Out Of The Blue
Tagged in: Tall Ferns
Tall Fern coach Mike McHugh will get his first real look at newcomer Clare Bodensteiner when the Olympic-bound national women’s team gather for the first time at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra tomorrow.
Bodensteiner, who was born in Christchurch and grew up in Rupert, Idaho, only came to the attention of Basketball New Zealand in the past two months after she enquired about the possibility of playing in the women’s national league.
A graduate of Stanford University, one of the top US college programmes, she has been out of basketball for a year while teaching in London, but comes with the recommendation of Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer, a former American national team coach.
“She has had a very good college career and has leadership qualities,” observes McHugh, who has seen game footage of Bodensteiner playing for Stanford. “She has the ability to shoot the ball and from what I’ve seen, is a very good defensive player … all key components we are seeking from everyone in the team.”
Waiting in the wings is US-based forward Jillian Harmon, who will miss the Canberra camp as she tries to keep Stanford’s NCAA title dream alive. She will likely be assessed when the Ferns contest the Good Luck Beijing tournament – the official Olympic test event – in two weeks.
“At worst, they will pressure everyone else to perform during the selection process,” says McHugh. “At best, we may have found two key players who could assist the programme towards Beijing.”
The Tall Ferns are already well down the path in their preparation, thanks in no small part to the work done over the summer through the Christchurch Sirens in the Australian WNBL. Nine of those players will assemble at the AIS, where they will train alongside and scrimmage against the world champion Australian Opals over the next five days.
“This is about setting the tone for the year,” says McHugh. “It’s about establishing the performance measures we want to achieve towards our goal … the highest placed finish we can get at the Olympics.”
The Kiwi women qualified for Beijing with their victory over Fiji at last year’s Oceania Championships, but need to produce better results than in 2007, when injury and unavailability saw several rookies thrown in the deep end of international basketball.
“The Sirens opportunity and the fact we’ve had to rebuild this team over the past three years mean we have developed some really strong chemistry already, but going to the Olympics is another level.
“One of our strengths has to be to fight together. We have to develop a great will to win within the group.”
At the end of the camp, McHugh will name 12 players to contest the Good Luck Beijing event from April 19-26.
The squad is Suzie Bates (Christchurch Sirens), Clare Bodensteiner, Jody Cameron (Harbour Breeze), Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon), Toni Edmondson (Christchurch Sirens), Aneka Kerr (Christchurch Sirens), Karlene Kingi (Christchurch Sirens), Angela Marino (Adelaide Lightning), Jessica McCormack, Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Christchurch Sirens), Lisa Pardon (Bendigo Spirit), Charmian Purcell (Christchurch Sirens), Natalie Purcell (Christchurch Sirens), Lisa Wallbutton (Christchurch Sirens) and Noni Wharemate (Christchurch Sirens).
