Hamilton-Kereama faces tall order

New Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Hamilton-Kereama chats with Otago's Suzie Bates following a practice...
New Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Hamilton-Kereama chats with Otago's Suzie Bates following a practice session at the Edgar Centre yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
The next few days are going to be hectic for new Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Hamilton-Kereama.

The 26-year-old has been appointed in a caretaker role this week after his predecessor, Shawn Dennis, left to take a coaching role with the Perth Wildcats earlier this year.

Basketball New Zealand will reconsider its options at the end of September, but until then Hamilton-Kereama will take over the reins.

He will name his first side later today, board a plane to Japan tomorrow and guide the Tall Ferns in the first of three friendly matches against the Japanese.

"I guess you could say it is a baptism of fire in some sense," Hamilton-Kereama told the Otago Daily Times.

"But it is a fantastic opportunity.

"Being the leader of a team which is representing our country is something I'm very proud of and it's a huge privilege.

"It's a job I don't take lightly at all."

Hamilton-Kereama, who hails from Christchurch but went to Pine Hill School and Dunedin North Intermediate, is young enough to be cutting to the hoop and dropping in mid-range jumpers, but he decided early on his future in the sport was in mentoring and coaching.

He cut his teeth as an assistant coach to Leigh Gooding, with the Christchurch Sirens in 2007-08, and then worked under Mike McHugh and Gooding during the 2008 Beijing Olympics campaign.

He is the first New Zealander to coach the national women's team since Carl Dickel, then of Dunedin, guided the Tall Ferns at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and he is well-acquainted with the majority of the national players.

Many of the 20 players trialling for the Tall Ferns in Dunedin this week have just finished competing in the Women's Basketball Championship, also staged in Dunedin.

"One of the biggest challenges for us is the players have just come out of the three-day tournament before the camp.

But part of being an international athlete is getting over those hurdles."

While the games against the Japanese are "friendlies", it is an important series and should prove a useful yardstick for the Tall Ferns.

The Japanese side has undergone a lot of change since its 2009 New Zealand tour, with promising results against Australia and Lithuania.

"The Japanese are unbelievably quick and very fit.

"They are also fantastic shooters of the ball and they love to play the game in transition.

"We are going to have to be extremely good in our transition defence.

"That will be an absolute key for our success."

 

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