Paul henare biography

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He has also competed professionally in First Revision Yugoslavia in 2002-2003 with OKK Beograd.

He was a part of the inaugural New Zealand Breakers team in 2003 and was a New Zealand Breakers co-captain for the 2004-2005 season, before becoming the full-time captain for the 2005-2006 season.

He also played for the Hawke"s Bay Hawks of the New Zealand NBL and Bandırma Banvit of the Turkish Basketball League.

Playing Career

Paul Henare's professional playing career spanned from 1995 to 2014, making a significant impact in both domestic and international leagues, as well as with the New Zealand national team.

2.1. John Rillie (4.3 points and 1.6 rebounds), who had been released by Townsville the season prior, signed with the club as a interim replacement and appeared in 12 games.

New Zealand was then boosted by the midseason addition of import Kevin Braswell (9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.3 steals), who played in the Breakers final seven games, winning the last six in a row.

New Zealand’s late-season surge proved to be in vain, as the Breakers missed the playoffs during one of the closest NBL seasons of all-time.

In 2019, he returned to the New Zealand NBL to coach the Wellington Saints, leading them to another championship title. Having played with one import last season, Rick Rickert, the Breakers added Dave Thomas (via Cairns) to add veteran leadership to the club but prior to the season starting, he was forced to retire from playing in the NBL due to injury.

Back at home for game three on 29 April 2011, the Breakers recorded a comfortable 71–53 win to claim their maiden NBL title, becoming the first New Zealand side to win a major Australian championship. Henare competed for New Zealand at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane and the 2003 International Basketball Federation Oceania Championship.

Henare averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, appearing in all 32 of the Breakers’ games.

Lemanis’ first season in charge was not particularly memorable. Japan B.League Coaching

In October 2019, Paul Henare signed a three-year contract to become the head coach of the Kagawa Five Arrows, a team in Japan's second division, the B.League.

paul henare biography

Despite New Zealand being only two games behind league leaders Perth, they would miss the playoffs and finish in fifth place (15-13).

Henare would appear in all 28 games and average 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.

2010/11
In 2010, Mika Vukona returned to the Breakers after winning a championship with the South Dragons in 2009 and spending the season prior with Gold Coast.

Lastly, Casey Frank, a long-time import in the New Zealand national league, was signed as the team’s second import.

Jeff Green was implemented as the team’s first coach and, despite the Breakers being picked by many to finish dead last, they pulled out a win in their very first NBL game against Adelaide (111-110).

After initial success, the Breakers went on to lose ten of their next eleven games (proving the pundits right) to languish near the bottom of the NBL ladder for the remainder of the season.

Twelve games into the season (2-10), Green was fired and succeeded by the team’s assistant coach Frank Arsego, who had also headed up the basketball program at the Australian Institute of Sport for the past five years.

National Team Player Career

Paul Henare made his debut for the Tall Blacks in 1998. The next move was locking in the Breakers’ leading scorer and MVP from the previous season, Mike Chappell, and replacing import Casey Frank with Shawn Redhage, who had been dominating the state league (SEABL).

Ben Melmeth would return to his hometown of Newcastle to play for the Hunter Pirates.

In 2009, he had a brief stint with the Christchurch Cougars, and in 2010, he played his final season with the Hawks. A clear mistake had been made there, however, as shortly after taking the court, it was clear Timmons was no longer the player he was back when he joined the Melbourne Tigers mid-season in 1997 and led them to a championship.

Chappell (18 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season, while Aaron Olson would boost his scoring from 10.8 points per game to 15.5 points per game and win the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.

Henare appeared in 32 games and averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4 assists, while the Breakers finished in eleventh place (9-23), failing to improve on their debut season.

2005/06
With the Breakers still searching for their first winning season, they chose not to re-sign Mike Chappell, the Breakers’ leading scorer from the past two seasons and appointed a new head coach Andrej Lemanis.

Bruton etched his name into Breakers folklore when he nailed two three-pointers in the fourth quarter of the championship-deciding game to seal the game against the Cairns Taipans, while Thomas Abercrombie collected Grand Final MVP honours.

Henare would retire after leading the Breakers to their first championship.

Paul Henare played eight seasons the New Zealand Breakers.

The Breakers moved Frank Arsego, who had replaced Jeff Green mid-season, into a permanent position as the team’s head coach. Player Achievements

As a player, Henare's notable achievements include:

  • NBL champion (2011) with the New Zealand Breakers.
  • 3-time NZNBL champion (1999, 2000 with Auckland Stars; 2006 with Hawke's Bay Hawks).
  • 5-time NZNBL assist champion (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009).
  • His jersey number 32 was retired by the New Zealand Breakers, making him the first player in the club's history to receive this honor.

4.2.

But, the loss of Bruton to a high-ankle sprain in late December saw the Breakers stumbled through January to lose eight of their next nine games.

Heading into the playoffs with a win in their last game regular season game, the Breakers finished with a 18–12 record, setting the team up with their first ever home playoff game.

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BIO: Paul Donald Henare was born in Napier (NZ) and attended Napier Boys’ High School. In their first-ever semi finals appearance, the Breakers were beaten 2–0.

Henare would average 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3 assists over the course of the Breakers’ season.

2009/10
Having achieved their first-ever playoff appearance the season prior, coach Andrej Lemanis returned with the majority of Breakers roster intact, losing only Phill Jones (to Cairns) and Tim Behrendorff (to Wollongong).

Tied 60–60 at the end of regulation and 73–73 at the end of the first overtime, it was Cairns who prevailed 85–81 to send the series to a third and deciding game. Arsego would then bring in Mike Chappell (22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists), who finished top five in the league in both points and three-point shooting while playing in Canberra the season before.