Tall Fern Micaela Cocks Photo: Supplied
With 145 games to her name, Micaela Cocks played more times for the Tall Ferns than any other athlete and has now retired from international basketball after 17 years in the black jersey.
The veteran guard played in countless major tournaments, from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Commonwealth Games to the 3x3 Asia Cup, and earned a reputation as a hard-nosed player and a leader on and off the court.
The decision to retire from the Tall Ferns came after a long period of reflection, she said, as she prepared for the birth of her second child.
"It wasn't a sudden decision for me, it just kind of happened over time as I was starting a family. I might still decide to play domestically (in NBL1) after my next baby, or I might not; it's still open for me," Cocks said.
"The main reason for my retirement is to concentrate on family. My daughter Hazel is 3 now, and although I've been to a couple of Tall Ferns camps I haven't been in a competition since 2019 thanks to Covid. I've just found that I wanted to put Hazel first and I didn't want to take her out of her routine all the time to drag her off to an overseas competition.
"Also with my age [turning 38 in May], there's a really good group of younger players coming through the ranks so now just feels like a good time to step away. I don't want to be the old slow person on the squad, and if I'm in something then I want to be 100 percent committed to it - and I couldn't do that with this group."
Cocks grew up in Auckland, attending Takapuna Grammar and representing North Harbour as a teenager. She first debuted for the Tall Ferns as an 18-year-old, suiting up for the 2005 William Jones Cup in Taiwan; the following year she was part of a New Zealand squad that won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
When she also appeared at the 2018 Gold Coast Games - claiming bronze - she became the first Tall Fern to appear in multiple Commonwealth Games.
Micaela Cocks Photo: Supplied
Arguably her pinnacle achievement came in 2008, when she played at the Beijing Olympics - all while juggling a college-playing career for the University of Oregon Ducks in the United States.
"Making that team at 21 years old was intense and surreal.
"I can look back on it now and think 'I had no idea what I was doing', I was raw as a player back then but I tried really hard; I was just so happy to be there and I couldn't really imagine myself ever being in the starting five for this team. I remember looking at the other players like Angela [Marino] and Aneka [Kerr] and thinking 'wow they are amazing'.
"I can't really remember the details of the games as much as I remember the moments I had with the people on that trip. And the atmosphere, that eerie feeling when you were walking around the Olympic village - you almost felt like a tourist, but then you had to remind yourself that you're here as an athlete on the world stage.
"One memory that stands out for me was the Olympic food hall; we'd go and get our dinners as a team, and you'd see like Usain Bolt eating chicken McNuggets, or you'd walk past Michael Phelps and he's eating like eight plates of dinner as he needed a huge calorie intake. You'd be eating next to these big superstars that you only ever read about, so being amongst them was amazing."
She subsequently participated in Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2012 and 2016, with the Tall Ferns falling short on Olympic qualification both times.
In 2018, Cocks helped the 3x3 Tall Ferns to win gold at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, where she was named the tournament MVP. The following year she was named to the All-Star Five at the 2019 William Jones Cup, averaging 17.2ppg as New Zealand finished second. That same year she was the Tall Ferns leading scorer at the 2019 FIBA Asia Cup, averaging 10.8ppg.
She last suited up for the Tall Ferns in 2022, joining the squad in Melbourne for a four-game friendly series versus a trio of WNBL teams.
Tall Ferns Micaela Cocks. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"It's the easiest jersey to put on, it's never been a question for me. You feel immense pride when you wear the Tall Ferns jersey, and it's all because of the people and the family atmosphere of the team - I'm playing for New Zealand, but also for my teammates who are like my family. I don't feel that way when I put on a jersey for other teams, so it's special."
As Cocks' off-court life changed and she balanced being a mother and an athlete, she said she felt supported.
"Out of all the teams I've ever played for, the Tall Ferns were always the most accommodating; I never felt like a burden to the team because I had a child. The other players would bend over backwards to help and to make me - and Hazel when she was with me - part of the team.
"It's been difficult at times. To balance being both a mum and a professional athlete is one thing, but it's also bringing in an income for my family. You need to be financially stable to raise a family, that's been one of the big personal challenges for me really.
"It's getting better for female athletes that want to have children - the WNBA now have a maternity clause in player contracts for example - but they're still got a long way to go."
While Cocks will not make another Olympics, she was confident the Tall Ferns would do so in the near future.
