He was her adorable baby brother, but now he’s 6' 10" and playing for the Tall Blacks. Fair Go presenter Pippa Wetzell writes about panic cleaning to cope with her nerves when Yanni Wetzell plays a big game.
I sat and watched the Tall Blacks play Jordan in their second World Cup Match in the Philippines. Then I stood and watched. Then I paced and watched. And midway through the fourth quarter when pacing wasn’t enough I started panic cleaning anything within eyesight of the TV.
My sisters and I sent each other messages like "heart racing" and "I do not understand how these fouls work" while my daughters and my niece in Dunedin sent covert snaps of their respective mothers shouting and cheering. And fretting and cleaning.
We’re basketball fans for sure, but it’s a particularly gnarly watch when your little brother is playing.
That little brother is 6’10” Tall Blacks centre, Yanni Wetzell, so "little" in age only. He’s 19 years younger than me so he never got to be annoying [maybe he saved that for our sister, Georgie, who’s just a few years older than Yanni].
Instead, I got to hang out with him when he was a really adorable toddler, and he became the ultimate funcle to his adoring nieces and nephews when he was still in his tweens.
Yanni’s been playing professional basketball for a few years now. He currently plays for Euroleague team Alba Berlin [because I’m a proud big sister, I’m going to tell you non-basketball fans that the Euroleague is a pretty big deal], but this is his first tour with the Tall Blacks.
Watching him as the anthem plays and doing the haka is pretty special. He's worked really hard to get here – he had some tough seasons, including missing out on "March Madness" [the massive US college tournament] because of Covid and then suiting up for the Breakers in the 21/22 season [based only a few km's from where he grew up] and not getting to play a single home game.
So watching live as he came on the court as a starter for the Tall Blacks during their first World Cup game early on Sunday morning felt extra special, especially as they were playing USA with its team of NBA stars.
My basketball-mad 12-year-old son gave me a rundown on all the players and then promptly got involved in the commentary – sadly no panic cleaning from him!
Funnily enough, when Yanni was 12 he wasn’t basketball mad. He played rugby and water polo and a lot of tennis.
Basketball didn’t feature much until he was about 16 – growing close to a foot in the space of a year probably helped a lot – but starting late meant he had to be a bit pushy to get noticed by the American College system.
His first two years were at a Division 2 college in Texas, before he left and made himself available to be selected by another college – hoping a Division 1 team would pick him up, but with no guarantee.
He needn’t have worried as it all worked out for the best. He finished his US college years at Division 1 team San Diego State, qualifying for March Madness after a 26-game winning streak.
He knows I’m writing this piece. He said it was fine "only if you touch on how I’m your favourite sibling". That’s a tough call [there’s a lot of us!] and I don’t want him getting complacent, but I have to say I’m really very proud; not just because of his achievements on court but because he’s a pretty spectacular person all round.
He’s the son who knows his parents are his fiercest supporters, the brother who always has time for you and the uncle who will show up early morning at the kids’ basketball training when he’s in town to help out. But enough of that carry on. I’ll never live it down – my sisters will hassle me mercilessly as only siblings can.
The team plays Greece early Thursday morning. It’ll be a tough match, but there’s two things I know for sure – the Tall Blacks will put in a fearless effort and my house will be immaculate by the end of the game.
The Tall Blacks play Greece in the FIBA Men’s World Cup at 12:25am tomorrow. Watch live games, replays and highlights free on TVNZ+
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