengths of high-tension steel, stalking the sideline, constantly urging and making decisions while sending their pulse-rate into orbit. We even get to see how quick their brains must work, on the time-out clipboards.

Very few of us in this country really understand what the heck is going down on a basketball court. Most of us haven't been brought up with it and subjected to the constant analysis and discussion which firstly infuse and enthuse our rugby knowledge and give us a fair idea what's going on in cricket, soccer and a few others.

Basketball, like the players, is over our heads.

It's also fair to say that we're never too sure what will be stepping off the plane, or in one case what was about to step back on, when it comes to the mainly American imports who help keep the game ticking over.

They arrive as anonymous characters who might just find local fame, with a story about how they just missed out on the big time.

It's not just the arrivals' basketball prowess that invites examination, for a number come from tough places.

A few years ago, one of these characters decided to relieve a service station of its takings the night before he was due to head home. The police, having been given a description that the robber was a skyscraper boasting an American accent, had no trouble tracking him down.

Other Americans, like the Kenny Stones of this world, have had a massive and much admired impact.

Baldwin stands above them all - for now.

If he had loudly claimed six years ago that his Tall Blacks would beat Australia in a series and then finish fourth at the worlds, above America, you would have happily placed him in the 'read my lips' brigade. Just this year, his team brought New Zealand its first ever victory in Australia.

Beating Australia? Didn't it happen just once before, when people wore flares and the only basketball bloke we had was Stan Hill.

There was a lot of debate around Baldwin and his 2002 side, and whether they had been over-lauded for finishing fourth. There's an argument that the achievement has been too quickly forgotten, that we have never praised them enough.

Say it slowly. Fourth at the world champs. Finished above the United States (although the Americans crushed Baldwin's team on the court).

Aren't there kids hustling on Bronx wastelands who could beat most national teams? Finishing above America was sport stepping out of a dream.

As unlikely adventures go, the Tall Blacks' 2002 campaign ranks with the 1982 All Whites' and probably out-ranks them in terms of improbability. Hell. The All Blacks don't do much better at their World Cup.

If this WAS America they would have made a movie about the 2002 Tall Blacks and their coach, who arrived in this country's provincial second division, took over the national gym and turned a rag tag mob into titans. Yes, a cliche or two, but we're talking about a made-for-TV movie.

It is a difficult task for any national team bringing players together from far and wide, and basketball is a delicate balance of skills, tactics and egos on the most patriotic ventures.

It hasn't always been roses for Baldwin's teams, but the great stuff slam-dunks all over the rest.

If there is a message for the smaller sports out of the Baldwin basketball years, it is that the magical times depend on unique circumstances and blends of people, there is always the chance the ingredients are just right. Fairytales won't last forever - so enjoy it and ride out tougher times.

There is much more to the new-century Tall Blacks than Baldwin. But he was the central force, the one who pulled it all together, the inspiration.

Reports say Baldwin believes his assistant, Nenad Vucinic, should take over and on that we are virtually bound to trust him as well.

Great work, coach. You can leave this gym proud.