Jeremiah becomes a Tall Black | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

Ex-local Jeremiah Trueman has been selected for the Tall Blacks Basketball Team to play Australia before the final team is announced for the 2006 World Championships. Jeremiah was a 2005 Junior Tall Black and has just finished his freshman year at San Diego Christian College in America. He has recently finished playing for the Nelson Giants in the National Basketball League. Jeremiah took up basketball six years ago. He said he played soccer until he was 13 because his parents were missionaries in Brazil, but he decided to hit the courts when they returned to New Zealand. Jeremiah said one good thing for the Tall Blacks, is that he is still growing. He said some days he has growing pains, looks in the mirror and thinks he has shot up, but he said he is the perfect size to still provide a threat from the inside and outside. However, now he has to match up against the likes of NBA star Andrew Bogut and the best the Australians have to offer. Trueman is not overawed by the challenge, pointing out that while Bogut was the NBA No 1 draft pick, it is still five on five, so it is about team execution. Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin will not give away how many minutes Trueman is likely to play against the Australians, but said he will suit up in at least one game. The team play Australia tonight (Wednesday July 12) in Napier as part of the Jeep International series. Jeremiah (19) and Ben Hill (27) join what is otherwise an experienced international roster of 14, which will be cut by 2 before the next games. From this, the final team head to South America where they will play Brazil, Argentina, Qatar and Venezuela before the world champs, which are in Hiroshima, Japan, this August. The team of 30 was cut to 14 for the Australian series, which shows great chances for the ex-local 2.05m tall centre. Tab Baldwin said Jeremiah was selected through the unavailability of veterans Sean Marks and Ed Book. "Trueman is one of our tested juniors with size and the same old story applies ... size gets you through the door in New Zealand. From there, you have to prove yourself." The current Tall Blacks are as follows: Dillon Boucher, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Ben Hill, Phill Jones, Aaron Olson, Kirk Penney, Tony Rampton, Jeremiah Trueman, Mika Vukona, Paora Winitana.