Four players will make their Tall Blacks debuts as the roster to contest next month’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela has been determined by attrition.

When forward Isaac Fotu withdrew to prepare for his upcoming scholarship at University of Hawaii, coach Nenad Vucinic was left with just 12 candidates for 12 spots and no decisions left to make.

The team departs for Australia on Wednesday and Vucinic must now hope there are no more injuries or withdrawals before then.

“It hasn’t been an ideal process,” he admits. “We started with 24 players on our list, but we’ve had so many injuries this year and unavailability, there weren’t really too many guys to pick from.

“That’s unfortunate, but I’m still looking forward to this trip and the guys are very motivated.”

All four debutants are among guards, where the Tall Blacks have lost Mark Dickel, Mike Fitchett, Kirk Penney and Corey Webster from last year’s squad.

Everard Bartlett has been close to making the Tall Blacks for several seasons and showed dramatic improvement in the Australian NBL over the past 18 months.

“Everard is still a young player and this is another level up, but he should feel confident that he belongs here.”

Teenager Tai Webster, viewed as more of a long-term prospect when the selection process began, will enter international basketball in similar circumstances to older brother Corey four years ago.

He turned 17 just a few days ago, making him one of the youngest ever selected for the Tall Blacks, and was a member of the New Zealand team that won the inaugural FIBA 3×3 Youth World Championship in Italy last year.

NZ Breakers development player Josh Bloxham (22) will get to show what he’s learned during the franchise’s two championship seasons.

“Initially, we probably didn’t intend to go this deep, but with all the injuries, they have their chance,” says Vucinic. “We’re very pleased with what Tai showed us during the trials and would have gone close even if there had been more players – I believe you always have to have players for experience and the future.”

After more than a decade on the fringe, veteran Hayden Allen (32) will finally follow father Glen into the national team. Allen’s promotion comes less than a year after surviving a near-fatal car accident.

“Hayden has been one of the unluckiest players in terms of selection, because he was always playing behind great players like Kirk Penney and Phill Jones, who kept him out of the team,” says Vucinic. “It’s really pleasing for us coaches that he’ll be there.”

In the end, the biggest decision Vucinic, along with assistant coaches Pero Cameron and Paul Henare, had to make was who should fill the one naturalised spot available on the roster. That position has gone to incumbent Casey Frank, who beat out the challenges of guard Kevin Braswell and forward Marcel Jones.

Braswell, a former Breakers import, never really got the opportunity to push his case after he was unable to secure NZ citizenship in time.

Although Jones, a small forward with the Manawatu Jets, was sworn in by the Department of Internal Affairs on Thursday, Vucinic has decided he needs Frank’s experience more.

“Casey has been with us for some time and knows what we need,” says Vucinic. “We have some very promising, big Kiwis coming through, but they are a little short of experience right now – Casey gives us that.”

Frank arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago as an import for the Auckland Stars and has stayed ever since. He made his Tall Blacks debut in 2005 and gained his citizenship in time for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the following year.

The 2012 Tall Blacks team are:
Hayden Allen (Auckland Pirates), Josh Bloxham (Nelson Giants), Everard Bartlett (Bay Hawks), Casey Frank (Wellington Saints), Leon Henry (Otago Nuggets), Jarrod Kenny (Bay Hawks), Robert Loe (St Louis University, US), Alex Pledger (Auckland Pirates), Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates), Jeremiah Trueman (Manawatu Jets), Mika Vukona (Nelson Giants), Tai Webster (Auckland Pirates)

They will contest the OQT in Caracas from July 2-8, hoping to earn one of three spots still remaining in the men’s draw at London. New Zealand faces Macedonia and Angola in pool play.