Dickel Down, Not Out
Tagged in: Tall Blacks
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Veteran point guard Mark Dickel will miss this weekís series against Venezuela, but is still determined to join the Dominion Finance NZ Tall Blacks in time for the Olympic qualifying series against Australia in August.
Dickel (30) underwent surgery on his back in February and has not healed sufficiently to join the national team as they prepare to face the South Americans in Napier on Friday.
Rehabilitating the injury at his Las Vegas home, he is desperate to claim a spot in the squad for the FIBA Oceania Championships, to be contested over three games in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane (August 20-24).
ìI feel really bad that I canít be with the team right now, but my back is just starting to feel healthy again. I have some new orthotics that feel kind of strange, but seem to be working.
ìI should be ready to play very soon.î
Dickel loves playing against – and beating – Australians and senses the Boomers are vulnerable after losing four leading players – NBA star Andrew Bogut, veteran forward Matt Nielsen, point guard CJ Bruton and now centre Chris Anstey – for the Oceania series.
ìI want to help the Tall Blacks any way I can, even if Iím just coming off the bench for a few minutes,î says Dickel, whose father Carl is assisting Nenad Vucinic in his international head coaching debut.
Vucinic has ample cover for Dickel in his 14-man squad, which includes point guards Paul Henare, Lindsay Tait and rookie Mike Fitchett.
ìPlayers arriving late present a big challenge in terms of implementing systems,î says Vucinic. ìBut the fact someone is not here for this particular series is not a worry to me Ö we want everyone to be there for the Australian series.î
The other player yet to join the Tall Blacks is NBA prospect Craig Bradshaw, currently participating in the Rocky Mountain Revue with the Atlanta Hawks. In their first two games (1-1), he has played a total of just 9m 08s for four points (2/3 FG) and two rebounds.
The Hawks will play their final game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, the same day New Zealand take on Venezuela in their series opener.
