Henare will leave a huge gap
The process of replacing Paul Henare at the helm of the Southland Sharks will be well under way before the end of the National Basketball League season.
As Henare’s time as head coach comes to an end he will focus on his new role as Tall Blacks head coach and also his role as Breakers assistant coach.
Sharks general manager Jill Bolger said while any announcement and confirmation would not be made until after the season ended, they hoped to have a new coach close to sorted toward the end of the campaign.
Part of the reason for not leaving a selection decision too late is they want Henare to play a key role in finding a suitable replacement.
He will be gone soon after the finish of the NBL.
Bolger said the organisation had a huge amount of respect for Henare and trusted he would point them in the right direction when finding the new coach.
He will also be asked for advice on potential players for the 2016 roster.
Bolger conceded they were not ready for Henare to go and it was vital they prepared well for the new era.
‘‘Paul will be gone in six weeks, so when you say it, it is scary,’’ she said.
‘‘We won’t be able to get him to ask him for advice if he is in China [with the Tall Blacks].
‘‘There isn’t enough words to describe what he has done for this franchise.
‘‘Someone came into the office the other day and said it must have been nice to beat your old team Hawke’s Bay and he just said, ‘I’m a Southlander’.
‘‘That’s how he feels about what he has done here.
‘‘There are eras and I’m not sure how we are going to replace him, to be honest.
‘‘For me, personally, I’m not ready for him to go.’’
Henare won the national title in his first year with the Sharks in 2013.
In a messy season last year, because of suspension and injury, Henare still managed to help the Sharks to a playoffs berth.
In his final season, Southland are about to go into the second half of their 2015 campaign with a five win-three loss record, which includes four victories in a row.
Southland are scheduled play a double-header on Friday and Saturday nights.
They are favoured to bank a couple of wins and push their way into the top four.
They will play Manawatu in Palmerston North on Friday night, and then the next night face Taranaki in New Plymouth.
Ironically, the Sharks game against Taranaki on Saturday night will be almost exactly one year to the day they made their well documented trip to New Plymouth.
After coming from 30 points down to beat Taranaki last year three Sharks players were arrested for assault when out celebrating after the game.