Basketball New Zealand

HBS Bank Hawks Morgan Natanhira

ANENDRA SINGH – Hawke’s Bay Today
Try telling a young bloke to “man up” on the basketball court.

It’s easier said than done when you have perennial bully boys such as Mika Vukona, Casey Frank and Dillon Boucher in your face.

HBS Bank Hawks basketballer Morgan Natanahira knows all about that.

“I was getting pushed around a wee bit,” the 21-year-old forward says after renewing his contract for another National Basketball League season. The NBL tips off in March with the Paul Henare-coached Hawks hosting the Southland Sharks in a repeat of last season’s quarterfinal.

Natanahira is not one to easily back off a challenge. Just ask talented American import small forward Josh Pace, who last winter ended up wearing a mask for a fractured cheek after Natanahira upped the tempo during a scrimmage.

Incidentally, Pace is fastening his seatbelt with the Manawatu Jets this season.

Consequently, Auckland-based Natanahira felt he needed to do something about it off-season.

While it can be a source of consternation to Henare to wonder what shape his players are in when they return for the pre-season build up, Natanahira decided to beef up.

“I’ve put on some weight this summer. I’ve gone from 96 kilos to 105,” says the player, who is returning for his second term.

“I hope it’s muscle but I’ll find that out at training,” he says, adding that Henare started not long after Christmas but he got into the fray from January 9.

It came as a shock to Natanahira at the end of last season when he received an invite to attend the trials with the Tall Blacks squad.

While disappointed he was one of four to miss the cut from 16 at the Millennium Institute of Sport in Auckland, he soaked up the experience, culture and rapport.

“It was amazing to just be in contention for three to four days.”

Returning to the Rod Earnshaw-owned Bay franchise was easy for him despite another heart-breaking end to a season in which the title proved elusive.

“I knew Paulie will give me a good chance to play so it was always a good option,” he says of the ANBL championship-winning Henare, who lured him here after helping him in the New Zealand Breakers’ academy over the years.

While he wasn’t sure of the entire makeup of the Hawks, Natanahira was looking forward to working with stalwarts such as Paora Winitana and veteran US import Galen Young.

Not too hung up on personal goals, Natanahira prefers to sing the team mantra.

“I’d like to see the Hawks going one better than last year. All I care for is the final result of the team,” he says.

Last year the Jarrod Kenny-captained Hawks lost to the Wellington Saints in the final, albeit without Winitana, a Mormon bishop who couldn’t play because of his religious beliefs after the game was switched at short notice from a Saturday to Sunday to cater for Sky TV coverage.

A laughing Henare admits the first impression his young charge made on him was of someone carrying extra weight.

“He’s been training with the Breakers and so I’ve been in close contact with him and they are very impressed with his work rate,” the former Tall Black says before his second season as Hawks coach.

Watching the men return with extra weight after the festive season can be a worry for coaches but not in Natanahira’s case. He’ll be “banging bodies”.

“The good thing with Morgan is that he is reasonably refined guy not shy to play the power forward role,” Henare says. “He’s been trialling as a swingman and No3 position, so we’re giving an opportunity in both positions.”

Henare feels Natanahira could be pivotal in stifling the likes of Frank and Lindsay Tait with his versatility and athleticism.

Bay-born forward Arthur Trousdell has crossed the floor to the Saints but former Hawk shooting guard Everard Bartlett may return to roost at home after a season in the wilderness with the Auckland Pirates.

Bartlett has been training in the ANBL season with the Perth Wildcats, whose assistant coach is ex-Hawk coach Shawn Dennis.