16th June 2009

AT 1.86m Rangi Kennedy accepts he's vertically challenged in the world of basketball.

Not that the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks guard lets that bring him down in the National Basketball League (NBL) arena during his sporadic bursts from the bench.

Just ask 2m-plus Taranaki import Eric Vierneisel who got into a tangle with the Hawke's Bay-born Kennedy in last Friday night's victory.

"I didn't want Eric to think I was intimidated in any way," he tells SportToday before tonight's must-win quarterfinal match against the Wellington Saints at the TSB Arena in the capital city.

His major asset, he believes, is in his "natural strength", something he acquired while playing rugby as a child considering he doesn't pump iron in a gym.

"I'm a lot stronger than most guys and so I'm happy to guard people much taller than me.

"I'll have a lot of energy tomorrow night [tonight] and when the coach puts me out there I'm going to be sticking like glue on who ever I end up marking.

"I'll be happy to jump over anyone to get those rebounds."

So what drives the former Hastings Boys' High School student on the court?

Mum's definitely the word - his mother, Priscilla Kennedy, has been the 19-year-old's primary source of motivation.

"She loves what I'm doing and really enjoys it. I've got my goals and when I'm there I want to give them back to mum," says Kennedy whose father, Sam, died when he was 5 years old.

"Mum has been like a father and mother to us for all those years. Both my parents gave us an awesome life."

In his second season with the Hawks, Kennedy's dedication is reflected in his commitment to training in the off season.

Built like a prop who would do any rugby team proud, he acknowledges his growing appetite meant he had to keep his waistline in check to remain in a squad he has been training with since he was a 16-year-old schoolboy.

"I was a bit overweight so I did a lot of running [in the off season], kept shooting the ball and did a lot of work after I went home."

Sitting on the bench for a good part of two seasons did test his patience but Kennedy remained focus.

"I found it enjoyable sitting there watching some of the best athletes from New Zealand play. It was great to be in that environment and learning from the calibre of such players.

"I know my day will come and am prepared to wait," says the player who last Friday nailed three three-pointers to the delight of the Hawks bench who gave him a standing ovation.

He plays the team card, saying when coach Shawn Dennis lets him loose on the court he tries to lift the team morale and boost their chances of winning.

"It's an awesome feeling to be in your hometown showing your family, friends and fans in the stands that you can play," says the young man who believes his heart will always be with the Hawks. Other Bay players in the Hawks squad are all guards - Everard Bartlett, cousin Thomas Bartlett, Haylen Tahau and Reece Tuala-Fata - but only Everard Bartlett is a regular starter.

The team's Bay beacons in the previous, Tall Blacks and ex-Hawks co-captains Paul Henare and Paora Winitana, have been roosting with NBL newcomers the Christchurch Cougars after the Hawks franchise could not match their contracts.

But Kennedy has been catching Dennis' eye lately, slowing but surely eating away at his mortgage and becoming an asset on the court.

It took just one Waikato Pistons' NBL game in Hamilton, where the family stayed for a few years, for the then primary pupil to give up rugby when he started high school in Hastings.

Oddly enough, he relished time among the forwards as he was considered one of the taller players at high school but that quickly changed when he mixed it up with the NBL boys.

"I was strong so I fitted in well and it didn't take much of an adjustment. It was more on the mental side of things."

The mental fortitude, on and off court, is something he attributes to Hawks general manager and former Hawks and HBHS coach Curtis Wooten.

"He kept me on track. I was sometimes getting into trouble at school drinking and I didn't like school work.

"I just went to school to open my lunchbox so Curtis helped me out a lot there."

Kennedy, whose US scholarship hopes were dashed after high school because he couldn't find $30,000 to meet the expense, plans to make the Tall Blacks in five years and stay put there until hanging up his boots.