All eyes will be on the Waitakere Rangers when the National Basketball Championship tips off in Auckland tomorrow.
The Jeff Green-coached side boasts an experienced roster including former Tall Blacks Hayden Allen, Dillon Boucher and Casey Frank.
But the Otago team has a good smattering of players with National Basketball League experience and the side is targeting a spot in the top four, coach Greg Brockbank said.
''Most teams look pretty strong,'' Brockbank said.
''The Rangers have a really stacked squad this year but we are hopeful because the boys have had a good club season. Most of the guys in this squad have played NBL in some way, shape or form.''
Sam King, Steve Robinson, Damon Cleverley, Micah Lepaio and Olly Smith have all suited up for the Nuggets.
Robinson made 53 appearances in the Nuggets singlet during an on-and-off career, while King has played 50 games for the franchise and shapes as a key figure for Otago, particularly on offence.
Smith (16 appearances) and Cleverley (13) mostly sat deep on the bench but ought to have more impact at the next level down, while Micah Lepaio started in the majority of his 17 games for the Nuggets.
Lepaio is a proven shooter at club level but the point guard struggled to get his outside game going in the NBL and will have former Otago Boys' High School point guard Benoit Hayman pushing him for court time.
That should bring out the best in both players.
''We don't have heaps of size and not too much post presence, so we are hoping Sam will prove [productive] for us at the offensive end,'' Brockbank said.
''We're running our offence through him so that he can get the touches that he needs.''
The Otago women's team will look to guards Anita Snowdon and Dayna Turnbull to generate some spark on offence, while forwards Natalie Smith and Grace Love will protect the hoop.
All four players are expected to have an impact at the tournament.
Otago has not entered an under-23 team.
The Otago men open their campaign against Porirua tomorrow at 12.30pm and will play Counties later in the day, while the women play Counties first up and then Harbour.
• St Hilda's Collegiate won the zone 4 senior secondary schools premiership in Dunedin last week, defeating Christchurch Girls' High School 75-56 in the final.
The Ruske sisters dominated the scoring, Aleisha top-scoring with 35 points and Nicole adding 18 points.
Centre Libby van Hareslaar pulled down 14 rebounds and Megan Borst claimed eight points and nine rebounds.
At a glance
National Basketball Championship
Where: Auckland
When: September 9-12
Otago men: Benoit Hayman, Brendan Rose, Damon Cleverley, Jack Stirling, Max Jablonski, Micah Lepaio, Oliver Smith, Sam King, Steve Robinson, Tyler Lapham.
Otago women: Amiria Koopu, Anita Snowdon, Bianca Ah Ken, Claudia Flaws, Dayna Turnbull, Georgia Te Au, Grace Love, Natalie Smith, Stacey Chandler.
