Former Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans assistant Jamie O'Loughlin joins the podcast to share his insights into the NBL's elite coaching landscape.

With a career spanning back-to-back NBL championships with the Wildcats and navigating the unique challenges of coaching less-resourced teams like the Taipans, O'Loughlin provides a deep dive into what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of Australian basketball.

Jamie reflects on the Wildcats’ championship runs, the arrival of Bryce Cotton, and how Gregg Popovich’s “pounding the rock” philosophy influenced their success.

He also discusses the current trends shaping NBL coaching, the influx of foreign coaches, and whether they bring the same benefits to the league that foreign players did in the early years.

Topics Include:

• Jamie's take on the elite coaching scene across Australia and the NBL right now (2:00)
• Are foreign coaches delivering the same advantages to the league as foreign players did in the early years? (6:00)
• Coaching trends emerging across the league this season (10:00)
• What NBL teams and GMs look for in a coach (19:00)
• Reflecting on the Wildcats’ back-to-back championships and Bryce Cotton’s arrival (21:00)
• How the Wildcats built their 2017 championship around Gregg Popovich’s “pounding the rock” mantra (26:00)
• The differences between coaching at a highly resourced NBL team like Perth and a less resourced team like Cairns (35:00)

Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms.

Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring:

• Australian Basketball Legends: Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, Sam MacKinnon, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin, Brad Newley
• Current NBL Stars: Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Xavier Cooks, Tyler Harvey, Dejan Vasiljevic, Jordan Hunter, Flynn Cameron, Keli Leaupepe, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Luke Travers, Sam Froling, Jesse Wagstaff
• Our Finest Coaching Minds: Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Adam Forde, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer
• NBA Stars Past & Present: Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Jack McVeigh, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Jack White, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton
• The NBL's Greatest Imports: Leroy Loggins, Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Cal Bruton, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Dwayne McClain, Darnell Mee, Shawn Redhage, Al Green, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch
• The Men In Control: Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills

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