Basketball New Zealand

New Australian Boomers coach Brett Brown

Brett Brown, who began his coaching career in the New Zealand NBL, has been selected as head coach of Australia’s men’s basketball team - the Boomers - through to London 2012.

Brown, a 48-year old American, has been an assistant coach with the famed San Antonio Spurs in the NBA for the past six years and has extensive experience with the Boomers programme and the Australian National Basketball League.

He recorded 132 games as an assistant coach of the Boomers between 1995-2003, including representation at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.

Formerly an assistant coach with Lindsay Gaze’s Melbourne Tigers, Brown was head coach of the North Melbourne Giants from 1993-98 and the Sydney Kings from 2000-02, amassing 278 games as a head coach in the NBL with a 149-129 win-loss record.

He has been named NBL Coach of the Month on five occasions and was the NBL’s Coach of the Year in 1994, when he led the Giants to an NBL Championship victory over the Adelaide 36ers.

But Brown’s career got off to a rocky start when he guided Auckland to a 6-12 record in 1988, finishing eighth of 10 teams. His first major assignment with the Australian team will come against the Tall Blacks at the FIBA Oceania Championships in August.

“The Basketball Australia board is extremely proud of the performance of the Boomers in Beijing and recognises the positive building blocks that have been put in place by Brian Goorjian for the Boomers’ future,” BA chairman David Thodey said.

“But as we have done in the past we opened the door to the possibility of change after two Olympic cycles and with our sport moving forward in an exciting new direction we decided to utilise Brett Brown’s fresh energy and new ideas.

“We hope that he will propel the Boomers to great success on the international stage.”

Goorjian, who was Head Coach of the Boomers for 120 games between 2002 and 2008 (77 wins – 43 losses), including representation at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and the 2006 FIBA World Championship, has a long history with Brown.

“I’ve known Brett for a long time. He’s a great coach and a good person and I wish him every success with the national program,” Goorjian said.

Goorjian’s endorsement mirrors that of Boomers captain Matt Nielsen and star player Andrew Bogut, as well as legendary Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

“Brett Brown has been paramount to the success of the San Antonio Spurs over the past decade, and I am confident his technical and people skills will be well received by the team and organisation. He is both a top-notch coach and person,” Popovich said from Texas in the United States.

“I’ve loved and appreciated having Brian as the head coach of the Boomers and have enjoyed the road we’ve travelled,” Nielsen said on the line from Valencia in Spain.

“I spent three years with Brett at the Sydney Kings. I’m very happy for him to get this opportunity to show himself again to the Australian people and I’m excited to work with him.”

“It’s tough to see Brian go,” Bogut said from Milwaukee in the United States. “I have worked with him for a long time, not only with the Boomers over two Olympics, but as a junior growing up in Melbourne.

“But I am eager to start working with Brett. I hope we can all continue to get better as a basketball nation and hopefully one day get that elusive medal at an Olympic Games.”

Brown will continue working with the San Antonio Spurs as the NBA season (October to June) does not conflict with the international basketball season (July to September).

Brown is married to an Australian, Anna, with three children, Julia, Laura and Sam.