Friend, Colleague … Mentor
Tagged in: National Teams, Tall Blacks
The NZ Tall Blacks were remembering a lost friend and his whanau as they prepared for their opening game of the Alpos Cup tournament in Slovenia today.
Former national representative and, more recently, assistant coach Murray McMahon (64) passed away yesterday, failing to regain consciousness after a heart attack while playing last week.
Most of the Tall Blacks have had some association with McMahon, who capped a long coaching career by steering the Waikato Pistons to the Dominion Finance NBL championship just two weeks ago.
At international level, he is best remembered for his role as video coach under Tab Baldwin during the 2002 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis, where New Zealand stunned basketball’s elite by making the semifinals.
Fittingly, his contribution to the sport was marked earlier this year when he received the Sir Lance Cross Award for services to basketball.
The oldest man to have played in the National Basketball League at the age of 52, back in 1996, he remained competitive out on court into his 60s. If there is one slight consolation to his death, it was that he suffered his heart attack immediately after converting a lay-up.
McMahon would have enjoyed that.
“Murray was a valued member of the Tall Black family and we are all saddened by the loss,” says head coach Nenad Vucinic, assistant coach of that trailblazing team six years ago.
“For those of us who knew Murray, I’m sure he would have been happy with the way he went … but it was still too soon and unexpected.
“We will remember Murray as our mentor and our thoughts go out to his family in this hard time.”
Fittingly, the Tall Blacks face Puerto Rico in their tournament opener tonight, the team McMahon helped defeat in the world championship quarterfinals. The Kiwis will wear black bands on their white singlets and organizers have granted a minute’s silence before the game.
