The Tall Blacks were bundled out of the World Cup in the round of 16. Could the national side be much better placed to push higher in 2018? Basketball writer Adrian Seconi believes so, and names his potential starting five and supporting cast.
CENTRE
Steven Adams, of course. He was not available this time around but the Oklahoma City Thunder big man impressed everyone in his rookie NBA season.
Four years from now he ought to be a beast and will give the Tall Blacks some much-needed presence under the hoop.
The seven-footer is a solid rebounder and athletic shot-blocker.
Offensively, he has his limitations but that aspect of his game certainly has some potential. He will be 25 and at the peak of his powers.
POWER FORWARD
Great hair, great tattoos and some mad skills.
Isaac Fotu grabs the slot ahead of Rob Loe.
Fotu is more physical than Loe and, at 2.03m and 109kg, he is lot bigger than Mika Vukona, who has made that spot his own in recent times.
Fotu made his debut for the Tall Blacks at the age of 17 and is honing his craft with the Hawaii Warriors.
He turned down an offer from the Breakers to remain in the college system and was one of the standout performers for the Tall Blacks in this campaign.
He averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds and made the highlight reel with some athletic dunks.
The 20-year-old can only get better.
SMALL FORWARD
Reuben Te Rangi ran foul of the law this year and was excluded from the World Cup squad. But this guy can play some serious basketball.
He combined with Fotu and Tai Webster to help New Zealand capture the inaugural Fiba 33 world youth championship in Italy in 2012.
He can shoot.
He can put the ball on the floor.
He can cut to the hoop. He looks for the ball in those big moments and he ought to be motivated. He keeps an ageing and increasingly fragile Tom Abercrombie on the bench.
SHOOTING GUARD
Kirk Penney will be too old but there is a wonderful replacement in Corey Webster.
He led the Tall Blacks in scoring at the World Cup and, like Penney, is a natural shooter.
He is not afraid to shoot and will keep shooting, regardless of whether they are going in.
And they mostly do.
He is the guy the Tall Blacks will look for when there is a crucial shot to make. Not everybody can thrive under that kind of pressure.
Corey can, and younger brother Tai Webster has the same kind of confidence.
POINT GUARD
Cedric Jackson. We can only hope.
The Breakers point guard has said he wants to play for New Zealand and the country could use him.
Teams are allowed one naturalised import, so he is ours.
The Tall Blacks lacked a good floor general and he is certainly that.
He has a fabulous passing game, pace to burn and is a great ball handler.
If the Tall Blacks are going to rely on their outside shooters, they will need someone with Jackson's skill set to give them the room and time to make those shots count.
Jackson is also the master of the alley-oop.
BENCH
Alex Pledger, Rob Loe, Tom Abercrombie, Everard Bartlett, Tai Webster, Benny Anthony Jr, Jack Salt.
