The Breakers and Tall Blacks great retired last year and is enjoying having a little more time on his hands.
He made the most of his new-found freedom when he accepted an invitation to play in the pro-am at the New Zealand Open last week.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times in Arrowtown, Abercrombie reflected on the Breakers’ recent season when they sank to a 10-19 record in the NBL and finished ninth.
They got off to a great start but just “ran out of gas’’ as the season went on, Abercrombie said.
‘‘It was a tough schedule for them ... the odds were pretty stacked against them how they’ve kind of set things up.
‘‘Overall, it was disappointing. I think they could have done a lot better.’’
Abercrombie was enjoying sitting back and getting a different perspective of the game as a spectator and a commentator.
Basketball was going ‘‘gangbusters’’ in New Zealand, evident from the 10,000 fans that turned out for the recent Tall Blacks game against the Philippines in Auckland.
Abercrombie tipped about 95% of those fans were Filipinos — ‘‘they worship it like it’s religion’’ — but that showed the appeal basketball had throughout the country.
That translated across to the New Zealand NBL, which starts with a game between Hawke’s Bay and the new Indian Panthers team on March 12.
‘‘I’ll certainly be watching it once it starts up.
‘‘I think that league’s come on in leaps and bounds as well.’’
The addition of the Indian team has been a hot topic among the basketball fraternity, and Abercrombie said it was an interesting development.
‘‘It’s something a bit different.
‘‘But Justin Nelson’s [Sky head of commercial and fandom] certainly known for thinking outside the box.
‘‘It’s an incredible market to try and tap into. I hope they’re competitive, because no-one wants to see a team being blown out by a lot in the first year.
‘‘If they could do a good job of recruiting a couple of really good New Zealanders, and a few good imports, and then have some of those Indian guys complementing that, there’s no reason they can’t be competitive.
‘‘I’m sure they’ll have a good fan base out there supporting them.’’
