New Zealand’s Basketball future

 "New Zealand has one that trumps them all"

He is no where near the prospect Ben was at the same age or is now

 "New Zealand has one that trumps them all"

He is no where near the prospect Ben was at the same age or is now

I coach a High School team in NZ and am off to Nationals (top 24 teams in the country, tournament) and first team up for us is Rangitoto which is Tai Wynard’s school.

Personally have no idea who he is but the boys keep talking about him. It potentially isnt a game we will win, but will do some sort of analyst on him. You have me officially intrigued.

I coach a High School team in NZ and am off to Nationals (top 24 teams in the country, tournament) and first team up for us is Rangitoto which is Tai Wynard’s school.

Personally have no idea who he is but the boys keep talking about him. It potentially isnt a game we will win, but will do some sort of analyst on him. You have me officially intrigued.

I would go so far as to say NZ basketball has very little potential to be a source of NBA-calibre players.

The country has a population of 5m, so the base to start with is tiny. Similar to Lithuania you might say? But that is a country that absolutely loves basketball. Unfortunately that same passion is only shared for Rugby in NZ, therefore even Lithuanian type success is out of reach. 

At least Australia has institutions like the Australian Institute of Sport where kids with talent can grow. There is no way for Kiwi kids to develop like they can in other countries. 

This explains why the most skilful players that have come from NZ are guys like Kirk Penny, Thomas Abercrombie and Mika Vukona. For those that don’t know them, they’re absolute scrubs.

I’ll eat my words the minute a skilled kiwi baller comes along that can do anything more than play an "Enforcer" role. I call them Grunts. 

I would go so far as to say NZ basketball has very little potential to be a source of NBA-calibre players.

The country has a population of 5m, so the base to start with is tiny. Similar to Lithuania you might say? But that is a country that absolutely loves basketball. Unfortunately that same passion is only shared for Rugby in NZ, therefore even Lithuanian type success is out of reach. 

At least Australia has institutions like the Australian Institute of Sport where kids with talent can grow. There is no way for Kiwi kids to develop like they can in other countries. 

This explains why the most skilful players that have come from NZ are guys like Kirk Penny, Thomas Abercrombie and Mika Vukona. For those that don’t know them, they’re absolute scrubs.

I’ll eat my words the minute a skilled kiwi baller comes along that can do anything more than play an "Enforcer" role. I call them Grunts. 

Not to bring race into it, but we have a lot of Maori and Pacific Islanders in NZ who have great natural/genetic abilities much like African Americans in USA.

NZ is slowly getting more involved in basketball a lot people of those backgrounds and ethnicities are picking up the game more and more. We have a lot of natural talent and what will determine the ability to produce prospects will come down to coaching and exposure to top competition.

I do not think we will be able to role through the rate that Australia will, but I can honestly see a solid prospect 1 in every 5 years being a real possibility.

Not to bring race into it, but we have a lot of Maori and Pacific Islanders in NZ who have great natural/genetic abilities much like African Americans in USA.

NZ is slowly getting more involved in basketball a lot people of those backgrounds and ethnicities are picking up the game more and more. We have a lot of natural talent and what will determine the ability to produce prospects will come down to coaching and exposure to top competition.

I do not think we will be able to role through the rate that Australia will, but I can honestly see a solid prospect 1 in every 5 years being a real possibility.

New Zealand’s top export = Jemaine and Bret

New Zealand’s top export = Jemaine and Bret

So they couldn’t find better highlights of that kid? I think there was one layup in the whole mix.

He does seem pretty tall. And that he won’t be all that skinny once he fills out. But wow there wasn’t really much to see on that video tape beyond the size. I guess his parent’s being lumberjacks implies that he is going to be pretty strong when he gets older. (See how I’ve brought genetics into the mix again.). 

So they couldn’t find better highlights of that kid? I think there was one layup in the whole mix.

He does seem pretty tall. And that he won’t be all that skinny once he fills out. But wow there wasn’t really much to see on that video tape beyond the size. I guess his parent’s being lumberjacks implies that he is going to be pretty strong when he gets older. (See how I’ve brought genetics into the mix again.). 

Hawaii Basketball – Tai Wynyard, Potential Recruit In New Zealand from Warrior Insider on Vimeo.

When you hear about an athletic, 16-year old who has some basketball ability, it is easy to be excited. Remember, [Player: Steven Adams] blew up at Nations before most people on here even knew [Player: Ben Simmons] existed. Thought it was cool they linked to [Player: Tai Wynyard]‘s NBADraft.net profile I made, which had information and a link to the video I posted above (that I am guessing people probably did not watch before making comments). Obviously the "trumps them all" thing is a bit much, though why focus on that rather than learn about the player?

Heard about Tai during the Jordan Brand International game, seems like a guy to monitor. Hard not to see possible similarities to Adams, though he appears to have more girth than Adams did at a similar age without quite as much bounce. Even so, looks like he is doing pretty darn well. [Player: Isaac Fotu] (Hawaii) and [Player: Tai Webster] (Nebraska) are both under 21 currently, played nice roles for the New Zealand World Cup team. For as many "Grunts" were on the team, they certainly seemed to put a scare into a few teams.

I have heard good things about [Player: Jack Salt], who will be a freshman at Virginia this year. Also heard [Player: Matt Freeman] had a nice adidas Nations. New Zealand might not be in medal contention any time too soon, though there certainly appears to be room for optimism. Think it is hilarious how many defensive posts there were rather than ones saying anything about Wynyard as a potential prospect or about his story.

Certainly, Australia has numerous excellent prospects and the guy might have gone a bit overboard. Still, Wynyard looks like he could be tough. His parents were freaking woodchoppers, which I found awesome. Dude looks like a tank. It is awesome whenever  country has a prospect as young as Wynyard doing something against grown men and not looking out of place. Will be a prospect I keep an eye on, thanks for posting the article OP!

Hawaii Basketball – Tai Wynyard, Potential Recruit In New Zealand from Warrior Insider on Vimeo.

When you hear about an athletic, 16-year old who has some basketball ability, it is easy to be excited. Remember, [Player: Steven Adams] blew up at Nations before most people on here even knew [Player: Ben Simmons] existed. Thought it was cool they linked to [Player: Tai Wynyard]‘s NBADraft.net profile I made, which had information and a link to the video I posted above (that I am guessing people probably did not watch before making comments). Obviously the "trumps them all" thing is a bit much, though why focus on that rather than learn about the player?

Heard about Tai during the Jordan Brand International game, seems like a guy to monitor. Hard not to see possible similarities to Adams, though he appears to have more girth than Adams did at a similar age without quite as much bounce. Even so, looks like he is doing pretty darn well. [Player: Isaac Fotu] (Hawaii) and [Player: Tai Webster] (Nebraska) are both under 21 currently, played nice roles for the New Zealand World Cup team. For as many "Grunts" were on the team, they certainly seemed to put a scare into a few teams.

I have heard good things about [Player: Jack Salt], who will be a freshman at Virginia this year. Also heard [Player: Matt Freeman] had a nice adidas Nations. New Zealand might not be in medal contention any time too soon, though there certainly appears to be room for optimism. Think it is hilarious how many defensive posts there were rather than ones saying anything about Wynyard as a potential prospect or about his story.

Certainly, Australia has numerous excellent prospects and the guy might have gone a bit overboard. Still, Wynyard looks like he could be tough. His parents were freaking woodchoppers, which I found awesome. Dude looks like a tank. It is awesome whenever  country has a prospect as young as Wynyard doing something against grown men and not looking out of place. Will be a prospect I keep an eye on, thanks for posting the article OP!