Tall Blacks teammates off court careers crossover in NBL

Tall Blacks Jarrod Kenny Mika Vukona
Photo: Collage

Two former Tall Blacks teammates will be going head to head in the opening game of the NBL season in a role more aligned with budgets than baskets.

Six months ago, 70-cap Tall Black Jarrod Kenny transitioned into the head office of the Hawke’s Bay Hawks and took on the role of general manager for the NBL team he had been around since the mid 2000s.

Further north one of New Zealand’s most capped players Mika Vukona took on the same role at the same time for the Franklin Bulls.

Kenny and Vukona played together for the now defunct Harbour Heat in the NBL in 2008, then played against each other for several NBL seasons in New Zealand and Australia while also being Tall Blacks teammates at various tournaments between 2009 and 2021. Now their off court careers are also crossing over.

Kenny is honest that his shift to the office was not originally part of his plan and he still has a lot to learn.

Considering a career in coaching and player development after his playing days with the Cairns Taipans were over, Kenny answered the call to switch paths to the Hawks’ general manager role when his predecessor Andi Leydesdorff needed to focus on her sporting goods business and family.

Kenny is still deciphering some of the business speak but is fluent in what a successful basketball team needs.

“It has definitely been baptism by fire, especially since the cyclone and the floods, I’d been to university and did a physiotherapy degree 15 odd years ago since then had been playing basketball full-time and it’s definitely a big change of pace and outside my comfort zone but I enjoy challenges, I’m learning every day and I’ve made no secret that this is all new to me and I’m going to be asking for help.

“Building relationships though basketball along my journey and career has been important and the thing that I have learnt is it’s more about the people that you have around you and their attitudes moreso than their skillset. I think as long as people have a positive attitude and are willing to get stuck in and do the work then we will be successful moreso than just having talented people around.”

The devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke’s Bay region did cause the Hawks to consider whether going ahead with the NBL season was the right choice.

“For us it was a touch and go decision of do we carry on, was it disrespectful to still go ahead, and after a lot of conversations we realised that we need to push through as we’d already committed to a lot of things and we thought it was important for the community to have a bit of relief, a place to go on a Friday, Saturday night and enjoy themselves and get away from the day-to-day grind.”

The biggest hit the Hawks took from the flooding was with sponsors who could no longer commit.

Appointing new coaches for this season, which tips off on 6 April, were among the first tasks for both new general managers.

Kenny brought in former Tall Black and Hawke’s Bay local Everard Bartlett to guide the Hawks, while Vukona signed the New Zealand Breakers assistant coach Daniel Sokolovsky to be the Bulls’ fourth head coach in as many seasons.

Getting Bartlett into the role was not a straight forward process according to Kenny but he is pleased with his choice.

“He’s kinda in the same spot as myself in that he is inexperienced and relatively new to coaching but I know where he comes from and what his values are and what he wants to achieve so I have faith he is doing his absolute best to make us successful.”

Jarrod Kenny and Hyrum Harris playing against each other.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Bartlett has a roster stacked with Tall Blacks who want to lock in selection for this year’s FIBA World Cup to work with, including Hyrum Harris, Jordan Ngatai, Ethan Rusbatch and Derome Ruakawa.

Despite the importance of the NBL for the players ahead of the global event, Kenny says Bartlett has not made any guarantees.

“He’s made no promises that you’re going to get X amount of minutes, it’s if you work hard you perform then you’ll have that opportunity to get out on court and display what you’re capable of but we have a number of guys obviously competing for 12 spots on that Tall Blacks team and I know all of them are hungry and I know that’s their goal and I think that’s the beauty of bringing these guys in we don’t just have one guy we’ve got five or six or several guys that every day they challenge each other so it only makes us better as a team as well and I think that is a benefit of having all these guys.”

Kenny will also suit up for the Hawks for a 14th season.

Working with start-up clubs has been a big part of Vukona’s journey off the basketball court.

Vukona arrived in Pukekohe from Tasmania where he was working as a consultant with the Australian NBL side the Tasmania JackJumpers which recently completed a second season in the league across the Tasman.

Mika Vukona playing in the NBL for Nelson Giants.
Photo: Photosport

The Bulls were not part of the NBL when Vukona was playing in New Zealand but when he was appointed to the role last year he said the team that entered the league in 2020 had high aspirations of becoming one of New Zealand’s top organisations – not only on the court but also out in the community.

“To now have the opportunity to be part of that, being able to help build on the Franklin Bulls vision, using not only the experiences I’ve picked up during my playing days but also over the last couple years during my retirement, it has enabled me to get a more holistic view and approach on how the game is operated, participated and played.

“With this experience I hope to build a programme that the community is proud of.”

The Bulls’ links to the Breakers is already paying off. American small forward Jamaal Brantley, the brother of Breakers standout Jarrell, will join the Bulls roster for the NZNBL alongside fellow Breakers Dan Fotu and Isaac Davidson.