New Zealand basketball great Pero Cameron has been appointed as new Tall Blacks coach.
Cameron replaces former teammate Paul Henare, who left the post to pursue overseas coaching opportunities last month.
Cameron enjoyed a stellar career in the black singlet, the third-highest cap player in history with 154 games. Only Kirk Penny (175 games) and Mika Vukona (160 games) have more.
Cameron starred for New Zealand at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, when the team finished fourth and Cameron was named in the All-Star Five, alongside four NBA superstars.
Since retiring as a player in 2010, Cameron, 45, has been constantly involved in coaching at a variety of levels, winning NZ NBL championships with the Wellington Saints (2010, 2011).
For the past eight years, he has worked as an assistant coach with the Tall Blacks, first under Nenad Vucinic and more recently with Henare.
"I think back to when I first made the Junior Tall Blacks," Cameron reflected on Wednesday. "I was about 16 or 17 at the time, so it is coming up 30 years representing the black singlet in one way or another.
"When I received the news, I thought about all the coaches I have worked with in that time, all the teammates and all the players that have represented our country. To be able to add to that Tall Black history and bring some more positive moments to that history is exciting, as we chase our goals.
"I am really happy. It has been a long time and a good time in this team and in this environment.
"I can’t wait to get into work with this current group, the players and support staff, and get into the challenges that face us in 2020."
Cameron’s appointment is short term, taking the team through to the Tokyo Olympic Games, with his contract covering the February FIBA window with Asian Cup qualifying games against Australia and Guam - both away - and then the Olympic repechage tournament in Serbia in June, with only the winners qualifying for Tokyo.
