The Tall Blacks take to the floor for the first time in over a year on Thursday, when they face India in their first FIBA World Cup Qualifiers game - the first of two games New Zealand will play against them.
Dion Prewster, left, will lead the Tall Blacks at the World Cup qualifiers in the Philippines. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand basketball teams were forced to miss some competition last year due to Covid-19 induced financial constraints and the World Cup qualifiers is the Tall Blacks' first action since playing the Australian Boomers last February in a hastily arranged match.
Although New Zealand (27) and India (80) sit far apart in the FIBA rankings, Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron is not taking their first opponent in the tournament in the Philippines lightly.
"We've got limited time together as a group, so we need to be ready for them," Cameron said.
"We've been doing lots of preparation and scouting for all three teams, but for now our eyes and minds are all firmly on this first game against India, and we feel we're ready."
India will come into this game as underdogs, especially given their relative youth - an average age of 23 years versus 25 years for New Zealand - although they have the height on their roster to potentially pose a few match-up problems against the Tall Blacks.
A familiar face for India will be 21-year-old power forward/centre Princepal Singh, who has spent time with the NZ Breakers as a development player as well as a season in the NBA G-League.
Also in the line-up is 18-year-old small forward Pranav Prince, an NBA Academy India graduate who has been playing collegiate basketball in the United States.
The Tall Blacks will look to rely on their veteran players to establish the tone in this game, led by captain Dion Prewster and Breakers player Rob Loe.
The latter, alongside Tai Wynyard, will be tasked with countering the sheer size of the Indian centre trio of Princepal Singh, Amritpal Singh and Palpreet Singh Brar - all 6'10" or taller.
Working in New Zealand's favour will be the fact their entire roster can comfortably shoot the three.
Complimenting the veterans will be several younger players who have previously seen international duty in Hyrum Harris, Ben Gold and Taylor Britt; all expected to get decent minutes versus India.
Joining these players will be four rookies hoping to taste their first minutes in the black singlet, with Jayden Bezzant, Taane Samuel, Joe Cook-Green and Taki Fahrensohn added to the game day squad.
Cameron has liked what he sees in practices so far, especially around the intensity and the younger players willingness to challenge against the veterans.
"Practice has been really good so far, the guys are up for it and you can tell some of them have itchy feet [to play], a lot of energy has been bought out by the usual suspects too like Tom [Vodanovich], Ethan [Rusbatch], Dion [Prewster] and obviously Rob [Loe] chipping in there throughout the day.
"We had a couple of challenging moments out there on the court the first day, with [Taki] Fahrenson going right at one of the older guys which is awesome to see, and Joe Cook-Green getting into it as well - that's what you want."
Cameron said Thursday's game would gauge how ready the group was, especially after limited ability to practice together so far.
"I'm really looking forward to the next couple of days, tonight's game against India is going to be a battle out there but that's what it's like at this level.
"Not everyone gets to represent their country at this level, so it's good to see these guys embracing it, and the see our vets helping to show the rookies how it's done."
New Zealand are one of 16 nations vying for Asia and Oceania's seven spots in the 2023 world cup.
The Tall Blacks will also face the Philippines and Korea in Group A in the Cubao area of Quezon City, in a secure bubble environment.