Basketball Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of current Adelaide 36ers National Basketball League head coach Marty Clarke to the role of assistant coach of the Australian Boomers national basketball team.

Clarke, who replaces outgoing assistant Shane Heal who stepped down from the position last week due to time constraints, will join head coach Brett Brown and fellow assistants Andrej Lemanis and technical assistant Mo Dakhil ahead of a busy 2011 schedule which includes the FIBA Oceania Olympic Qualifiers against New Zealand in September. The winner of that series will advance to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Boomers head coach Brett Brown was excited by the appointment of Clarke, noting that he has already successfully held the position once before, and will hence be a valuable addition to his coaching staff.

"Marty's inclusion back into our staff is a natural transition. We appointed Marty as an assistant coach my first Boomers season, and then he had to resign due to the workload that his first year as head coach in Adelaide would demand. This was his decision; we are fortunate to re-introduce him into our staff once again."

Among his wide list of accomplishments both as a player and coach – these include a World Title at the 2003 Under 19 World Championships as an assistant coach, as well as 149 call-ups for Australia as both a player and a coach – Marty Clarke also served as the head basketball coach at the Australian Institute of Sport from 2003 to 2010, making him a familiar mentor to many of the current Boomers’ squad-members.

"Marty has coached almost all of our core group of Boomers during his tenure as head coach at the AIS,” said Brown.

“The players respect him as both a coach and a person and they are excited to have him back with us.”

Marty Clarke was equally excited to step back into the role, delighted that the opportunity had re-appeared after the difficult decision to step aside last year.

“It was a difficult decision to step away from the Boomers because obviously as a player or a coach, the thing you really want to do is represent your country,” he said.

“As luck would have it, I have an opportunity to step back in again.”

Clarke stressed the importance of the upcoming year for the Boomers’ program and the importance of preparing well for the New Zealand series to book a place in the 2012 Olympic tournament.

“At this level, the talent is probably similar across countries and it’s more about the ability to get them to play together; I think Brett has done a fantastic job of getting a commitment out of all of them and making them feel like they are all a valuable and necessary part of the group,” he said.

Coach Brown also stressed the importance of the Boomers upcoming program and said he was eager to have Clarke back on board.

“Our coaching and support staff are anxious to start working with Marty again during our critical lead up to our do-or-die series with New Zealand,” he said.

“Our preparation is ongoing and Marty's vast international experience and knowledge of our current playing roster is proven and needed. I am personally excited to have him back on our bench."

Basketball Australia