Hoops

Brondello announced as new Opals coach

Gayporn was talked up but seems to be a massive fail, considering all other programs outside of lolJoyce medalled lately.

Boomers-Lemanis(4th Olympics)
Opals-Brondello(takes over from Joyce)
U19 mens-Caporn(poor results 7th + DNQ)
U17 mens-Schueller(takes over from Watkins 1 silver)
U19 women-Goriss(1 bronze)
U17 women-Seebohm(1 gold)

Can this happen with..

Brondello-Mercury
Chambers-Flames
Goriss-Capitals/Gems

Thought gems and Asian cup were playing close to the same time.

Great news

I think they got these appointments exactly right tbh.

Thank goodness Lucas didn't get it. Good appointments I think

Chambers and goriss named opals assistant coaches.

Hoping to hear that the Assistant job will be offered to the WNBL coach of the year.

olaf lange and lauren jackson...

I'm hoping Seebohm gets the interim job.

Yet you're impressed with Sandy?

He has some nice roles on his resume but I'm yet to be impressed by Olaf in the WNBL, WNBA, or Europe. But considering how much of his coaching has been alongside Sandy I guess it does make sense for him to be with the Opals to keep some continuity when Sandy is away.

Behind every great woman there's a great man.

and in Clerks.

Olaf was great in the movie Frozen.

Yes Chambers would be a good choice for interim/smaller tournaments. Does she want it though?

Who the F is Olaf?

Oh hell no. Lucas is terrible.

Both based in nsw
Chambers or Seebohm for interim job please.

Yes Olaf probably will be but I still think Lucas will get Aussie based role.

The "assistant" will be Olaf no doubt.

In my opinion Stirling's legacy has been undone by her recent times in a job she is unfit for.

Sandy Brondello interview from ABC Grandstand

Link

Chris Lucas is my tip for assistant. He is appointed Uni Games coach which is actually emerging opals. So expect he will get a gig

Opals decisions tend to send people a little bonkers.

The issue is going to be the logistics of getting those players together when the coach is on the other side of the world , the reality is it's going to be a very expensive excersise over the next four years, can BA really afford it?

Why don't we see how she goes before bagging or adoring her. Can't see why she needs to be full time, wnba doesn't go for 12 months. Prefer our coach to be getting game time practice in best league in world than sitting in Canberra watching game film all day. Gives her a chance to watch and scout main competition in US players as well as her own.
And are training camps apart from when main tournaments are near really that vital. Just have regular get together when schedules allow and concentrate on six months before games. Players are professionals, shouldn't take two years to learn new system.
As for bagging Stirling, she'll forget more about basketball, leadership and accountability in next five minutes than most of us will ever know. Record speaks for itself.

I think if you read the negative comments were about Stirling.

Who is Olaf??

Damien Cotter is a fine coach and the best candidote for the job. He already knows the ropes and is a wicked smart guy.

Why not bring in Jo Hill as another assistant??

Olaf... or is he the head coach?

So who should be her assistants?

As much as I have some mixed feelings about the appointment, one thing I have no concerns about is her knowledge of international women's basketball. In fact there would be few coaches in the world who know it better. Coach of a top Euroleague club over the summer + coach of a WNBA team in the winter = she is familiar with pretty much every player that matters.
If that means she isn't full bottle on the "local scene" then personally I couldn't give a stuff. That's the least of our worries, and is something that an assistant & others can easily chip in with.

whitcomb or Mitchell?

Ohea/Cumming
Allen/Talbot
Tolo/Blicavs
Cambage/George

Pgs, who knows? (Mitchell)
Another guard (Whitcomb)
Another big

I like this appointment - Sandy will know just about every world class player's game concisely through the WNBA and Euroleague.

Exactly, she knows nothing about the local scene.

I've never been so underwhelmed or so shocked at how completely out of touch she is with the program she is meant to lead.

For starters "very old" a committed coach WOULD and SHOULD be available for every tournament/ game the national team they are coaching has to play, that really is what they are there for.
This business of BA now going to appoint another coach to coach at the Aisia cup, and then at Commonwealth games should not be happening IF Brondello was fully committed to the team, not just the title of "national" coach.
Could you imagine any other national coach not coaching the team they had been selected to coach for their country at an international,qualifying tournament or something like the Commonwealth games.
Brondello certainly has the credentials and could be a fantastic addition to the Opals program, but she really needs to set her priorities for the next four years to this program, or she should not have agreed IMO

Whys that?

Wish Sandy the best but every contact I have had with Stirling leaves me despairing for the future of women's basketball in Australia.

Very Old calm down, it's well known Olaf & Sandy run as a tandem in both WNBA & Euroleague. So it was a valid question asked re: Opals.

"But how much of it is Olaf? "

1) does it matter? - not to me, but obviously to you.

2) ps , sorry to tell you this but even without Olaf, and without knowing your gender, height, age or athleticism, I know Sandy would beat your arse 5 out of 5 times one-on-one on a court - because you really are one dumb sexist *^&*&*%^$, and basketball has always been a smart persons sport.

"Bondello is a great coach, but the program needs a full time coach who IS available for all camps and training's not one that fits the Opals in when they can "

LOL , spoken like a true spectator.

Go have a brief look at reality and checkout the coaches who teams (male and female)hold the last sets of Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals from the most recent FIBA woulds and the Olympics.

"A national team requires a committed coach who places that commitment before any other sporting ones they may have."

1) You have never met Sandy if you think that the OPALs won't be the 1st , 2nd and 3rd thing on her basketball mind. If not for Cadee she would have had 5 ( count them ... 5) Olympic campaigns as a player, and not as a bench warmer either. She's well aware of the importance of a seriously smart coach in the womens game.

2) BA would never EVER spend the money that a really good international level womens basketball coach SHOULD be paid for a full time gig over the next 4 years. we already have experienced the best they can afford.

3) do people not get that the majority of the worlds best female players play in the WNBL ( or a few in cashed up Chinese and russian leagues) If we are to ever beat the US, then I'd prefer a coach who sees ( and coaches against) those players, season in and season out, rather than a COE full timer who has a jaunt OS every now and then.

stop whining and get positive, I know that this forum have been used to coaching disasters this century, what with Marty C, He whose son cannot be mentioned and even BB in Sydney, , but lets hope that Sandy will get our women the success they really deserve. Maher and Sterling got good results -- so more of the same is possible, and would be good.

But how much of it is Olaf? Another point not discussed yet. Waters will get murkier.

Loove people who don't check that their opinions are not facts.

Sandy was a head coach in the WNBL in 2010 ( 2017 minus 2010 = 7 years ? ( or at least 6)) . Four years ago she was only one year away from the 2014 WNBL coach of the year award.

I think you will find she has more than 4 years experience as a head coach.

What might the squad look like?

She's certainly a good choice for opals coach, but not in this current situation of trying to coach two teams on opposite sides of the world.
The costs are going to go through the roof from a budget that is already depleted.

A national team requires a committed coach who places that commitment before any other sporting ones they may have.

Anyone know who's in?

Say what Very Old - Brondello would have been a good pick four years ago!. Holy hell, she wasn't even a head coach four years ago.
Commit to one program, not 2 in the same months.
Very poor of BA to put our Opals in another pickle for another 4 years.
The Opals squad has been announced to the players but not the public. Secret Opals business I'm assuming. This was announced 2 weeks ago. Some very suspect name in the list by all accounts.

All that matters are medals at world champs and Olympics.

Selection isn't that hard with most of the best players playing wnba.

Having a full time coach didn't work as you only attract coaches that aren't good enough to have another job.

Hiring the right assistants will be important for the minor tournaments although this is the first good move BA have made on the womens side in a long time.

Farcical. Bad appointment given commitment levels.

Yikes.

Very glad Sandy is in charge. should have been there 4 years ago.