Brian Goorjian Named Boomers Coach

The Hawks coach Brian Goorjian has been announced as the new coach of the Australian Boomers.

Goorjian will lead the Boomers at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics through to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

A record six-time NBL Championship winning coach, Goorjian was selected from an outstanding field of candidates and will take the reins of the Boomers as they commence their nine-month preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to be contested 23 July – 8 August 2021.

“I am honoured to be appointed as the men’s national coach and I am looking forward to the challenge. Being reunited with some of the guys I previously coached at the Beijing Olympics is an exciting prospect,” Goorjian said.

“Australia is very fortunate to have such a talented group of athletes at this time. There is certainly a feeling of unfinished business, so there is a strong commitment from these players to participating in the Tokyo Olympics.

“I will be sitting down with Basketball Australia over the coming days to get fully briefed on their existing plans as we start the road to Tokyo and beyond.”

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger congratulated Goorjian on his appointment and says it makes sense to have an NBL coach in charge of the national team.

“Brian Goorjian is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the history of Australian basketball. He has won a record six NBL Championships and enjoyed a highly successful coaching period in China before returning to the Hawks this year,” Loeliger said.

“Brian has previously coached the Boomers and has helped develop some of Australia’s finest talent. He is a wonderful ambassador for the game and it’s a great endorsement of the NBL to have a coach from its current ranks take on this important national role. Since his return to the NBL, he has helped transform the Hawks on and off the court and built a very talented roster for the forthcoming Hungry Jack’s NBL Season.

“Brian has also worked closely with several young players since his return to Australia this year and given the high number of NBL players in the Boomers ranks it makes a lot of sense to have an NBL coach at the helm of the national team.

“We wish Brian, the Boomers and Basketball Australia every success and look forward to doing everything we can to support them over what will be an exciting period in the lead up to next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

Goorjian is no stranger to the expectation of an Olympic Games, having been head coach of the Boomers in 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing). Post Beijing, Brian broadened his international experience spending two years with the Japanese National team and then made his mark in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) over 11 years, making him the longest serving foreign coach to date.

Between 1988 and 2009, Goorjian coached 735 NBL games for 514 wins, at an incredible winning percentage of 70 percent. Over that time, he amassed six championships, six Lindsay Gaze NBL Coach of the Year awards, 19 consecutive NBL playoff appearances and 13 NBL Grand Final series appearances.