FIBA Basketball
NZL - Baldwin calls up european-based quartet
AUCKLAND (FIBA World Championship) - New Zealand have named four European-based players in their squad for next week's internationals against Australia. Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has recalled Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones and Mark Dickel to his squad
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AUCKLAND (FIBA World Championship) - New Zealand have named four European-based players in their squad for next week's internationals against Australia.
Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has recalled Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones and Mark Dickel to his squad.
Waikato forward Ben Hill, son of former international Stan Hill, will debut for the side after his inclusion.
Hill's selection offsets the retirements of Shaun Marks and Ed Book from the international game.
"He had such a good season, albeit with a team that didn't perform," said Baldwin.
"But he had personally addressed some of the issues that had hampered him through his younger years.
"He has lost some weight, he has worked on his knees with team physio John Appel, he is stronger. Ben has probably gone up a notch as a player because of that.
"There have always been facets of his game that have intrigued us, especially his shooting ability and his intelligence."
Hill is similar in style to Pero Cameron. And with the Turkey-based skipper's well-documented fitness problems, an interchange is likely.
Baldwin added: "Ben does have some of the same attributes as Pero - he is a big guy that shoots well from the perimeter and he's smart.
"But this is a new level for him now and it would be wrong for people to expect him to feature prominently right away."
The other newcomer to the 14-man squad for the Australian series is Junior Tall Black Jeremiah Trueman (19), who has spent the past year at San Diego Christian College.
The Tall Blacks, who host the Boomers at Napier on July 12 and 14, have an experienced roster, with an average age of 27.
However, the absence of Book and Marks has left them lacking in height, averaging just 1.97m (6ft 6in).
Baldwin added: "In terms of size, we're used to playing with under-sized forwards and have to turn that into a weapon.
"We have to hope bigger men from other teams have difficulty guarding our smaller players.
"We now have several big men who are comfortable shooting from the perimeter. Defensively, we will need to learn ways to double team opposition big men."
New Zealand squad: Dillon Boucher, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Ben Hill, Phill Jones, Aaron Olson, Kirk Penney, Tony Rampton, Jeremiah Trueman, Mika Vukona, Paora Winitana.
PA Sport
AUCKLAND (FIBA World Championship) - New Zealand have named four European-based players in their squad for next week's internationals against Australia.
Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin has recalled Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones and Mark Dickel to his squad.
Waikato forward Ben Hill, son of former international Stan Hill, will debut for the side after his inclusion.
Hill's selection offsets the retirements of Shaun Marks and Ed Book from the international game.
"He had such a good season, albeit with a team that didn't perform," said Baldwin.
"But he had personally addressed some of the issues that had hampered him through his younger years.
"He has lost some weight, he has worked on his knees with team physio John Appel, he is stronger. Ben has probably gone up a notch as a player because of that.
"There have always been facets of his game that have intrigued us, especially his shooting ability and his intelligence."
Hill is similar in style to Pero Cameron. And with the Turkey-based skipper's well-documented fitness problems, an interchange is likely.
Baldwin added: "Ben does have some of the same attributes as Pero - he is a big guy that shoots well from the perimeter and he's smart.
"But this is a new level for him now and it would be wrong for people to expect him to feature prominently right away."
The other newcomer to the 14-man squad for the Australian series is Junior Tall Black Jeremiah Trueman (19), who has spent the past year at San Diego Christian College.
The Tall Blacks, who host the Boomers at Napier on July 12 and 14, have an experienced roster, with an average age of 27.
However, the absence of Book and Marks has left them lacking in height, averaging just 1.97m (6ft 6in).
Baldwin added: "In terms of size, we're used to playing with under-sized forwards and have to turn that into a weapon.
"We have to hope bigger men from other teams have difficulty guarding our smaller players.
"We now have several big men who are comfortable shooting from the perimeter. Defensively, we will need to learn ways to double team opposition big men."
New Zealand squad: Dillon Boucher, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Ben Hill, Phill Jones, Aaron Olson, Kirk Penney, Tony Rampton, Jeremiah Trueman, Mika Vukona, Paora Winitana.
PA Sport