Glen Ivan Denham (born 1963 or 1964) is a New Zealand former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent.

Early life

Denham was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the son of a teacher and butcher. His father was Australian and his mother was of

descent. He is the second of three children and grew up in Corstorphine, where he attended Corstorphine Primary School, and later Macandrew Intermediate School. Denham went to King's High School from 1977 to 1982, where he was Head Boy. Whilst attending King's, Denham played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and hit 100 runs against Shirley Boys in 1982, and won the Salter Trophy, which is awarded to the school's sportsman of the year. Denham attended

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1982, where he met his future wife and graduated with a Bachelor of Teaching. Whilst at university, Denham played for the Otago University men's basketball club.

Basketball career

Denham made his NBL debut in 1986 for the

Waikato Pistons The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School. After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Pist ...

, later moving to play for the Canterbury Rams, winning championships in 1989 and 1990. He moved back to Dunedin, where his 1991 debut for the

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Night 'n Day Otago ...

ranked number 121 in the

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

2011 list of greatest moments in Otago sport. Denham left the club in 1997, but returned in 1999. During his international career between 1984 and 1999, he captained the

Tall Blacks The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...

for 13 years, setting a record as the longest standing captain in Tall Blacks history. He was also named most outstanding New Zealand forward three times. He played in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where New Zealand placed 13th, with Denham averaging seven points per game.

Education career

Denham spent 15 years working at schools in the United Kingdom, before returning to New Zealand as principal of

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 it w ...

. In 2022, he was appointed Headmaster of

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

References

External links

*
"Slam-dunking cancer: How basketball great Glen Denham found his true calling in education"
at stuff.co.nz {{DEFAULTSORT:Denham, Glen 1960s births Living people Canterbury Rams players New Zealand men's basketball players New Zealand educators Otago Nuggets players People educated at King's High School, Dunedin 1986 FIBA World Championship players Waikato Pistons players