JTBs’ Mountain Man
Tagged in: FIBA U19 World Championship, Junior Tall Blacks
After the last 12 months he has experienced, New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks forward Morgan Nathan is just happy to be fit and on-court.
Between shoulder and heel injuries, the 18-year-old has missed a decent chunk of New Zealand’s build-up, left to sit at home or on the sidelines and watch his team-mates compete for spots.
Nathan, a 1.97m (6ft 6in) power forward from Dunedin, toured with the JTBs to Germany for the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in March last year but the rest of 2008 went bad, quickly.
He badly dislocated a shoulder in Otago’s first game at the BBNZ U19 National Championships in May, putting him out for the FIBA Oceania U19 Championship, the entirety of his final year at Otago Boys High School and the JTBs first camp in December.
Nathan had the shoulder surgically repaired in August but still had a tough time adjusting to sidelined life.
“I think the hardest thing was the mental aspect, trying to keep positive after surgery and rehabbing. It was frustrating, that’s the best word. It was so long and just missing out on tournaments and not being with the team was tough.
“I had to have the capsule surgically repaired, otherwise it was going to keep coming out. I had a few months before the surgery when I did work strengthening it for surgery.”
Just when Nathan had rejoined the JTBs in February and was getting close to 100 percent, he rolled his left ankle, squash a capsule in the back of his heel during a game on New Zealand’s tour to Melbourne in March.
Fitted with a moon boot, he was sidelined for seven weeks, watching the Junior Tall Blacks training camp at Easter from the bench.
But injury-free in May, Nathan, who lists his Mum’s leek and potato soup as his favourite food, returned to the fold, earning a place in the final dozen for the FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, from July 2-12.
Nathan’s Maori middle name, Taane o te Maunga, translates to “Man of the Mountains”, referencing his birthplace, Queenstown, a picturesque alpine town in the South Island.
At the world championship, Nathan will likely find himself a “Man Among Mountains” as he Ds-up against opposing big men.
“The strength of my game is probably my enthusiasm, the rebounding and the hustle plays. I try to hustle all the time. I will have to step up the physical side of my game.”
Nathan, a NZ U16 player in 2006, part of the Junior Tall Blacks set-up since 2007 and an U17 national tournament team selection in 2006, credits early height and his former PE teacher and coach at Otago Boys High, Brent Matehaere, for getting him into basketball.
He is one of three JTBs to come out of Otago, along with fellow forwards Tom Rowe and Sam King.
“I had played before but just mucking around at break time. Brent told me I had to go to the basketball trials. I didn’t want to but he called my Mum and told her I had to,” he joked.
“I just went along to see what real basketball was like. I liked it and just kept coming back.”
And New Zealand is glad he did.
