Bring him back: Andrew Gaze’s left-field Boomers’ coach pick

The hunt for the Boomers’ next head coach is heating up, and hoops legend Andrew Gaze has floated a left-field option. We take a closer look at all the contenders.

Basketball Australia is about to ramp up its search for the Boomers’ next head coach and hoops legend Andrew Gaze has floated a left-field option among a number of prime candidates to take over from Tokyo bronze medal mentor Brian Goorjian.

BA will, in the coming days, release a position description for the role vacated by Goorjian at the end of the Paris Olympics, understood to be worth approximately $150,000 per year.

Gaze believes the likes of Trevor Gleeson, Brett Brown, Matt Nielsen, Adam Caporn, Dean Vickerman and Scott Roth should all be on BA’s radar but says Goorjian’s predecessor Andrej Lemanis should be given consideration.

“If you’re thinking really left field, I thought Andrej Lemanis did an extraordinarily good job when he was coach of the Australian national team,” Gaze told Crosscourt.

“He is someone I have great respect for, with the way the team played and he had great successes.

“If you’re thinking left field, he is someone who I really think would be worthy of at least a conversation to see where he is at.

Should Andrej Lemanis return to the Boomers top job? Picture: Getty Images

“I don’t know whether he has any interest — this is just me going off the top of my head.”

The former Brisbane Bullets and New Zealand Breakers mentor might have been the first coach to lead an Australian men’s basketball team to a major medal, were it not for an egregiously bad foul call that gifted Spain a one-point win in the 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medal game. Three years later, at the 2019 World Cup, Lemanis’ Boomers just fell short again, going down to France by eight in the battle for rose gold.

Gaze said, given the majority of the national team was now made up of NBA players, exposure to the big league would be helpful but not vital for the next coach.

“Trevor Gleeson, with what he’s done, particularly over the last couple years, he’s got international experience, he’s been an assistant coach (on the Boomers) before, his record in the NBL has been impeccable, he understands the culture, I think he’d be a very strong candidate,” Gaze said.

Andrew Gaze is a fan of Andrej Lemanis. Picture: Getty Images

“I would be reaching out to Brett Brown to ascertain his interest and I think that our assistant coaches, in particular Matty Nielsen and Adam (Caporn) would be worthy of a conversation.

“Dean Vickerman, because of his record in the NBL, has been really strong. He doesn’t have the NBA experience, but I don’t think it’s critical and I don’t think it’s a non-negotiable.

“In recent times it’s hard not be impressed with what Scott Roth has done from a club level in the NBL, he’s been an assistant coach with the Chinese national team and he’s had international experience.”

Gaze said the search should not be limited to obvious commodities, suggesting an international coach could provide a fresh perspective on the program.

“You look at what’s been going on around the world, Germany brought in a Canadian (Gordon Herbert) — there might be merit to considering an external option to bring a fresh set of eyes.”

Who do you think should replace Brian Goorjian? Picture: Michael Klein

Basketball Australia boss Matt Scriven said the Australian Institute of Sport had been engaged to undertake an extensive review of the Olympic cycle, which would help inform the process of hiring the Boomers’ next coach. He said BA high performance boss Jason Smith would be part of a panel that will include past Boomers greats, among others, tasked with securing the best candidate.

Australia’s first NBA player Luc Longley is likely to be among those.

Longley told Crosscourt he would like to see the next coach continue to grow the Boomers’ famed culture.

“The competitive advantage we have internationally is the Boomers’ culture, the legacy of the last 40-50 years has to be continued on,” Longley said.

“It needs to be respected and kept because, even though we have the NBA players, I think that’s our special ingredient, for sure.”

Originally published as Bring him back: Andrew Gaze’s left-field Boomers’ coach pick