Brown walks away from Boomers

Updated October 29, 2012 16:12:36

Brett Brown has stepped down as coach of the Australian men's basketball team after a four-year stint which culminated in a seventh-placed finish at the London Olympics.

Brown will now focus on his position as assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

The decision to step away from the international game will also allow him to spend more time with his family in the United States.

"I inherited a strong Boomer culture moulded by many committed, outstanding coaches and players that have come before me," Brown said in a statement.

"My staff and I are confident that the current program is well placed to again be brought forward."

The coaches of Australia's national basketball teams are contracted for four-year terms ahead of every Olympic Games.

Basketball Australia (BA) will begin the search for a new men's coach once it completes a review of the program leading up the recent London Games.

Brown said it had been a privilege and a pleasure coaching the Boomers.

"I am especially proud of the commitment that Australia's best players made to the Boomer program during this term," he said.

"I leave with fond memories of a group of players who played with a spirit and toughness that earned the respect of the global basketball fraternity.

"I am proud to have been their coach.

"The basketball community should be excited to have our current group of core players and new talent emerging throughout the country."

BA chief executive Kristina Keneally said Brown would leave a lasting legacy.

"Brett's contribution to the men's national team program has been profound - it will last long after his departure," Keneally said.

"Under Brett's charge we've seen the Boomers surge forward in leaps and bounds - highlighted by the emergence of the likes of Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes as star players in our run at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games."

Before joining San Antonio, Brown coached for nine years in the NBL, winning the title with the North Melbourne Giants in 1994.

He spent eight years as an Australian assistant from 1995-2003 and replaced Brian Goorjian as head coach after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, australia, united-states

First posted October 29, 2012 16:12:36

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Coach Brown on his way back to Boomers

Updated June 08, 2012 20:49:35

Australian Olympic men's basketball coach Brett Brown is on his way to join his team and could take charge of the third match of their series against China in Perth next week.

Brown's San Antonio Spurs were knocked out of the NBA finals race this week, freeing the Boomers coach and star point guard Patty Mills to join Australia's Olympic Games build-up.

Assistant coach Andrej Lemanis will guide the Boomers in the first of their three-match series against China at Perth's Challenge Stadium on Saturday night.

The series then moves to Albany for game two on Monday, before the final match in Perth on Wednesday.

Brown is expected to have arrived in camp by game three.

Mills will not join his team-mates until they meet in Melbourne ahead of a three-match series against Greece later this month.

The Boomers will test all their guard options in Mills' absence against world number 10 China, with Adam Gibson, Matthew Dellavedova, Damian Martin and Peter Crawford all named in the 12-man team for game one.

Skipper Matt Nielsen will lead the side, while US college-based Ryan Broekhoff, a 21-year-old swingman, is also included.

Brown, an assistant with the Spurs, has been involved in Boomers team meetings this week via Skype.

The China series provides a timely test whether his players have added the defensive smarts and fitness Brown sees as vital to the Boomers winning a medal in London.

"Brett's made a point he wants us to be the fittest team at the Olympics," Gibson said.

"Everyone's really dug in the last year and made sure they've got in really good shape and are as fit as can be to give us the best chance to medal."

The series in Victoria later this month against Greece is likely to be against an understrength visiting side.

Greece has not yet qualified for London, and it is believed it will hold back some of its best players for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Venezuela in early July.

Australian team to play China: Damian Martin, Hugh Greenwood, Adam Gibson, Peter Crawford, Ryan Broekhoff, Matthew Dellavedova, David Barlow, Mark Worthington, Aron Baynes, Daniel Kickert, Matt Nielsen, Julian Khazzouh.

AAP

Tags: basketball, olympics-summer, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted June 08, 2012 20:49:35

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