Chris Lucas (AUS)
22/05/2015
Paulo Kennedy's view from Downunder
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A 'real coup' for Tall Ferns

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - It was an announcement that largely snuck under the radar, but for the New Zealand Tall Ferns it was a "real coup" according to coach Kennedy Kereama.

That announcement was Chris Lucas - the man who arguably should have been WNBL Coach of the Year - as an assistant coach for the Kiwis' run to Rio.

"For us to entice a coach of his standing is a real coup for the Tall Ferns program," Kereama said.

"He will bring a wealth of knowledge to the group and enormous respect from the players as we look to continue to build upon our work in recent years to elevate the Tall Ferns programme and build the skill level and profile of our players."

Lucas led the Townsville Fire to their first WNBL championship earlier this year, with Tall Ferns Micaela Cocks and Jillian Harmon two key components off the bench.

Lucas's team held opponents to 69 points per game, 40 per cent field-goal shooting, less than 11 free-throw attempts a game, forced 16.7 turnovers per night and averaged 16.2 points off those miscues.

In each of these categories they ranked number one in the competition.

For three straight seasons in Townsville - with rosters ranging from loaded this season to respectable in 2012-13 when they made a Cinderella run to the grand final, allowing just 62.7 points in the playoffs - Lucas has produced a formidable defensive unit.

While pure talent can produce offensive brilliance even in basic structure, standout defensive teams are usually built on cohesion and buy-in, and that comes back to good coaching.

The Tall Ferns have been a solid defensive team in recent years, especially considering they haven't had much offensive firepower to force opponents to take the ball out of the net.

What they haven't been able to do is generate points from their defense, forcing an average of just 11.5 turnovers in the 2013 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship and 2012 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

No one in the WNBL has been able to do that better than the Fire, so you can bet coach Kereama will be picking his newest recruit’s brain on how to create some easy baskets.

Lucas's experience isn't just in the WNBL, however, having helped the Opals to silver as an assistant coach at the Athens Olympics, and as recently as last year led the Australia U17 team to a 6-1 record at the junior world championships.

If you listen to retiring Fire captain Rachael McCully, with his knowledge of international basketball and fanatical workrate, Lucas will bring more than just defensive starch to the Kiwis.

"I've never seen anyone put in so much work as Chris does in front of his computer screen with the tapes running," she said.

"It is unbelievable, we'll go shoot at 7:30am and he's been there since 6am and he won't leave until training at 7pm."

The first study assignment for the Tall Ferns coaching staff is Australia ahead of August's FIBA Oceania Women's Championship, which will book one team into the athletes's village in Rio.

Given Townsville star Suzy Batkovic is headlining the Opals outfit on their upcoming European tour, along with WNBL grand final opponents Kelly Wilson, Belinda Snell, Sara Blicavs and Tessa Lavey, have no doubt Lucas will be providing plenty of insight into the scouting report.

Game 1 at the 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne is a tough assignment for the New Zealanders, but they've struck back with a different kind of home-court advantage for the second leg on 17 August.

The Tall Ferns will play at ASB Arena in Tauranga, a cosy venue that sits around 4,000 people and will provide a hostile atmosphere if the hosts can apply the clamps to their more highly-fancied rivals.

The game breaks from recent tradition, where the women would play as a curtain raiser for the Tall Blacks, and that’s for good reason according to Basketball New Zealand CEO Iain Potter.

"We are serious about improving the profile and performances of our Tall Ferns team," he said.

"Providing a stand-alone game is one way of ensuring that they have the attention very much on them that night.

"This will be a chance for Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region to get in behind a very talented bunch of players as they go head to head with one of the premier women's sports teams on the planet."

There have been some respectable performances in recent times, but to truly capture the New Zealand public's imagination, the Tall Ferns must make a stand on home turf and make life very difficult for the Opals.

It's easier said than done, but with Lucas on board they have certainly improved the odds.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

Paulo Kennedy

Paulo Kennedy

Paulo has joined our team of columnists with a weekly column called 'The View from Downunder', where he looks at pertinent issues in the world of basketball from an Oceania perspective, perhaps different to the predominant points of view from columnists in North America and Europe.