WELLINGTON (New Zealand) - Key members of New Zealand Tall Blacks that averaged a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019-best 99.4 points per game are on the shortened preliminary list of players for this year's main event.

Isaac Fotu, Shea Ili, Finn Delany, Tohi Smith-Milner, and Jordan Ngatai, all played in China and are in the squad. Fotu was the second-leading scorer for the Tall Blacks in 2019 with 18.4 points per game.

Reuben Te Rangi, who missed the 2019 World Cup after picking up a knee injury, is also on the list.

"I was definitely gutted to miss out on the 2019 World Cup due to injury, but I was able to be part of their preparations in Sydney – and to witness the growth of the team during that time was just amazing to watch," said Te Rangi.

"Looking forward that's what I'm most excited about, us continuing to grow as a squad. The belief and the culture in this team is unmatched, what we stand for and what we play for. We play every single game to win but also know how to enjoy these big moments and have fun."

"Obviously we’re going over to win games and show the world how we play. This next month is important for us; building and working on the things we want to improve on – we’ll be playing against the best players in the world at the World Cup, so we need to be at our absolute best. It'll be an awesome test for our team and we can’t wait for it."

In addition to Smith-Milner, other members of last year's FIBA Asia Cup team named in the squad are Flynn Cameron, Hyrum Harris, Sam Timmins, and Taylor Britt. The team went all the way through to the Semi-Finals before finishing on the podium at third place.

The 1.90m (6'3") point guard Flynn Cameron, son of New Zealand coach and legend Pero, led the Tall Blacks in scoring at the Asia Cup and nearly had a triple-double against Korea in the Quarter-Finals. He had 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in that game.

Flynn Cameron

Players with little or no Tall Blacks experience that have been named are Yanni Wetzell, who spent last season with Alba Berlin in Germany. Walter Brown (Canterbury Rams/Tasmania Jackjumpers), Izayah Le’Afa (Wellington Saints / NZ Breakers) and Dan Fotu (Franklin Bulls / NZ Breakers) are the others on the roster.

Wetzell is intriguing. Having played tennis, rugby, and basketball as a young teen, he elected to concentrate on tennis but following a growth spurt, he switched to basketball in high school and then ended up pursuing the sport via the college basketball route in the USA.

The 2.08m (6'10") big man played for St Mary's in NCAA Division II before transferring to Vanderbilt and then moving to San Diego State to finish his collegiate career. In the German BBL this season, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

Another player coach Cameron will be eager to see is Izayah Le’Afa, a sweet-shooting guard with the New Zealand Breakers.

Dan Fotu, 24, is the younger brother of Isaac.  

New Zealand had previously named a 21-player extended roster before trimming down the list ahead of their tour of friendly games in Japan and China.

New Zealand will then be set to face USA, Greece, and Jordan in Group C in Manila at the World Cup.

FIBA