POL - Red Claws boss Taylor new coach of national team

WARSAW (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Mike Taylor worked at EuroBasket 2013 as an assistant coach to Pavel Budinsky in the Czech Republic national team, helping them claim wins against Poland and Georgia and come within a victory of progressing to the second stage.

Now the American is hoping to have an opportunity to work at a major international basketball tournament as a head coach after being handed the reins to Poland.

The country's basketball association have announced his appointment on their website.

Taylor, who works in the NBDL as the head coach of the Maine Red Claws, takes over from Dirk Bauermann.

Bauermann announced recently that he had withdrawn his name from the list of candidates who were applying to coach Poland this summer.

"Mike Taylor is a young and ambitious coach of the United States who knows very well the specificity (meticulousness) of European basketball,” said Polish Basketball Association president Grzegorz Bachanski.

"We were keen on acquiring a coach, who in addition to conducting the first team, will also engage in individual work with young players and coaches and will support the youth structure."

Taylor, a native of Pennsylvania, has worked as the assistant coach of the Czech national team for the past four years.

Prior to that experience, he worked as a coach in Germany and Great Britain.

Poland are among the countries that applied for the four wild cards for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Should Poland not be in the 24-team field at Spain 2014, they will play in the EuroBasket 2015 2nd Qualifying Round.

"We put before the new coach specific objectives," Bachanski said.

"If you do not receive a wild card for the World Cup, the first goal is promotion to the Championship (EuroBasket 2015) in Ukraine."

Once there, Bachanski said, the aim would be to earn a trip to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, or the additional qualifying tournament for the Olympics.

FIBA