Tall Blacks head coach, Pero Cameron has today named his assistant coaching staff for the upcoming FIBA World Cup – held in the Philippines from 25 Aug to 10 September – as Michael Fitchett, Zico Coronel and Aaron Young.
In addition, three other members of the Tall Blacks assistant coach panel will be at the Tall Blacks pre-departure camp in Auckland from 26-30 July. They are Ross McMains, Trent Adam and Daryl Cartwright, who all played key roles in the Tall Blacks World Cup Qualifier games since last year.
This will be the first FIBA World Cup as head coach for Coach Cameron and the first coaching appearance for his three assistants. He says they are extremely excited about the opportunity.
“The FIBA World Cup is a massive stage for basketball, one I’ve experienced as a player several times and as an assistant coach back in 2019. I’m looking forward to leading our squad against some of the top teams in the world next month, and I’m thrilled to have Fitch, Zico and Aaron alongside me,” says Cameron.
Cameron says that McMains has been a key part of the Tall Blacks since 2015, and the experience and insight he bought to the team will be greatly missed.
“We’d love to have Ross with us at World Cup, but he’s got a great opportunity in the NBA [a Player Development role with the Boston Celtics] and he has to focus on that. On the plus side, it opens the door for an exciting young coach like Aaron to come in and gain World Cup experience.”
For Young, a successful coach for the Auckland Tuatara in the Sal’s NBL and recently named as an assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats for the 2023/24 Aussie NBL season, being on the Tall Blacks coaching staff is something he has long aspired to.
“The Tall Blacks carry such a strong place in basketball and I respect the culture and everything this team represents; so this opportunity is something that I’m ready for and I couldn’t be more excited about,” says Young.
“I’ve put a lot of work in to get to this position and I’m ready to help the team any way I can. For me it wasn’t a matter or ‘if’ it would happen but more ‘when’ it would happen, that’s the mindset I’ve had – that when the time is right I needed to be ready. The success I’ve had within different teams and programmes over the years has put me in a position to step into this role with confidence.”
Young says no other environment comes close to comparing to what the Tall Blacks culture provides.
“I’ve been around the Tall Blacks for the past few years, so I’ve seen the culture in terms of Tu Kaha, the mana and the uniqueness of what it means to represents Aotearoa on the world stage. PC does a great job of leading that and he’s lived it as a player and coach, and I’m blessed to have seen it over the years as a fly on the wall at Tall Blacks camps – I see how proud our players are to represent their country and it shows in the way they play on the court.”
Like Cameron, Fitchett – who’s just completed his fifth season as head coach for the Nelson Giants in the Sal’s NBL, and has been a Tall Blacks assistant since 2017 – has been to the FIBA World Cup previously as a Tall Blacks player. He says it is a huge honour for be selected for his first World Cup coaching role this year.
“We’ve had a long build-up that was disrupted by Covid, so to finally be nearing the World Cup start is a real pleasure for me,” says Fitchett.
“For PC to give me my opportunity I’m stoked about, it’s another big part of my coaching journey and I’m looking forward to the challenge of going up against the best players – and the best coaches – in the world.
“I’ve been lucky enough to go to the World Cup as a player [2010 in Turkey] and it was the best experience of my playing career, so I understand the scale and the importance of this event – it’s only really trumped by the Olympics in my opinion. We’ve been working towards this moment for the past four years, so going to the World Cup alongside Pero, Zico and Aaron will be pretty special.”
Following the Tall Blacks training camp, a squad of 14 Tall Blacks will head overseas on a pre-World Cup tour across China, Japan and Germany. A final squad of 12 will be determined prior to the first game of the FIBA World Cup.
Fitchett says that as part of the coaching staff, it can be ‘nerve-wracking in a lot of ways’ to help select the right mix of players for the World Cup.
“We’ve got an incredible group of 21 players that we have to chisel down to 14 and then 12, so in a way it’s the worst part about coaching because all of those guys would represent us really well – but only 12 can go and we have to make that tough decision.
“I’m really excited for the guys, particularly those who have been part of most or all the qualifying windows; they’ve really committed to the black singlet and have played a key role in getting us to the World Cup. And we’ve also got several high-level guys who haven’t had that much experience in the black singlet yet, so it’ll great to welcome them into the Tall Blacks family and have them part of our journey.”
The FIBA World Cup 2023, set to take place from 25 August to 10 September, will see New Zealand facing the United States, Greece and Jordan in the Group Phase in the Philippines capital city of Manila. All games will be shown free to air on TVNZ. Find out more at www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023
Prior to departing for the overseas preparation games and FIBA World Cup, the Tall Blacks will also be hosting a ‘Road to the World Cup 2023 Dinner’ at Auckland’s Pullman Hotel on Friday 28 July. Find out more at https://nzbasketball.flicket.co.nz/
Tall Blacks Coaching & Support Staff – FIBA World Cup 2023
Head Coach – Coach Cameron
Assistant Coach – Michael Fitchett
Assistant Coach – Zico Coronel
Assistant Coach – Aaron Young
Team Manager – Lisa Wallbutton
Physiotherapist – Todd Wolfe
Doctor – Hamish Osborne
Massage Therapist – Shelley Moana Hiha
Operations & Logistics Manager – Shay-Marie Peneha
Media Officer – James Craw
Additional Coaching & Support Staff – Tall Blacks Training Camp, Auckland (26-30 July)
Assistant Coach – Daryl Cartwright
Assistant Coach – Ross McMains
Assistant Coach – Trent Adam
Strength & Conditioning – Jaron Kung
