Coaching panel finalised

The Adelaide 36ers have finalised their coaching panel with the addition of experienced coaches Kerry Williams and Luke Cann.

Williams has a long connection with basketball, particularly in far north Queensland, having played 105 NBL games for Cairns between 2008 and 2013.

He has previously served in various roles at Basketball Queensland as well as coaching the Cairns Marlins and the Cairns Dolphins in the NBL1.

He is the current coach of the Marlins.

The 37-year-old has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach for the Cairns Taipans as well as being part of the Australian Boomers coaching staff for the 2021 and 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

Cann has been part of the Brisbane Bullets coaching staff while also being an assistant for the Australian Under 17 national side, “the Crocs”.

He has also been the head coach of the Logan Thunder in the NBL1 North for the past eight seasons.

In their new roles with the 36ers, Williams and Cann will work under Head Coach Mike Wells and alongside senior assistant coach Marko Marinovic, and development coaches Igor Cvjetkovic and Jakob Dorricott.

“We’re extremely fortunate to add the experience of Kerry and Luke to our coaching group,” said Head Coach Mike Wells.

“This is part of the process Matt Weston and I went through to reshape our basketball program. 

“We’ve been working together on reshaping the roster, and getting the right coaching staff to work with those players is the next piece.

“I believe we now have one of the most experienced and balanced coaching groups in the competition.”

Wells said he and Weston had noted they needed more NBL and Australian basketball experience in their coaching group, and Williams and Cann were standouts in a strong field of coaches interviewed.

“Kerry Williams has so much experience in so many different roles,” Wells said.

“As we went through the process of interviewing different coaches, Kerry just checked a whole bunch of boxes. He is great at connecting with players and is really measured in his approach to the game, which will really balance our coaching staff.

“Luke comes from a strong basketball family. He brings a wealth of experience of coaching players at all levels including with young players, in the NBL1 as a head coach, and he just knows the league.

“When we spoke about adding pieces from a coaching standpoint and a player development standpoint, these two guys just really stood out to me, and we’re excited to have them on staff.”