Is the next Boomers coach in NBL midst?

Now that the dust has settled on the Boomers Olympic' campaign, many are already looking to the future and how the team will look going forward.

Yet, with Brian Goorjian stepping away from the head coaching position, the big question remains ... who will lead this next future crop of Australian stars?

There are many strong candidates to consider for the role, with the likes of current Boomers assistants Matt Nielsen and Adam Caporn certainly in the mix. Basketball Australia have mentioned that they'll scour the globe for the right candidate, but just maybe that perfect replacement is already here in the NBL.

Here's a look at the potential candidates on our doorstep.

Dean Vickerman

Out of all the current NBL coaches, Dean Vickerman would have the strongest resume to step up into the Boomers' head coaching role for the foreseeable future.

A three-time NBL Champion and three-time Coach of the Year, Vickerman holds one of the strongest coaching records in the league. After winning four NBL titles as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Breakers, Vickerman seamlessly stepped into the head coaching position and helped win the fourth title in five years for the club back in 2015.

While Vickerman hasn’t been part of the Australian coaching staff for a major tournament yet, he recently coached an emerging Boomers squad in June, leading the young group through two games in Japan for the Nissay Cup.

Back in 2023, Vickerman had his first chance on the sideline for Australia during the FIBA qualifying windows, leading another young squad through the campaign, all with the full support of Brian Goorjian in the process.

After coaching his 300^th career game back in October 2023, could Vickerman be the perfect candidate to take on the challenge?

John Rillie

John Rillie is another name that has prior Australian success to on his resume, should he decide that he’s interested in the coaching vacancy.

Rillie was an assistant coach, under Brian Goorjian, at the Tokyo Olympics where the Boomers won their historic bronze medal.

A former Olympian himself after representing Australian in 2004 at Athens, Rillie has seen first-hand, two of Australia’s most exciting eras in hoops.

After his stints as an assistant coach for Boise State and UC Santa Barbara, Rillie became the head coach of the Perth Wildcats and is heading into his third season at the helm.

While they haven’t won a title in the first two years, Rillie has shown that he isn’t afraid to make big calls and changes in order to discover winning ways. Just last season, after Perth’s troublesome start, he made some lineup changes and had the Wildcats charge to finish second spot on the ladder by season’s end.

A national head coaching role may not be on the horizon just yet, but perhaps the next step is to re-join the Boomers in some capacity going forward as he continues to grow in this next phase of his career.

Scott Roth

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Championship winning head coach, Scott Roth, has been in the NBL longer than just his successful three-year tenure in Tasmania.

After beginning his NBL journey as an assistant coach at Perth in 2019, Roth has quickly become one of the best coaches around and the results speak for themselves.

He led Tasmania to a title in just their third year as a franchise and was previously named Coach of the Year in NBL22, when he took a first-year team all the way to a Championship Series berth.

The Ohio native has quickly transformed the JackJumpers into a powerhouse and instilled a proven culture that’s built on teamwork and toughness.

Without knowing what is in store for Roth in the future, his previous track-record, combined with resounding respect from around the league, is an intriguing prospect to consider looking forward.

Some familiar names to NBL fans could be in the mix too. 

Trevor Gleeson

After recently being announced as the head coach of the Chiba Jets, Gleeson is another NBL name that will feature heavily in the conversation of the next Boomers coach.

A five-time NBL Champion and two-time coach of the year, Gleeson’s impeccable NBL success is hard to ignore, ever since he led the Townsville Crocodiles back in 2006.

While one could argue that Gleeson was unlucky not to win more Coach of the Year awards, he was rewarded for his recent success by joining the Toronto Raptors bench in 2021 as an assistant coach.

Gleeson also has prior Boomers experience to help his impressive resume, after being called up as an assistant to Andrej Lemanis for the 2014 World Cup and then at the Rio Olympics.

He has made his aspirations to lead the program well-known after he put his hand up for the role just prior to the Tokyo Olympics, when Brett Brown stepped down as the head coach.

Will Weaver

On an international front, Will Weaver's coaching resume is an enticing option to consider for the Boomers going forward. His previous history as part of the Boomers staff alone and what he's accomplished as part of their program, would hold him in high regard amongst Australian basketball.

 Weaver was an assistant coach for the Boomers at the 2014 World Cup under Andrej Lemanis and became a mainstay of the staff going forward.

Weaver, who coached the Sydney Kings in NBL20, led the team to finishing first by season's end and missed out on winning a championship due to COVID implications on the series.

The 2019 G-League Coach of the Year is currently serving as an assistant for the Brooklyn Nets and is a name that consistently pops up with vacant NBL head coaching positions, since he left Australia. 

A look to the future...

They could be a long shot or years away from an opportunity, but perhaps there are some other names in the NBL landscape that should be on the radar for the top job.

Melbourne United assistant, Jacob Chance, is a widely respected coach amongst the Australian basketball fraternity already, at just 30-years-old. Having been named as a lead assistant for Tasmania in their inaugural season before moving to United, Chance has also been a vital part of the Boomers staff at the last two Olympic Games.

He may have shown no interest in coaching to this point of his career, but there is no denying Andrew Bogut has an incredible knowledge of basketball and in particular the Australian history of it.

Bogut’s playing career stands as one of the most decorated we have seen, and his analysis of current world basketball is evident through his media work of late.

Whether Bogut would want to put his hand up in the future as a coach is up to him to decide, but there’s simply no debating that he’s one of the brightest basketball minds in the country.