By BRENDON EGAN - The Southland Times

Nelson Giants head coach Chris Tupu believes Southland must secure two marquee Tall Blacks signings if they are to be a force in next year's national basketball league.

Southland were awarded a three-year licence last week by the national league board and will play in New Zealand's premier basketball competition for the first time next season if they can come up with the necessary funding.

If Southland want to be competitive and attract a strong fan base in their inaugural season, Tupu said they had to build their team around two high-profile New Zealand players.

"The number one thing you need to do is make sure you get one or two big-name Kiwi players. That's really important," Tupu said.

Possible targets for Southland might include workaholic New Zealand Breakers forward Dillon Boucher, lively point guard Lindsay Tait or Tall Black legend Pero Cameron. If the franchise was looking outside Australasia, European-based Kiwis like Brendon Polyblank or Craig Bradshaw would be valuable additions if they wanted to return to New Zealand and stay in shape over the off-season.

In the past, some national league sides have concentrated on snapping up American imports, before signing New Zealand players, but Tupu – who has coached Nelson for the past two years and is assistant coach of the Tall Blacks – said that was full of risk. "It's always a lottery with imports. You get the Pacific shrink. They say they're 6 foot 8, but when they come across the Pacific, they're only 6 foot 6."

Each national league side is allowed two import players.

Tupu believed Southland would be an attractive destination for Kiwi basketballers who were looking for a change in scenery. Invercargill had a tertiary institution in the SIT, was a new franchise without baggage and had a passionate bunch of people involved with the running of Southland basketball.

Tupu's Nelson Giants have been one of the dominant forces in the national league since their inception and are considered the benchmark for smalltown sporting success in New Zealand.

Their squad is nearly always made up of homegrown players and they do a fantastic job bringing emerging talents through the system.

Southland would love to eventually follow in the Giants' footsteps and copy their successful model if they make it into the league but Tupu said fans in the south had to be patient.

"(Tall Black coach) Nenad Vucinic has worked tirelessly over the years. He's created a culture. We've got a sound infrastructure and we've got some good people involved. We're a reasonably no-nonsense franchise ...

"It will take time.We've always been known for our basketball in Nelson. It's a big tradition."

brendon.egan@stl.co.nz