This was published 3 years ago
Andrej Lemanis reappointed Australian Boomers coach for run to Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Andrej Lemanis took the Boomers as close as they have ever come to an Olympic medal in Rio and he will get another chance after being reappointed as coach until the end of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Lemanis will coach the Boomers and also continue as head coach at NBL club Brisbane Bullets with his reappointment to be announced on Tuesday.
Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis.Credit:Getty Images
Basketball Australia and the NBL successfully worked together with Lemanis to formulate a way he could do both jobs to keep his coaching skills "sharp".
Lemanis' part-time appointment will see him coach the side in 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifying games every three months against Asian based opponents starting in November.
He will also take charge at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and, should the Boomers qualify, the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"I'm excited to continue to build with this group and the feeling for me and for them of having unfinished business," Lemanis said.
"We have this new landscape and will be working with a broader group of athletes playing in the green and gold in meaningful competition."
The Boomers' path to Tokyo will involve a whole new system as they will have to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China then either be the best-performed Oceania team to earn direct qualification for Tokyo, or finish inside the top 24 sides to make the last chance Olympic qualification tournament.
Lemanis will also face the challenge of not having his NBA stars for the qualifying games during the American season because the league won't release players.
But he is buoyant about the side's chances and the mixing of the current NBA stars Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, with young talents like Ben Simmons and Thon Maker, plus his NBL players.
"When you look at the core still continuing it's really exciting then we have this fantastic opportunity to get those [young] guys into the group," Lemanis said.
"With them being in the NBA it presents its challenges but we will communicate and visit with them and see how we can get them integrated as soon as possible."
For all the talk about Australia's NBA stars and their Tokyo dreams, to get there the country's NBL stars will need to do much of the heavy lifting with the November, February and August-September qualifying windows each year falling during a time when there are NBA commitments.
The Boomers will have a camp in mid-July, likely with 16-18 NBL players, then Lemanis will pick a side to play in the first ever FIBA Asia Cup tournament in Lebanon in August.
Those games are likely to be the only ones the side will have before starting their qualifying campaign in November.
"That's the only time you will have to prepare, then once the window opens we get the team together, practice once or twice and then we are playing for our lives," Lemanis said.
"The guys who represent Australia in the Asia Cup will likely play in the November and February qualifying windows but you might have injuries or form changes so then we would revisit our broader squad."