Oceania series - A few keys to the series

Corey Webster 

I’ve known Corey since I was about 17 and he’s always been a guy that never had trouble putting the ball in the basket. He’s an exceptional one-on-one player but the area that he has really improved in the last couple of years is his ability to score within the flow of an offence rather than being a 1 on 1 guy. 

He has much greater understanding of moving without the ball, using screens and reading defence to get to his spots. All this combined with his improved playmaking and passing ability he is definitely a world class offensive player. 

Over the last couple of years Corey’s confidence has grown and while he perhaps isn’t quite at the level Kirk Penney was at during his prime, he is definitely getting close to it. 

Andrej Lemanis obviously knows his game pretty well from his days with the Breakers and I’m assuming one of Matthew Dellavedova, Adam Gibson or Damien Martin (all excellent defensive players) will be assigned to him at all times. 

Corey’s ability to put up points while under constant defensive pressure while also getting his teammates involved because of the attention he will attract will be key if the Tall Blacks are to walk away with the series win 

Matching up with Andrew Bogut 

Bogut is suiting for the Boomers for the first time in quite a long time and for pretty much the entire team outside of Mika Vukona and maybe Lindsay Tait, it will be the first time they have played an Aussie team with him in it. 

Bogut is multi-faceted on the offensive end, he may not have a huge role within the Golden State Warriors offence in terms of shot attempts and scoring, but he does have a very good back to the basket game and the Tall Blacks being pretty small his size alone will make it difficult.

What sets him apart from a lot of big men though is his excellent passing ability. He will be the biggest guy on court when he is out there and will be able to see over double teams (should the Tall Blacks do that) and hit the open man. 

While he doesn’t look to shoot the outside shot very much, his ability to facilitate and make plays from the high post and in dribble hand off action will also be tough to contend with. 

It’s the defensive end is where he will make the biggest impact! He is one of the best post defenders and rim protectors in the NBA. Rob Loe and Isaac Fotu, who are both playing centre for the Tall Blacks, are both good offensive players but I don’t think Andrej Lemanis will have many concerns with Bogut guarding them in 1 on 1 situations down low. 

However they both shoot the three pretty well and Isaac Fotu in particular has good face up ability off the dribble. Both of them have the ability to drag him out of his comfort zone and open up the floor a little bit. How productive they can be against him will be a big factor in the outcome of the series. 

Patty Mills 

Obviously the circumstances surrounding the late addition of Mills aren’t the greatest. You never want to see players go down with an injury as serious as a torn ACL, especially a 19 year old like Dante Exum. But adding a player of Mills’ ability is obviously going to make the Boomers a lot more dangerous.

He has been their most consistent performer over the last 5-7 years and in fact has been one of the best performers on the international stage across all nations. Mills is a player who commands touches and shots and integrating a player like that so late in the piece won’t be easy. 

The players that were on the team during their recent tour of Europe will have to adjust the roles they have gotten used to without Mills and that isn’t easy to do with so little time. 

Those are just a few of the keys that will have a massive impact on the outcome of the series! New Zealand vs Australia in any sport is always extremely competitive and this will be no different. It should prove to be a very fiery and entertaining series and I can’t wait to see it. 

Oceania series preview - Feels like 2009

I’ve been keeping an eye on the Tall Blacks throughout their games so far. First up against Great Britain, who are a bit of an unknown to me since I’ve never played against them, they had a close victory in a closed game before a 20 point blowout win in front of a big crowd in London. A great result for such a young team and a pretty good way to start the Paul Henare era. 

They followed that up with two solid performances against Croatia, which ended in a heart breaking last second three to Croatian guard Rok Stipčević, and then Slovenia. The game against Slovenia wasn’t pretty shooting wise but the team would have been disappointed with the result after leading at half and three quarter time. 

While both European powerhouses were missing players, we were as well, so taking them to the last minute of each game was promising with a team that hadn’t spent much time together. Despite not getting the results they all wanted. 

The good form continued in the Stankovic Cup in China, going undefeated against Venezuela, Mexico (who we played twice) and China. Corey Webster continued his great form being the teams’ most consistent scoring threat. But the entire team played solid basketball during the tournament. 

Tom Abercrombie, Isaac Fotu and Reuben Te Rangi all had games where they lead the team offensively or provided a secondary scoring threat for Webster, helping him with the scoring load he has to carry. The team also played well down the stretch of all the games, showing they had learnt a lot after letting the games against Croatia and Slovenia slip through their fingers.

Having Paul Henare around the team has been great. He’s got a nice resume already in his short coaching career, and he is turning into one of those coaches that players really want to play for. I went to the first couple of days of Tall Blacks training camp and it was quite different to how Nenad Vucinic previously ran things. 

Typically the first few days under Nenad would involve a lot of break downs and a lot of running certain actions within a 2-on-2 / 3-on-3  offence, gradually moving into running a complete 5 on 5 set after we worked on the timing and speed of each part of it. Pauli’s style is almost the opposite. He draws a play on the white board and plays live 5-on-5 right away with any adjustments and tweaks needed learnt on the fly. I think the players really enjoyed it. 

Being part of the last team (2009) to win the Oceania Series was special. My favourite memory was of the third quarter in the second game in Wellington. We won the quarter 36-15, hitting 14-of-18 shots. Everybody was making everything! Mika Vukona banked in a three as the shot clock was about to expire, Tom Abercrombie followed up a trademark alley-oop with a very tough fade away jumper at the foul line off a spin move, and to top it off Mike Fitchett hit a three on the three quarter buzzer from about 10 feet behind the arch. We ended up winning the game by 22 points. 

We had to win by eight to qualify (after losing Game 1 in Sydney 84-77) and I’m going to remember that quarter for a long time. It was one of the very few times in my international career, at junior or senior level, where a New Zealand team has blown away an Australian team like that

The Oceania Series is really just one big 80 minute game rather than two separate games and every possession is extremely important. In 2009, Corey Webster hit a deep three with just a few seconds left in the Game 1 loss that at the time didn’t seem like a big deal but ultimately made winning the series in the second game seem far more reachable. 

This year’s team has a lot of similarities to the 2009 squad. The team is pretty young with a few first year players and players that have been in the team for a few years but are just now getting increased responsibility with the unavailability or retirement of players they have played behind in the past.  

Prediction wise, I’m not going to do a Rasheed Wallace and guarantee anything, but I think is this team is definitely capable of pulling off an upset! As usual, they will be underdogs but they will be fearless and if everyone plays their part I think they can definitely do it….A few 36-15 quarters like back in 2009 wouldn’t hurt either. 

AP

Stankovic Cup

Last night the Tall Blacks won the Stankovic cup for the second time. Beating Mexico in the final 70-66. They went undefeated over the tournament beating Venezuela, Mexico, China and Mexico again in the championship game.

Corey Webster once again led the charge with a game high 30 points after having the night off against China a few nights earlier. Isaac Fotu also continued his stellar form with 16 points and mammoth 18 rebounds playing robin the Webster's batman on the night...Backing up his massive 34 point 8 rebound effort against China. Both Players with named in the all-star 5 for the tournament with Corey being named MVP.

FIBA world rankings aren't always a true indicator of how good a nation is but China (14th) and Mexico (19th) are both ranked higher than the Tall Blacks which is a good sign heading into the Oceania series. 

Instead of looking at each game I thought id share a few positive signs I saw during the Stankovic cup!

- Don't want to sound like captain obvious here but they went undefeated during the tournament after two tough loses in Europe! Winning breeds confidence and they will need plenty of that heading into the matches against Australia.

- Offensively Corey Webster is this teams go to guy and main scoring weapon! But several players showed the ability to lessen his scoring load over the tournament...Thomas Abercrombie, Isaac Fotu and Reuben TeRangi all had games where they either lead the team in scoring or provided a secondary offensive presence to Cweb which will be key when up against the Boomers. Im going to assume Corey will have one of Matthew Dellavedova, Adam Gibson or Damien Martin on him at all times (all excellent defensive players) and having other players take a bit of that scoring pressure off him will help open things up a bit for him.

- From where I sit it seems like the squad is settled, everyone knows what their role is and everybody is playing their part very well. 

As usual the Tall Blacks will go into the series against the Boomers as underdogs but with the form they have showed and improvements they have made over the tour and the confidence they are playing with at the moment they definitely have the ability to pull off an upset. I love playing in the black singlet but have to admit I'm pretty pumped to be heading down to Wellington to watch the second game...Hope to see a few of you there :)

AP

Tall Blacks tour - European leg

After a pretty convincing victory against Great Britain earlier in the campaign the team travelled to Croatia for a match against the hosts and then followed by a bus ride to Slovenia for a match up against them 24 hours later.

Game one against Croatia was a bit of a heart breaker.  Losing 70-68 on the buzzer to a three pointer after a Mika Vukona put back put them up by one point with 10 seconds remaining. The home side were missing several NBA players so weren't a full strength side but they were still a very good team featuring many euroleague level players. A pretty special comeback was on the cards after being down 11 after three quarters and as I mentioned earlier they actually had the lead with 10 seconds left courtesy of Mika's offensive rebound and put back  but wasn't meant to be with Croatia's Rok Stipcevic hitting a three as the final buzzer went off!! Would have been a tough pill to swallow! They shot over 50% for the game and 39% from 3 and the rebounding count was even, but ball security let them down, committing 24 turnovers for the game. Corey Webster backed up his showing against Great Britain with a game high 19 points on 50% shooting and Mika Vukona added a workman like 10 points and 9 rebounds, Rob loe and Isaac Fotu added 9 points each.

Twenty four hours and a long bus trip later they played their second game of the european part of their tour against Slovenia. Unfortunately Slovenia escaped with a narrow 73-68. Leading by 5 at half time and by 3 at 3/4 time the boys will be gutted that a golden opportunity to knock of a euro powerhouse slipped through their fingers. The shooting wasn't quite as accurate as the night before against Croatia, going 35% from the field and 31% from 3, but the turnover count was significantly lower with 11 for the game. For the third game in a row C Web lead the scorers with 19, though not quite as efficient as his previous two outings going 5-18 from the field. Isaac Fotu continued his good form with 13 points and Reuben TeRangi was the third player in double figures with 10, Mika again chipped in with 6 & 8 and Tom Abercrombie helped out with 8 - 5 and a couple of steals.

The results obviously weren't what they were after and moral victories don't count in the win loss column but there were definitely positives to take away from both games and seem to be building nicely towards the Oceania series

The boys now fly off to China for the Stankovic cup...They will play games against China, Mexico and Venezuela. Three more tough tests on foreign soil.

AP

Steven Adams out of Oceania series

After months of waiting on a decision by Steven Adams and OKC on his participation in this years Oceania series, today it has been revealed that unfortunately this year won't be the year we see him pull on the black singlet for the first time.

One can only speculate as to why he won't be participating after feedback a few months ago seemed quite positive...A big factor is probably the well documented coaching change, with Scott Brooks being relieved of his coaching duties and former University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan coming in. As well as the recent re-signing of Turkish big man Enes Kanter, a restricted free agent, Kanter was offered a 4 year $70 million offer sheet by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Thunder opted to match the offer to retain his services! So the training camp and pre season battle for the starting spot will be a very competitive one and Steve (and his management) might not want to risk slipping down the pecking order...Which sucks for Tall Blacks fans, but is completely understandable.

As we all know by now Australia have assembled one of the stronger Boomer squads in recent memory and Steve's presence obviously would have been huge, especially matching up with Andrew Bogut! Unfortunately it was not meant to be this year, but no doubt conversations will continue between him and basketball New Zealand and hopefully he will make his international debut in the near future!

Speaking of the Tall Blacks, the boys had a very convincing 84-63 win over Great Britain yesterday in their first official game of their build up for the Oceania series! Corey Webster was the stand out scoring what I believe is the most points he has scored in a Tall Blacks game with 32 on 10-15 shooting! Isaac Fotu didn't have the best shooting night of his life but had a pretty useful overall stat line of 10-16 (game high) and 6 assists, Mika Vukona joined also got into double figure rebounds with 11 and Everard Bartlett chipped in with 15 points in 14 minutes off the bench! But everybody made valuable contributions...Also quick shout out to Dion Prewster and Duane Bailey on making their "official" debuts after the closed game a few days earlier! They are now in Croatia to play a few games against, well Croatia (Duh!!!) and Slovenia.  Full stats from the Great Britain game can be found here 

AP

Injury update and Tall Blacks first hit out

Four months down and a few more to go. I saw the surgeon the other day and once again he was extremely pleased with its progress.

Strength wise it is doing very well, range of motion is the biggest obstacle (it was always going to be) but it is improving by the day and starting to feel more and more normal, opposed to feeling like a ridiculously tight rubber band under my foot like it did a few months ago.

I can finally do pretty much everything in the gym that isn't explosive, because we all know thats a huge part of my game haha, but I did my first lot of deadlifts for a few months yesterday! Definitely a few muscles that haven't done a whole lot over the past few months have come roaring back to life today!!

I can almost run (if thats a thing lol) ...Starting off slow by running in a swimming pool just to get used to doing it again and then move up to a jog on the treadmill and move on to the court from there...Its not a super quick progression but I'm at that stage where its feeling pretty good and improving daily but its still a bit delicate and it would obviously be pretty heart breaking if something went wrong after all this time because I got a little ahead of myself...Slow and steady wins the race.

Im almost there! A few more barriers to get over then ill be good to go :)

_


Also the Tall Blacks has their first hit out of their campaign last night against Great Britain...Will no doubt be a nice confidence booster for the boys, especially considering they did it without Leon Henry and Shea Ili who will be going the team on their next leg in Croatia plus Lindsay Tait was out due to illness and Rob Loe sat this one out also with a knee problem.

The score was 77-72. Thats about all I can give at the moment! It was a closed match but by the sound of it there was a stats crew at the game so theres a stat sheet out there somewhere! Ill hunt around the inter webs and see if I can find it!

Despite the lack of info about the game it will no doubt be great for confidence and will give them a little extra boost heading into sunday's match in front of what will probably be a sell out crowd at the Copperbox, where the basketball was played at the London olympics a few years back.

AP

Boomers name Oceania squad

Today the Australian Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis announced 12 players who will contest the 2015 Oceania olympic qualifying series! The Aussies currently have 7 players who ply their trade in the NBA and four of those players have made themselves available for the series, including recent crowned NBA champion Andrew Bogut and Cleveland cult hero Matthew Dellavedova, rounded off with Dante Exum of the Utah Jazz and Cameron Bairstow, probably not a well known name for kiwi basketball fans but played his rookie season for the Bulls last year.

The three NBA players missing are Aron Baynes, who has recently inked a pretty handy 3 year deal with the Pistons, who from what I can gather has recently had ankle surgery. Utah Jazz swingman Joe Ingles is taking a little time off. Finally Patty Mills of the Spurs has recently been ruled out of the European part of the Boomers build up, possibly because of problems with his recently operated on shoulder. Because of his inability to participate in the whole campaign Andrej Lemanis didn't name him in the 12.

Thats obviously three pretty big losses! Players who have been part of the Boomers for years, but the squad still has a lot of fire power including European based and former NBA players Nathan Jawai and David Anderson, European based guards/swingmen Brad Newley and Ryan Broekhoff and last but not least some names Breakers fans will be quite familiar with, Adam Gibson, Damian Martin, Brook Motum and Chris Goulding.

Its not quite a full strength squad but will still be tough! Im never going to bet against the Tall Blacks though...As usual, they will go into the series as under dogs, but the TBs have a habit of punching above their weight and it should prove to be a very competitive and entertaining series, especially if our own NBA player Steven Adams gets the all clear to play...CC Billy Donovan 

Tall Blacks - Tom Abercrombie, Duane Bailey, Everard Bartlett, Isaac Fotu, Leon Henry, Shea Ili, Jarrod Kenny, Rob Loe, Dion Prewster, Lindsay Tait, Reuben Te Rangi, Mika Vukona, Corey Webster, Tai Wynyard (subject to change depending on Adams availability)

Boomers - David Anderson, Cameron Bairstow, Andrew Bogut, Ryan Broekhoff, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Adam Gibson, Chris Goulding, Nathan Jawai, Damian Martin, Brock Motum, Brad Newley.

AP

Tall Blacks named

The Paul Henare era officially got under way a few days ago with an extended squad of players invited to try out for this years tour of Europe and China and today he named his first 14 man squad to head away for those games against Great Britain, Croatia, Slovenia, China, Venezuela and Mexico.

The fourteen players selected are:
Tom Abercrombie
Duane Bailey
Everard Bartlett
Isaac Fotu
Leon Henry
Shea Ili
Jarrod Kenny
Rob Loe
Dion Prewster
Lindsay Tait
Reuben Te Rangi
Mika Vukona
Corey Webster
Tai Wynyard

Duane Bailey, Shea Ili and Dion Prewster all make their national team debuts after impressive NBL seasons for their respective teams! With Casey Frank and Kirk Penney not being available (or retired, not sure) it is definitely a young squad and players like Tom Abercrombie, Corey Webster, Jarrod Kenny and even Rob Loe (despite only being 23) have definitely entered 'veteran' status alongside Mika Vukona and Lindsay Tait.

After the tour around China and Europe the squad will be reduced to 12 for the two games against the Boomers in August! The big question is obviously whether or not Steven Adams will be given the all clear by the Oklahoma City Thunder to play in the series...Its kind of hard to know at this point but hopefully Billy Donovan will think playing against an Aussie team that will have plenty of NBA talent will be good for him! 

Big congrats to the 14 who got selected! Its a great feeling hearing your name get called after a tough trial and knowing you get to put on the Black singlet! 

AP

NBL Final Four

The 2015 NBL season is coming to a close and the championship will be decided this weekend in Wellington. The match ups have been determined and will no doubt be an exciting weekend of basketball in the capital, with some rugby game mixed in between haha.

The first semi final will be contested between the top seeded Southland Sharks vs the fourth seed Super City Rangers...Game two will feature the second seed Nelson Giants vs the third seeded Saints.

Over the next few days will have a more in depth look at the two match ups and make a few predictions of both semi finals and who I think will ultimately win it all. There are a lot of little story lines to keep a close eye on leading into the weekend. Some of those include the Sharks 14 game winning streak and incredible form heading into the weekend...The retirement of honorary Kiwi Kevin Braswell...Paul Henare's final weekend coaching the Sharks and the uncertainty surrounding MVP candidate Torrey Craig.

Its sure to be a great display of basketball with four talented rosters and coaches...The games have been moved to an earlier time so it doesn't clash with the rugby. Will be a great sporting weekend in the capital.

Stay tuned over the next few days for closer looks at the two match ups and a few predictions.

AP

Q & A with Ross McMains!

Ross McMains may not be the household name some other New Zealand basketball coaches are! But the man who has recently been named one of Pauli Henare's assistant coaches for the Tall Blacks has a pretty nice resume as a coach, including stints in the NBA Development league as an assistant coach and the big league with the Sacramento Kings as a development coach...I asked Ross a few questions about his new role with the Tall Blacks and a little bit about his career so far.

AP - How did the opportunity with the Tall Blacks come about?

RM - Through the relationship me and Pauli had built over the years when I was an intern for the Breakers, he reached out to me about it

AP - Is being involved in the national program something you ever imagined yourself doing in your career?

RM - Being involved with the tall blacks is something I've dreamed about since I was a kid growing up on Waiheke island. When I was in high school I applied for the assistant coaching position for the tall blacks... So I guess after 8 or so years, that application finally got processed! I have been hoping to find a way into being involved with the national programme for the past few years especially with all the great talent coming through in New Zealand, so I am very excited that opportunity has come along

AP - There is a wave of young talent coming through the ranks in NZ basketball at the moment! Are there any players in particular you are looking forward to working with?

RM - Basketball in New Zealand is definitely growing and it shows in all the success young players are starting to have. My roots are in player development so I'm naturally very excited to work with anyone young and ambitious to work hard and improve their game

AP - The schedule for the upcoming international campaign was released a few days ago! Is there a particular nation you are looking forward to coaching against? 

RM - I'm very excited about the campaign leading up to our series vs Australia. Every game will be big, just getting us prepared and closer as a team. But for me specifically I am definitely excited to play Slovenia. I spent a month there last year with the Dragic brothers, so will be fun to see some friends and then get to talk plenty of trash to them when we win.

AP - You have been an assistant coach with the Reno Bighorns in the NBA D league for a few years! Whats the NBA D league like to coach in?

RM - It is fun and challenging. They say if you can coach in the D league you can coach just about anywhere. There is a lot of player movement so as a coach you are constantly integrating new pieces... On a 10 man active roster we saw 28 different players this year. It is a fast paced league with a lot of scoring

AP- Have any players that have played with the Bighorns been called up to the NBA?

RM - We had 5 call ups this year. Jordan Hamilton got signed by the clippers and is currently in the playoffs. Quincy miller was with the kings and later was signed for the season by the Pistons. David Stockton, Sim Bhullar, and David Wear all had 10 day contracts with the kings, and Stockton finished the season with them

AP- You also spent some time as a development coach for the Sacramento Kings! What was it like working with players like DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans etc?

RM - It was a great experience working with the Kings. Tyreke and Demarcus are both very talented players along with the rest of the team. Tyreke would often come back at night to get extra work in, we had some great sessions together, his ball handling ability is unbelievable. Previously all my player development time had been spent training players in the off season so it was an adjustment having to manage the game to game grind the players go through and factor that into our workouts. Some players bodies fatigue more than others and need more rest. Isaiah Thomas was a guy that seemed to have endless reserves of energy as we would be in the gym into the early morning hours and also get extra work in the night before games on the road

AP - Who is your favourite NBA team? Who is your favourite player(s)?

RM - I don't have a favorite nba team, really just a group of players I always check up on and hope their teams do well. Steven Adams is one I always follow being our kiwi rep in the nba. It has been great watching his growth and how much success he already has had. Then the main other players I track are guys that I've worked with, some of the more recognizable names being... Goran Dragic, Kyle Korver, Patrick Patterson, and Khris Middleton

AP - Last but definitely not least! Do you know how to do the haka? (I'm obviously an expert haha)

RM - I've done it before, but not too confident in my current abilities, will definitely need to polish them up and get some practice in! I played one season at Kelston and we would often perform a haka before the games 

Big thanks to Ross for taking the time to answer a few questions for me! 

AP

2015 Tall Blacks schedule!

Basketball NZ has put together a pretty comprehensive and challenging schedule together for the Tall Blacks this season! The build up includes six games, all against teams ranked inside the top 30 in the world. Then of course it all comes down to two games against Australia for the opportunity to play at the Olympics in Rio and unlike the World Cup qualifying series where both teams had already stamped their ticket, only one team gets a spot, so theres a lot at stake!!

Here is a quick run down of the games

25th July vs Great Britain 

29th July vs Croatia

30th July vs Slovenia

After that little trek through England and Europe they will head to China to contest the Stankovic against China, Mexico and Venezuela

Followed by a short camp back here in New Zealand then into the qualifying series against the Boomers. Game one is in Melbourne on August 15 and game two is on Wellington on August 18...With points differential deciding the winner in the case of a 1-1 tie

Pretty tough schedule for first year coach Paul Henare, but knowing him, will definitely be a challenge he is looking forward to.

The nations we are playing, depending on who is available and who isn't, will put some quality players out on the floor.

When you think of Great Britain, basketball probably isn't the first sport that pops into your head. But could potentially have Luol Deng of the Miami heat and Joel Freeland of the Portland Trail Blazers at their disposal.

Croatia may also have Bojan Bogdanovic of the Brooklyn Nets and Damjan Rudez of the Indiana Pacers (who is a 6'10'' SF!!). Plus Beno Udrih and brothers Goran and Zoran Gragic could also suit up for Slovenia.

Then in the Stankovic cup Mexico may have guard Jorge Gutierrez of the Milwaukee Bucks and Venezuela's Greivis Vasquez may also suit up for his home country, slightly of topic but slighty interesting, Vasquez is a former college teammate of Breakers championship hero Ekene Ibekwe...China don't currently have any players in the NBA, but at home (and with Chinese referees haha) they definitely won't be easy beats.

Then lastly the Boomers, the series is obviously a few months away so some players may make themselves unavailable, but so far the only player who has definitely pulled out is Utah Jazz swingman Joe Ingles. So Andrew Bogut, Aron Baynes, Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Cameron Barstow and Matthew Dellavedova, at this stage, haven't ruled out playing in the series. Factor in European based players like Nathan Jawai, Chris Goulding and Ryan Broekhoff plus projected 2016 number one draft pick Ben Simmons, could potentially be a very dangerous line up...

As usual, the Tall Blacks will be underdogs, but with over a month of preparation against world class competition, a new wave of talent making a name for themselves and some good old Kiwi spirit I wouldn't put anything past the Tall Blacks...Also just a quick message to Sam Presti, if you would allow Steve Adams play for us this year...