The Cairns Taipans have re-signed NBL Coach of the Year Aaron Fearne on a three-year extension. Fearne steered the Taipans to a club-best 21-7 record, a minor premiership and grand finals appearance in 2014/15, collecting the Lindsay Gaze Trophy in the process. The deal will see Fearne—the only foundation Taipans player to remain with the club—extend his Taipans tenure as a player and coach to almost 20 years. Taipans vice president Ross Moller labelled Fearne’s retention a priority for the club as it built on the success of its 2014/15 campaign. “In his time here Aaron has built a strong team culture and a reputation for leading a highly disciplined and dedicated Taipans outfit onto the floor every night,” he said. “Away from the court Aaron has also put in countless hours to assist a thriving junior basketball programme in Cairns, most recently with the launch of Aron Baynes Academy.” “He is an extremely important part of this organisation’s future, and I’m pleased to welcome him back for another three years.” Fearne played with the Taipans in 1999/00 and 2000/01, before taking an assistant coaching role with the club the following season. He held that role until 2008, when he took a leave of absence to help mentor protégé Nathan Jawai through his rookie season with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. He returned to claim the head coach position in 2009/10, and two grand finals appearances and six seasons later Aaron Fearne is the longest-serving head coach in Taipans history with 178 games to his name.