With a busy year of hoops on the radar, Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) has signalled its intention early to be a competitive force on the world stage in 2024; bringing in a world-renowned coach for an intensive basketball skills clinic in Auckland.
Over the past four days, Coach Bob McKillop has led the coaching delivery for this ground-breaking clinic at Eventfinda Stadium – his students including Tall Ferns, thirty of Aotearoa’s brightest young basketball talents from across the age group national teams, and national team coaching staff.
Coach McKillop basketball pedigree is impressive. He has coached in the United States for 50+ years; including a high-profile 33-year tenure as Davidson’s head basketball coach, where he played a leading role in the development of Stephen Curry into a future NBA superstar. A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame nominee, 73-year-old McKillop is the most successful coach in school and league history with 634 victories during his tenure.
BBNZ GM of High Performance, Paul Downes says that with 2024 shaping up to be one of BBNZ’s busiest cycles in recent memory, he was keen to start off the year with a bang.
“We have our pinnacle sporting event – the Paris Olympics in July – as a focal point for our across 5-on-5 and 3×3 men’s teams, as well as Asia Cup qualifiers for the Tall Blacks and World Cup Qualifiers for our Tall Ferns,” says Downes.
“Alongside this, we’ll also have three different age groups national teams participating around the globe this year, along with the 3×3 Asia Cup and several other high-profile events. So to get this group of young athletes and coaches coming together in early January to pick up learnings from someone at Bob’s level is invaluable; it helps set the tone for 2024 as we look to make a strong impact on basketball’s world stage.”
One of the participants, 17-year-old 7-footer Julius Halaifouna says that Bob’s energy and basketball knowledge is impressive – even if his delivery is a little ‘unorthodox’ compared to the coaches he has encountered in the past.
“Bob is great and he’s definitely a different kind of coach; I haven’t had that coaching style before but he’s someone that you have to listen very carefully to and pick up the smallest details from. He was a great coach to have over these past four days and I’ve learnt a lot from him,” says Halaifouna.
Tall Ferns Assistant Coach, Leanne Walker was one of the national team coaches on hand to watch Coach McKillop in action.
“It was extremely valuable for us [as coaches] in a professional development sense, because we’re always constantly looking for things to learn. Whenever you have the opportunity to work with other coaches, you’re always trying to glean something from them.”
Coach McKillop says he has been highly impressed with the attitude and learning mindset of the camp’s participants over the four days.
“BBNZ has set the table here for a superb experience for these athletes and coaches to become better; I’ve been able to step onto this stage and have all the participants embrace these concepts I’m teaching of competitiveness, passion and of wanting to be as good as they can be,” says McKillop.
“We start each session with a focus on getting better and on having fun, while also playing with confidence and fighting to win – not just winning, but fighting to win as there’s a big difference. They’ve fought hard, they’ve been confident and embraced these concepts with a sense of joy. So it’s been the perfect classroom for me, to teach the lessons of my 50 years of experience, to have these students embrace it, listen well and try to learn how to get better.”
Coach McKillop believes that the ‘kiwi culture’ is a critical success factor for its national teams, as evidenced by the international success of the All Blacks rugby team over the years.
“The culture in our world has shifted dramatically over the years, so much so that there’s often a sense of entitlement, an attitude of ‘I know it all and I don’t need to be taught, I don’t need to work or practice’ that exists in many of our young athletes. It’s a global issue.
“But that hasn’t been the case in New Zealand; I haven’t seen any entitlement here. Just watching the coaches and players together over these past four days and I’ve seen so much gratitude and thankfulness expressed by the participants. To me, gratitude is a great sign of humility and it’s a positive reflection of the New Zealand culture.
“I believe this is why rugby has enjoyed such a level of success and excellence in NZ, because they had that dream, that aspiration of becoming a dominant force on the world stage. Once you have that dream painted, you can step on that canvas and try to live that dream.
“New Zealand basketball is on a quest to get better and to improve their world rankings, and it starts by doing things like this; inviting players and coaches into learning activities like this one. Then it’s a matter of adding a little to a little and to do it a lot – it’s those little things that can help make them dominant.”
