Could Carrie Graf coach in the NBL?
Posted by Ashley Proud on 26th November 2008
I am trying to stay away from the whole Sydney Spirit thing until I have time to sit down and write a decent post about it. I am attempting to focus on the positivies of our league the moment. I am very upset at the owner of the Sydney Spirit and he has pissed me off!
So on Friday night, I was flicking through the channels and came to the live telecast of the Canberra Capitals vs Sydney Flames game. Now I am the first to admit that I don’t follow a lot of the WNBL (and I should!!) but I religiously watch the Opals play. I used to love watching the old NWBL as a kid and players such as Michelle Timms, Robyn Maher, Shelley Gorman and Regina Days amongst others. The WNBL is more about execution of plays and the NBL is more reliant on athleticism to get it done.
Anyway, a time out was called in the game and it was in the Capitals huddle. I was extremely impressed with how Graf spoke to her troops and they all seemed to be into what she was saying. So I asked myself the question: Could Carrie Graf coach in the NBL?
I went to her profile and found out the following:
Carrie Graf surprised many punters when she overcame the departure of Capitals legend Lauren Jackson to guide Canberra to the 2006/07 Championship; her fifth as a WNBL head coach. The reigning WNBL Coach of the Year has also been an assistant coach with the Opals (1996 and 200 Olympic Games) and a head coach with the New Zealand Tall Ferns and the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. In 2007, she led the Australian women’s University basketball team to a Gold Medal at the World Uni Games in Bangkok, Thailand
So she certainly seems to ahve the credentials in regards to her coaching pedigree. Her manner seems to be very assertive (which it would need to be if she was coaching the men) and she has been involved with the greatest womens coach in Australian basketball history – Tom Maher. If I remember correctly (and I am pretty unsure of this) she was a member of Brian Goorjian’s coaching staff at the Victoria Titans for a while.
So could she coach in the NBL? I think a few years ago, Mt Gambier had a women head coach for their SEABL Mens program. They were reasonably successful I think. I honestly feel that if she had the right scenario and team, she would be a success as a coach in the NBL.
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