So that's for the 2015/16 season then, not the current season? I hope for Melbourne's sake they can maintain the majority of their current roster, as they will not come close to Perth/cairns/NZ without better coaching.

Disappointing for Dmac as people like Dmac.

Dmac has a good feel for the game..only reason he isn't getting the gig has more to do with prep work/organisation stuff.

Wonder if untied get an ex NBA coach they head down the analytics pathway? Could be first in NBL team to really do so and it could be very interesting...

Whos the other assistant apart from Mitchell?

I hope the rumors about him replacing Cotter are true.

So is the 2014/15 year in OP a typo if they're going to wait until the end of the season to announce it?

Is it just me or does Dmac just look defeated/not interested in pre-game interviews? Even his comments about not being called "interim coach" seems like he's just treading water until a new guy comes in...

i like DMAC, but not as a head coach, dosent seem to know managge rotations etc on court and matchups, is it true utd were trying to get mike dantoni? if brett brown was fired i could see him possibly coaching

I hope the rumors about him replacing Cotter are true.

D-Macs timeouts are cringe-worthy when he brings out the magnetic whiteboard. He has confused himself on a number if occasions iv watched United on tv.

I agree with 893, regarding his best-suited role.

Have watched Brian Goorjian closely and he is a great training and game coach.
But he has also been associated with a number of teams going broke.
I'm not sure his program is sustainable in the Australian NBL. Maybe at United where the owners have deep pockets.

I thought Goorjian was being lined up for the new (returning) South (East) Melbourne team.

"Tiger Watcher - You'd be suprised at the level of analytics used in the NBL."

Agree completely with this, but I suspect TW was talking about the level of use of advanced stats.

As it is, NBL clubs are incredibly analytical on the areas that actually cause the stats, ie teams and players' tendencies in certain situations and with different line-ups.

I imagine NBA clubs rarely get to go into that detail during the regular season given how little time they have to communicate it to players between games, but would definitely do so for playoffs.

It was interesting chatting to one player who arrived in the NBL and had a great start. He dismissed the idea he would soon have to evolve his game given the level of scouting, then promptly saw his production fall away markedly.

Question Paul,With the level of live statistical data available during game why do assistants sit there scribbling notes. Is it to justify there existance? Wouldnt an iPad be better?

Happy Days, I would imagine their key indicators aren't on the box score.

Anon - while association is not causation, it can aid in forecasting. Personally, I think it's more likely owners spending like drunken sailors threw heaps of money at buying a winning team and then at buying a winning coach who placed a high price on his services. The end result being they paid more than their business model could afford, long term. So, not Goorjian's fault per se. Nonetheless, it may mean that hiring Goorjian is a sign of a high spending ownership team, which may suggest risk to long term viability.

Agree that Goorjian is one of the best coaches we've seen in the NBL. I saw how he did in his early years with Nunawading and was impressed back then. At that time, he was doing it a club based model with relatively low budget teams. His subsequent success as a coach confirmed his abilities.

The explanations above, re Brisbane and Sydney, describe high spending ownership models that proved unsustainable when the money ran out (i.e., their other businesses failed). My hypothesis is that such teams were more likely to fail while the owners were also more likely to (want to) hire Goorjian as the best coach available.

That's how you get association with team failure without being the cause.

@Paul - as per what your said I meant in terms of the Advanced stats and PER etc plus game structure around certain types of play.

i.e FT's/Cnr 3's/no mid range shoots etc

Some teams appear to be heading in this direction other still play games in which they shoot only 13-18 3's per game which is a relatively low number.


The scouting in the NBL is top class as the time between games allows teams to scout in depth to a level most leagues/coaches around the world can't

As a Wildcats fan, Goorjian has always been one of those coaches we love to rag on, but you can't deny his credentials.

As well as the length of time between games (most European leagues also play once a week) it's that we only have seven opponents to scout and clubs play each other four times (where in most Euro comps it's twice).

Daniel Kickert wrote a bit about that difference here:
http://nowgamerz.com/player-piece-daniel-kickert.html