Man behind the camera

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When Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin needed a new video coach for the upcoming FIBA World Championship campaign, he chose the man who knew almost as much about his system as he did himself.

Probably even more than longtime assistant and right hand man Nenad Vucinic.

Turk Erdem Can has been Baldwin’s assistant through one-and-a-half seasons at the Banvitspor club and has been hailed as a tireless worker with basketball intelligence beyond his 26 years.

“In my estimation, he’s an excellent coach and with the Tall Blacks, we always want excellence,” says Baldwin.

“He obviously understands what is a complex system, having worked with it on a day-to-day basis for 14 months. I have absolute trust in him, as I do with Nenad, and Basketball New Zealand has extended me a fantastic opportunity to bring him on board.”

The vacancy arose after incumbent Pete McAllister, who had filled the video role at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, withdrew to await the arrival of a new child. To fill the position with an NZ-based coach would have required considerably training and a world championship campaign probably isn’t the time to be teaching a complete newcomer the ropes.

Can brings not only hands-on experience with the system, but also additionally knowledge of European opponents. The Tall Blacks’ pool includes two tough European rivals, Spain and Germany.

Over the past five years, video analysis has been an integral part of the Tall Black programme.

“Back in 2002, it provided a competitive edge over a lot of teams,” observes Baldwin. “Nenad is a great video analyst and a great accumulator and editor of video information … a valuable resource for me.

“Erdem is a tremendous scout of opposition. He has the ability to watch opponents play, break down their system and help me teach to our team so we will be prepared going into each game.”

As a player, Can (pronounced ‘Jan’) aspired to a contract in the Turkish first division, but was sidelined by a serious neck injury at the age of 21.

“I started coaching instead and it was really enjoyable for me.”

He is no stranger to the Tall Black environment, having visited for a week during the build-up to last year’s FIBA Oceania Championships.

“There is great chemistry in this team,” says Can. “This is a really complex system, but the players really understand it.

“Honestly, they have less talent than European teams, but the players are all together out on court and help each other build a great team chemsitry.”

You get the feeling Can will have no trouble fitting in with that kind of ethic. In introducing him to the squad, Baldwin predicted he would be the hardest worker in the programme and Can responded by editing until 5.30am on his first night on the job.



Oreo Sponsor Tournaments

Junior basketball in New Zealand will benefit from a new sponsorship relationship between Basketball New Zealand and Oreo (registered trade mark Kraft Foods).

With participation numbers in youth age group basketball increasing, BBNZ's tournament programme is an ideal forum to promote products, and Nabisco Oreo will become the first naming rights sponsor of these competitions.

"We've got to the point that it our tournaments are fantastically popular," says BBNZ marketing manager Andrew Alleway. "Robust funding is vital to their development and we are thrilled that Oreo has come on board."

Kraft realized it was an obvious partnership when it was first suggested.

"There's a natural synergy between basketball and Oreo's 'Twist, Lick and Dunk' tag line," says Kraft New Zealand sales and marketing manager Karen Wheelahan. "We are totally supportive of Basketball New Zealand's goal to get teenagers out, get active and achieving their potential through the tournaments programme."

The calendar began last month with premierships in U15, U17 & U19 age groups, contested in Northern, Mid Northern, Central and Southern zones.

Qualifiers from these events progressed to the national tournaments - the U19 titles were decided in Dunedin this week and the U17s are currently taking place at North Harbour.