U17 Men’s national team head coach, Leyton Haddleton has today announced an extended group of 18 athletes to attend a selection camp next month at Auckland’s Dilworth School.
The attendees are: Matt Amoamo, Jackson Ball, Ihaka Cate, Lachlan Crate, Gus Dallow, Oscar Goodman, Jake Holmes, Hoani Ifopo-Togia, Krisnan-Cole Ioane, Hayden Jones, Jackson Kiss, Mana Martin, James Matthews, Troy Plumtree, Jameer Reed, Dov Silberstein, Hunter Te Ratana and Mana Winitana.
These athletes will be fighting for a place in the New Zealand U17 Men’s National Team, with a final squad of 12 travelling to the cycle’s pinnacle event – the FIBA U17 Men’s Basketball World Cup, held in Turkey from 29 June – 7 July this year.
The selection camp sees the return of 11 of the 12 athletes who featured in last year’s FIBA U16 Asian Champs in Doha, where New Zealand finished second behind Australia in a hotly contested final.
That squad was led by the trio of Goodman – who was named Tournament MVP – Crate, who led New Zealand in scoring with 15.2ppg per game and Jones; who was dominant in the final with his 31 points and 12 rebounds.
Goodman re-joins the squad after being based at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra since 2023, while Jones comes in following a successful stint with the Tall Blacks against Hong Kong last month; the 17-year-old guard becoming the fourth-youngest Tall Black in team history.
Coach Haddleton says that the returning athletes will form the backbone of this squad ahead of the U17 Men’s World Cup in June.
“The athletes that went to the U16 Asian Champs in Doha last year have continued in their development, with ten of them now in the Sal’s NBL in one form or another. That in itself reaffirms the talent level of these athletes and that squad,” says Haddleton.
“With these athletes currently being coached by NBL-level coaches, playing against NBL-level talent who are physically bigger, stronger and more experienced – this will only help grow their ability in the future.
“And Hayden is a kid that’s had to grow up around high expectations – as the son of basketball legend Phill Jones – so he’s handled himself extremely well up to this point; he’s grounded, unselfish and a team player. His experience in the Tall Blacks environment will have been beneficial for him.”
Complementing the returning players are seven athletes seeking to earn a place on a national team roster for the first time; among these are Queensland-based Matt Amoamo, Mana Winitana – son of Tall Blacks great Paora Winitana – from Utah and the intriguing Jackson Kiss.
“Jackson Kiss is new to the wider team this year; he’s recovered well from a serious knee injury so it’ll be great to have a talent like him in camp and available for selection.
“Two other athletes coming into camp – who were reasonably unknown to us last year – are Matt Amoamo and Mana Winitana; I’ve watched them played various games online at a high level and I’ve really liked what I’ve seen in terms of their athleticism and feel for the game. They’ve kind of just come out of nowhere and I’m excited to have them in camp.
“Jake Holmes also gets another look-in for us, his development and growth over the past year at Canterbury has been huge. Dov Silberstein was part of our U15 national team that went to Guam but didn’t make selection last year – he went on to win MVP at the 2023 Secondary School Nationals and he’s now back in contention for the squad.
“Ioane is another one who’s been in and out of selection camps over the past few years – he’s made great strides with his shooting ability so we’ll see how he fits in at camp.”
Coach Haddleton believes that next month’s selection camp will be high competitive, which will give his coaching staff a challenge when it comes to choosing a final squad of 12.
“None of the 12 spots are safe as far as the squad that went to Doha; it’s a new year and a new tournament, everyone is growing and getting better – so it will be a very competitive camp to see who makes the final cut. Each player has to come in and prove they can add value to the group.
“This is the third age group national team cycle I’ve been involved in, and this one looms as the biggest headache I’ve had in selecting the 18 selection camp attendees; and it’ll be the same headache selecting the final squad of 12. There’s a lot of talent in this group.
Coach Haddleton also sees the selection camp as a chance to foster a positive mindset within the group as world-beaters.
“They’ll come into camp and we’ll get into some team structures that have been repeated from previous tournaments. So there’ll be familiarity for the athletes involved in past campaigns; they’ll get that opportunity to impart their wisdom onto the new guys.
“We know there’s a higher level of athleticism and size that we’ll see more consistently at this World Cup compared to previous years, and we believe we have the talent level to compete with these teams – so it’s more the mindset we’ll need to work on with these athletes, getting them believing that they can beat any other international team they face.”
New Zealand U17 National Team – Selection Camp Attendees, 13-16 April
Matt Amoamo, Queensland
Jackson Ball, Basketball Hawkes Bay
Ihaka Cate, Canterbury Basketball Association
Lachlan Crate, Basketball Manawatu
Gus Dallow, Harbour Basketball Association
Oscar Goodman, Basketball Taranaki
Jake Holmes, Canterbury Basketball Association
Hoani Ifopo-Togia, Canterbury Basketball Association
Krisnan-Cole Ioane, Hutt Valley Basketball Association
Hayden Jones, Nelson Basketball Association
Jackson Kiss, Basketball Auckland
Mana Martin, Canterbury Basketball Association
James Matthews, Nelson Basketball Association
Troy Plumtree, Wellington Basketball Association
Jameer Reed, Harbour Basketball Association
Dov Silberstein, Basketball Manawatu
Hunter Te Ratana, Waitakere West Auckland Basketball
Mana Winitana, Utah
