Matehaere greeted with haka
BACK to work, although perhaps not back to the daytoday grind just yet.
Otago Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere had a special welcome as he returned to teaching at Otago Boys’ High School yesterday.
The school held an assembly for the National Basketball League coach of the year, a day after he returned with the champion team.
He was joined by Nuggets and school old boys Benoit Hayman and Darcy Knox.
Assistant coaches Justin
Bailey and Aik Ho both attended, as did general manager Angela Ruske.
After being congratulated, Matehaere received an emotional haka from the school which he said was ‘‘awesome’’.
‘‘I’ve taught the haka here for a long time . . . but to receive one is pretty special,’’ Matehaere, who has been at the school for 22 years, said.
‘‘And the respect the boys are showing me and the mana behind that is really cool.’’
A group of boys wore white shoes, a tribute after the inability to find brown shoes in Auckland left him wearing white shoes with his blue suit.
Initially he received criticism for the wardrobe malfunction.
But as the team kept winning, the trend stuck.
Head boy Angus Henderson thought the welcome was great.
Henderson plays for the Otago Boys’ 1st team and doubles as one of the city’s top referees.
‘‘Just so much elation,’’ he said of the win.
‘‘I’ve been a fan of Otago basketball and played for so long.
‘‘It just seems like Otago, we try really hard and never quite get to the top.
‘‘To see Mr Matehaere and the Nuggets come out on top was just so cool to see. ’’
Knox and Hayman both said watching the welcome was special. .
Hayman described the haka as ‘‘a beautiful moment’’, while for Knox it had current significance, having coached the school’s junior team for the past few years.
The school’s top basketball players will not have to wait long to get a renewed taste of the NBL’s coach of the year.
They leave at 6.45am today to play Timaru Boys’ High School.
JORDAN Ngatai is not ruling out suiting up for the Otago Nuggets again.
The No 1 overall draft pick cut a happy figure as the side arrived at Dunedin Airport on Sunday.
He was influential throughout the campaign and came up with several key plays down the stretch in Saturday night’s 7977 triumph over the Manawatu Jets in the final in Auckland.
He had signed with the Wellington Saints for a fourth consecutive season, but they withdrew from the league, concerned at changes forced by Covid19.
A draft was created to promote talent equalisation and Ngatai went to the Nuggets.
He went on to average 18.2 points per game, to go with 4.5 assists and 5.7 rebounds, finishing second in league most valuable player voting.
In a regular year, it may not be so simple to sign him.
But Ngatai enjoyed playing with the Nuggets, enough to not shut down the prospect of returning.
‘‘I’m not going to rule it out, to be honest,’’ Ngatai (27) said.
‘‘You can never say no. You don’t know what’s going to happen, especially during this pandemic time.
‘‘I thought I’d be playing just a regular NBL season and then all of a sudden a pandemic hits and we get put into a sixweek bubble.
‘‘So who knows?’’
Ngatai said he had not felt too much pressure being the top pick.
He had been thrilled with the way the younger players stepped up, notably Jordan Hunt and Josh Aitcheson in the final.
There had been plenty of controversy surrounding the league and player welfare within the new setup.
Ngatai felt there were always things that could be improved, but on the whole thought it was ‘‘awesome’’.
He noted the schedule had been favourable to the Nuggets while no major injuries was a key factor, although he said it might have been tough to go another week.
He was unsure of his next step.
Ngatai has played for the New Zealand Breakers for the past six years, although at present has nothing lined up for the Australian NBL season. ‘‘Nothing right now.
‘‘All for NZNBL. I wasn’t focused on that [Australian NBL]; my focus was on winning the championship.
‘‘But now I’ll put a bit more energy and focus into that, talk to my agent a bit more, see what happens with that.
‘‘Right now my name’s been floating around a couple of teams, but nothing set in stone right now.’’