Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare will reunite with former NZ Breakers boss Dean Vickerman at Melbourne United, after accepting a role as assistant coach with the Australia National Basketball League (ANBL) champions.
Henare was Vickerman's Breakers assistant for two years, including the 2014-15 championship run, and the pair worked together as assistants, when Andrej Lemanis was in charge of the Auckland-based side.
The new job will not impact on Henare's role as national coach, which was a condition of his acceptance.
"It was kind of out of nowhere,” said Henare. “I wasn’t looking for anything else, but it has come up.
"There are two things to this - one, it came from Deano, who I am a close friend with and had a good working relationship with at the Breakers.
“But also, this is a chance to go into a good organisation that projects real professionalism and won a championship last year, and I am curious to see how they operate as a club.
"It is a random, but really cool opportunity."
The deal is until the end of the 2018/19 ANBL season.
Basketball New Zealand chief executive Iain Potter says Henare takes up the role with the blessing of the organisation.
"Paul has kept us informed throughout the process and we wish him well in the new role," he said.
"It is one that will complement his work as Tall Blacks head coach, and allow him the necessary time to plan and be available for all the FIBA qualifying windows.
"This is, in effect, the best for all involved. For Paul, this means he is constantly at the coal face and staying at the forefront of coaching, as well as keeping close tabs on many of the Tall Blacks as they play in the ANBL, while he maintains his strong Tall Blacks focus around the FIBA World Cup windows.
"Equally though, these past few months have been great, having Paul working in the community and with our age group programmes, I know his presence there has been hugely appreciated by everyone that has had the chance to work with him or just rub shoulders with our national men’s coach."
Newshub.
