The Canberra Capitals have added a Kiwi flavour to their ranks with Kennedy Kereama joining Paul Goriss' coaching staff ahead of the WNBL campaign.
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The former New Zealand Tall Ferns coach has been on the books at the West Coast Waves (now Perth Lynx), Christchurch Sirens, Dandenong Rangers and Melbourne Boomers.
Now he arrives at the Capitals' University of Canberra base as the club eyes its season opener in Sydney on December 5.
Kennedy is the current coaching director for the Sunbury Basketball Association in Victoria and the coach of the Knox Raiders NBL1 outfit, and joins Carly Wilson as Goriss' assistant coaches while Aiden Barnett joins the club as a development coach.
"I've had plenty of backside kickings coaching both New Zealand and in the WNBL in Canberra here so I joked at least in this gym I haven't had a loss, there's not as much PTSD when I walk into the stadium," Kereama joked.
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"You see more and more WNBA players in the league now, more full-time coaches in the league. When I was last in the league, it was myself and maybe Carrie [Graf] who might have been the only full-time coaches. Everyone else had full-time jobs on top of that so now it's great to see the league evolve to where it has evolved to."
Western Australia's border stance has forced the WNBL to revamp its fixture with the Perth Lynx on the hunt for an interstate base.
The competition begins on December 4 but Perth won't play until January 2, and will not host a game in Western Australia until February 20. They will be made to play home games against Townsville, the Capitals and Bendigo elsewhere with the league looking to find the club a temporary home.
A Capitals home game against Adelaide replaces a scheduled game against Sydney in their first key change. The update means the Capitals will no longer play on January 13, but another home game has been added on February 2.
"If you look throughout the team here, I think every single player in some form has played at the COE, played for an Australian junior team, played a lot of WNBL, played in the Opals, or played elite level collegiate basketball," Kereama said.
"For a lot of us, we're seasoned in having to get on planes, having to get on buses. For us, it's business as usual for the group of players we have here.
"Draws will change, and that's the thing we've had to get used to with COVID, things will change and we have to be able to adjust very quickly at the drop of a hat. We have the experience and the pros within the group here to be able to deal with that."
CANBERRA CAPITALS 2021-22 FIXTURE
Round one: Sunday, December 5 - Sydney Flames v Canberra Capitals at Sydney Super Dome, 12.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round two: Sunday, December 12 - Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at National Convention Centre, 5pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round three: Sunday, December 19 - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at National Convention Centre, 4pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round four: Wednesday, December 22 - Canberra Capitals v Bendigo Spirit at National Convention Centre, 7.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round five: Friday, December 31 - Townsville Fire v Canberra Capitals at Townsville Entertainment Centre, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round six: Saturday, January 8 - Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at Gippsland Indoor Sports Stadium, 5pm. Broadcast on Foxtel and ABC.
Round eight: Wednesday, January 19 - Perth Lynx v Canberra Capitals at TBC, 7.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round eight: Friday, January 21 - Canberra Capitals v Southside Flyers at TBC, 7.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round eight: Sunday, January 23 - Canberra Capitals v Bendigo Spirit at National Convention Centre, 1pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round nine: Friday, January 28 - Canberra Capitals v Melbourne Boomers at National Convention Centre, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round nine: Sunday, January 30 - Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Lightsview Community Centre, 2.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round 10: Wednesday, February 2 - Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at National Convention Centre, 6pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round 10: Saturday, February 5 - Canberra Capitals v Southside Flyers at National Convention Centre, 5pm. Broadcast on Foxtel and ABC.
Round 11: Saturday, February 19 - Canberra Capitals v Townsville Fire at National Convention Centre, 5pm. Broadcast on Foxtel and ABC.
Round 12: Friday, February 25 - Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at Melbourne Sports Centre, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round 12: Sunday, February 27 - Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx at National Convention Centre, 6pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round 13, Indigenous round: Thursday, March 3 - Townsville Fire v Canberra Capitals at Townsville Entertainment Centre, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round 14: Friday, March 11 - Perth Lynx v Canberra Capitals at Bendat Basketball Centre, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round 14: Sunday, March 13 - Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Lightsview Community Centre, 3pm. Broadcast on Kayo Freebies.
Round 15: Sunday, March 20 - Bendigo Spirit v Canberra Capitals at Bendigo Stadium, 3.30pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
Round 16: Friday, March 25 - Southside Flyers v Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, 7pm. Broadcast on Kayo.
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