AUCKLAND (New Zealand) - New Zealand have invited 25 players - led by Steven Adams, Isaac Fotu, Corey Webster and his brother, Tai - to a selection camp here in early August in preparation for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Basketball New Zealand have confirmed the long list of players from which the final 12 will be selected for China.

Fourteen players will eventually be selected to join the next phase of their final World Cup buildup in Japan. The final 12 will then be chosen to travel ahead of the 2 games against Canada in Sydney, Australia on August 20 and 21.

Tall Blacks head coach Paul Henare finds great depth in his pool, and he knows their will be a high level of competition among the players when it comes to the final selections.

"Throughout this World Cup qualifying program, we have looked to build our depth chart towards exposing more players to the Tall Blacks culture and having them ready to play on the international stage now or sometime in the future," Henare said. "We have arguably the most amount of talent we have had across all positions that we have ever had. It makes the final selection tougher and choosing the final team will not be easy, but that is a good problem for me as a coach and for the selection panel to have."

As with many sports, basketball operates on a four-year World Cup cycle, and much of Henare’s long-term planning has led to this moment, when he edges closer to naming his 12 to attend the tournament in China, starting on August 31st.

“In some respects, it has come around quick, but when you go back to the Asia Cup in 2017 and think how much has happened between now and then, it feels like it has taken some time. But seeing the number of players pull on the black singlet and represent New Zealand throughout the whole process has been very rewarding and we are at the stage now where we are very happy with the depth and talent that we have.”

 
Henare is delighted to have a lot of up-and-coming players on whose shoulders the future of the Tall Blacks can be built, but in the short-term, he expects that he will continue to heavily rely on the team's tried-and-tested veterans like Mika Vukona, Tom Abercrombie, Rob Loe, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Jarrod Kenny, Alex Pledger and Isaac Fotu, all of whom have previous World Cup experience.

"You can look throughout the list, and we have multiple guys that have been to at least one if not two World Cups, and Mika has been to three," Henare added. "That sort of experience is invaluable at this level, and we will rely on that to help us get through the next phase and achieve our goals."

Sprinkled among the seasoned veterans are a number of exciting fresh young talent led by Taylor Britt, Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Max Darling, Yuat Alok, Sam Timmins, Ethan Rusbatch and even 17-year-old Taine Murray.

The pool's flexibility is also enticing for Henare, who knows that they can throw various kinds of lineups on the floor depending on the situation.

"We have a really good variety of talent across all positions," he said. "In the guards, we have guys that can play multiple positions, and it is the same with our bigs. We also have genuine size, which is not something that Tall Black sides have had in the past."

One of the biggest names on the list, of course, is that of current Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, who has not worn the Tall Blacks kit since his youth national team stint a decade ago, although his availability is still up in the air.

"Basketball New Zealand has been in regular communication with Steve, and his agency and management at OKC," said Henare. "Clearly, Steve is a player we want wearing the black singlet. What he would bring to the team is international size, what he can do at the defensive end of the floor is phenomenal, with his ability to block and change shots and what he does from a rebounding perspective at both ends of the floor."

Based on the latest FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike, New Zealand may not be among highest ranked teams entering the World Cup, but they are part of a distinct set of countries that have made it out of pool play in each of the past four FIBA Basketball World Cups. That is a list that includes no less than Team USA, Serbia, Argentina and Spain. Henare, however, is quick to deflect that distinction, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand, especially considering the changes in this year's World Cup format.

"We don’t talk about that achievement," he explained. "We want to continue to progress through these FIBA tournaments, but this year is a little different. Pool play is such that you only have three games and likely have to win two to make it through to the next stage of the tournament. Without taking anything away from those previous teams - all were superb in the way they represented our country - I think this World Cup is arguably the toughest we have gone into, based purely on the smaller odds to get out of your pool."

To get themselves ready for what will be a very grueling World Cup gauntlet, the Tall Blacks have arranged a comprehensive series of preparation games. Leading this series off will be a pair of games against Japan on August 12 and 14 followed by a pair of contests against Canada on August 20 and 21. Their final leg of preparation will be highlighted by a pocket tournament in China against European sides France, Serbia, and Italy.

FIBA