Shane Heal: Why we don’t ‘need an Aussie’ as next Boomers coach

The Boomers need to think outside the box as they look to the future after their heartbreaking Olympics exit, writes Shane Heal.

COMMENT

What an Olympic Games it was. From a basketball perspective I think these Games were as good as we have ever seen, with 70 NBA players on show over and above the 12 with team USA.

With less than three minutes remaining in the gold medal game, the Americans only held a three-point lead. That was until Steph Curry decided to do what Steph does … … hit four amazing threes in a row.

He ultimately sunk the French in front of a sold-out arena and raucous home crowd.

You have to believe that the French will continue to be a force into the future with their young superstar Victoria Wembanyama. He will only keep getting better and has the chance to be the best player in the world over time.

One thing is for sure — the rest of the world continues to catch up to America and the Americans know it!

After pushing the US in the semi-finals, Nikola Jokic and his Serbian mates knocked off reigning world champions Germany for bronze in what was a dominant display.

Australia's coach Brian Goorjian is moving on after a long stint with the Boomers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)

The big negative for me from the Olympics is the way the initial pool games are now set up.

With three pools of four countries, it means each team only has three games before moving through or being eliminated.

I much prefer how it used to be – two pools with six teams, where every country had five guaranteed pool games.

After preparing for four years, playing endless round of FIBA tournaments and qualifiers, every nation that makes it to the Olympics deserves more than three games!

For the Boomers it was only one win despite our most talented team ever, but tournament play provides a fine line between success and failure.

The Boomers led Serbia by 24 points in the first half only to go down in an overtime thriller. They win that game and they are competing for medals.

Brian Goorjian has since announced that he would not move forward as the Boomers Head Coach after being knocked out of the quarterfinals.

Brian has been our most successful coach of all time, helping the Boomers win their first ever medal.

He dedicated 16 years to the program over two stints and his passion and dedication for his adopted country makes his contribution special.

He has left this team in a great place to move forward with future success and medals.

The search for a new coach must start pretty quickly and Basketball Australia must be aggressive and simultaneously thorough in their process.

There’s one part of me that thinks we need an Aussie as our next head coach. But there’s another part that thinks we should be throwing everything at a (Philadelphia 76ers coach) Nick Nurse type coach.

76ers coach Nick Nurse is one of the sharpest tactical minds in basketball. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Shane Heal says the Boomers need to look at what the European teams do well. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Someone with the highest experience and who’s prepared to do something different, one that can relate to our NBA guys and have automatic respect.

I also like that Nurse has coached in Europe and in the international game in charge of Canada and isn’t scared to try different things.

Regardless of who Basketabll Australia ultimately choose, I believe that we must have a European coach as an assistant coach for the Boomers. Three of the top four countries at the Olympics were European.

They are the countries we must beat and to do that we must understand them. We must be able to prepare for them and also take some of their strategies and build our own identity. Three of the assistant coaches in this campaign are all working at the highest level in America.

That’s great, but we will not be consistently successful playing an up tempo, pick and roll game like the USA and Canada.

We don’t have the same ability and pieces to beat them at their game.

The Boomers bowed out in the quarterfinals. Photo: Adam Head

This was an area I felt that we failed at this Olympics. We neglected to move without the ball and we were reluctant to move the ball. Goorjian called it “hero ball” after the bad loss to Greece.

We need to find a balance as part of our identity by looking to run when we can, and walk the ball at other stages.

Use Josh Giddey’s talent in pick and rolls but balance it with ball movement and some sort of structure that maximises our strengths. We need to control the tempo and be better at feeling the game and what is needed at key points in a game.

There is no doubt that Josh Giddey is our best player moving forward. His upside could be greater than any Aussie ever seen for the Boomers.

Jock Landale is another key ingredient into the Boomers rebuild, a tough and reliable big man that proved he is world class. Dyson Daniels and Dante Exum were the other key players that I see the future being built around.

Josh Giddey has the keys to the Boomers now. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

We have talented players coming through, but they need to establish themselves as pros before just handing them automatic spots on the team.

You have to earn this jersey and some players simply don’t step up at the international level. Even ones that dominate in the NBL and college. It’s just different.

While plans need to be made for the future, we must also pay our respects to Patty Mills and Joe Ingles. Five Olympic Games appearances each is an incredible effort.

They have sacrificed so much and always put our country at the forefront, representing us all with pride and class. They will go down as two of our all-time greats who both helped lead the Boomers to our first ever elusive medal.

– Shane Heal is a four-time Olympic basketball star for the Boomers, including captaining the 2004 Athens Olympic team. He is writing exclusively for news.com.au during the Paris Olympics.

Originally published as Shane Heal: Why we don’t ‘need an Aussie’ as next Boomers coach