Captain Hyrum leads from front

Former Adelaide forward Hyrum Harris is headed to Perth with a new basketball experience under his belt, after leading the Hawke’s Bay Hawks this past NZNBL season.

The Tall Blacks representative was elected to captain the side heading into the new campaign, where the Hawks fell in the finals to eventual champions Canterbury. It followed a historic 17-point final quarter fightback.

Harris averaged 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game across the season with the Hawks, and says he enjoyed the challenges of captaining the side.

“It was a bit of a different experience this year being the captain,” he told Wildcats Media. “It was a lot of learning, a lot of lessons. We had our ups and downs but eventually made it to the playoffs. We were in a good position to win but, unfortunately, we just didn’t get past the first round.

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“Mid-way through the season we were questioning if we were going to make the playoffs … there were all those doubts that everybody had, and then for us to win that final game was a huge sigh of relief, to know we achieved a goal a lot of people didn’t think we were capable of.”

Harris’ performances with the 36ers in NBL23 – and then the Hawks in the NZNBL – have led him to be selected in New Zealand’s 14-man roster ahead of the FIBA World Cup.

There are still two names to be trimmed from the squad that heads to the tournament proper, but the 27-year-old has a chance to stake his claim in pre-tournament clashes with Japan, and then the FIBA SuperCup against Germany, Canada and China.

He registered two points in the team's first-up defeat to Japan on Wednesday night.

Harris says while he obviously hopes to be in the final group that will head to the tournament, he’s always proud to be involved in the Tall Blacks setup.

“I’ve done Asia Cup qualifiers and World Cup qualifiers, but I’ve never been part of a World Cup squad,” he said.

“It’s just an awesome opportunity to be around those that love the country, and love to represent the country to the best of their abilities.

“When you have guys who have been around the Tall Blacks program you can pick their brains and ask them questions, and see how they act.

“They just show you what it’s like to wear the black singlet with pride.

“Even If I’m only there for camp, I’m still always grateful to be a part of it.”

The Tall Blacks will face Jordon, Greece and the United States in group play of the World Cup.