Brian Goorjian has resigned as head coach of the Australian men’s basketball team, the national organization announced Wednesday, following two stints in command of the Boomers.
Goorjian, 71, of California, who led the Australians to the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, has left to coach the Sydney Kings in the national league, Basketball Australia announced.
Goorjian led Australia to gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne during his first spell, which lasted from 2001 to 2008. He returned as head coach in 2020, and Australia won bronze – the Boomers’ first Olympic medal — in the Tokyo Games in 2021.
According to Peter Lonergan, general manager of Basketball Australia’s centre of excellence in Canberra, Goorjian’s effect is extensive.
“Brian’s impact on basketball in this country is profound and will continue to be so post his time with the Boomers,” Lonergan said in a statement.
“His generosity of spirit has impacted generations of athletes and coaches and his legacy will continue to build.”
Former Boomers team captain Andrew Gaze, who won the NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, said Goorjian’s impact on basketball in Australia went beyond his role as national team coach.
“Brian’s legacy extends to players that have represented Australia even when he wasn’t coaching the national team — his legacy includes the development of the game as a player, a coach and an advocate,” Gaze added.