NZL - T-Mac is Back

AUCKLAND (Australian NBL) - Former coach Tim McTamney will be behind the controls of the Manawatu Jets again for the 2008 Dominion Finance NBL.

McTamney has previously lived in Palmerston North for 12 years where he attended Massey University and then worked as a teacher in the city.

During that time, he was head coach of the Jets in 2000 and 2001 before moving to Hamilton, where he assisted head coach Kenny Stone during the Auckland Stars’ 2004 title and coached the Waikato Pistons in 2005-06.

McTamney also guided the NZ Junior Tall Blacks in 2003 and 2004.

He will now return to Palmerston North with his family, a key requirement for the new coach.

Jets franchise manager Mark Cleaver said they were very keen to sign a head coach who would commit to the region for the long term and be involved in developing basketball as a sport.

This will involve working closely with the Palmerston North Basketball Association to ensure the Jets programmes are integrated with the development programmes in the region.

“While winning the NBL is the primary focus of the coach, we are looking to build the franchise to become a goal for our local young players,” says Cleaver. “Consistently producing championship quality players from the region is the key to the sustainability of the franchise and the sport in region.

Having a coach who had previously coached at the NBL level was also important to the franchise. Understanding what it takes to win at this level was crucial and to get a coach with this level of experience who is prepared to locate to the region is a real bonus.”

The Jets season kicks off at the beginning of March next year so the new coach will have a strong focus on recruiting a competitive squad for the season.

Grant Chapman