Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) is excited to announce its squad of 12 athletes set to compete in the upcoming FIBA U15 Men’s Oceania Cup, to be held in Australia in November 2024 as Year One of the U17 Men’s cycle (2024-26).
The squad includes: Tawhiri Cate, Fletcher Cooper, Jackson Couper, Noah Duncan, Brigham Hakaraia, Malakhai Joyner, Daley Pohio, Lawson Pryor, Tarquinius Schwalger, Marco Sula, Roma Tuimaunei and Lincoln Wilson.
In addition, five non-travelling reserves have been named as JC Goodman, Kolo ki Lakepa Liku, Darius Latu, Cullen Parai and Taye Thomson. In the event of one of the squad of 12 being unable to travel, a Reserve will be named in their place.
Head Coach for this U15 cycle is Ben Sheat, with Tia Temata-Frost and Greg Brockbank on board as assistants.
New U15 Cycle Begins
The U17 Men’s cycle operates over a three-year FIBA progression system, beginning with the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup – previously known as the Oceania Championships – in November. The top two countries from this competition progress to the FIBA U16 Men’s Asia Cup in 2025, with the four highest-ranked teams earning a place at the cycle’s pinnacle event: the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup in 2026.
The determination of this squad began with a national talent identification process at the start of the year, which saw Associations providing input to BBNZ on potential athletes for this age group. This was followed by Regional camps held in Auckland, Christchurch and Palmerston North in February, which these nominated athletes were invited to participate in.
Earlier this month, an invitation-only U15 Men’s National Team selection camp was held in Auckland, with the Foot Locker U16 Nationals also providing coaches with a further opportunity to see the athletes in action before the final selection is made.
The squad includes seven players who appeared in the Final of the Foot Locker U16 Nationals; Hakaraia, Schwalger and Couper for the winning Waitakere West side, while the quartet of Pohio, Duncan, Joyner and Wilson all featured for second-placed Harbour. Hakaraia was named MVP at this tournament, with fellow Tournament Team members including Pohio, Couper and Tuimaunei.
“We can’t wait to get started”
Coach Sheat is excited to begin his – and the team’s – journey in this cycle.
“The coaches and staff are all excited about this squad we’ve selected, and we can’t wait to get started. We’ve had a long process to get to this stage and the selection process was incredibly tough; as there’s so many strong players across New Zealand in this age group,” says Sheat.
Coach Sheat says that both the final selection camp, and the Foot Locker U16 Nationals gave the coaching staff a solid look at the athletes in consideration for selection.
“The U16 Nationals and our camp both had a big impact on the selection; it was good to have the camp first where he got to see a lot of the athletes in that camp environment, and then U16’s was seeing them all playing for their association teams – we saw some really good games and performances.
“It was perfect really to have that all over a two week window; the coaches got to see those players all at once, and to make those tough decisions on who was chosen – we had a lot of tools and data to help us with those decision.”
With the FIBA U15 Men’s Oceania Cup over three months away, Coach Sheat says that the staff will keep in regular contact with each athlete to ensure they’re on the right path.
“Obviously the main goal for us is to qualify for the FIBA U16 Asia Cup in 2025, so our big focus over the next few months is on tightening up our skill focuses and working on individual performance plans – to prepare each player as best they can for November.
“They’ll be playing a lot of school basketball in that time, but our coaches will stay in touch just to make sure that everyone is working towards getting better each week – and improving the skills they need to work on. It’s about growing that base, so we can give ourselves the best chance of going over there and being ready to compete on the international basketball stage.”
New Zealand U15 Men’s Squad – 2024 FIBA U15 Men’s Oceania Cup
Tawhiri Cate, Canterbury Basketball
Fletcher Cooper, Kapiti Basketball
Jackson Couper, Waitakere West Basketball
Noah Duncan, Harbour Basketball
Brigham Hakaraia, Waitakere West Basketball
Malakhai Joyner, Harbour Basketball
Daley Pohio, Harbour Basketball
Lawson Pryor, Basketball Auckland
Tarquinius Schwalger, Waitakere West Basketball
Marco Sula, Canterbury Basketball
Roma Tuimaunei, Canterbury Basketball
Lincoln Wilson, Harbour Basketball
New Zealand U15 Men’s Squad – Reserves
JC Goodman, Basketball Auckland
Kolo ki Lakepa Liku, Basketball Auckland
Darius Latu, Wellington Basketball
Cullen Parai, Basketball Waikato
Taye Thomson, Basketball Auckland
