Henry couldn’t be happier with settling into Adelaide

New Adelaide 36ers head coach Conner Henry was excited to return to Australia and be involved back in the NBL when the opportunity presented, and while there has been challenges, he couldn’t be happier with how things are coming together for the upcoming season.

Henry has quite the impressive lifetime in basketball that he has put together and it did include a previous stint in Australia where he firstly was assistant coach at the Perth Wildcats to former college teammate Scott Fisher.

He then took over as head coach at the Wildcats and when that stint ended, he picked up a role at the Sydney Kings under Ian 'Moose' Robilliard before life took him back to California where he joined the G-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders. 

He went on to become head coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and in 2014 even won the G-League's Coach of the year award and in the time since he spent time as head coach back with the D-Fenders, was assistant coach at the Orlando Magic and a scout for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All of that came on the back of a glittering playing career that began in the NBA at the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings in the late 1980s after his college career at UC Santa Barbara.

So when the 36ers were on the look out for a new coach and Henry expressed an interest, it's easy to see why the 57-year-old became the standout candidate and he has since settled well into Adelaide despite the complications continuing thanks to COVID-19.

On a personal front, that has meant Henry remains out in Australia without his family having been able to join him and in terms of basketball, it means that a short preparation for a usual October start after his arrival has turned into him overseeing the long off-season imaginable.

Henry is still yet to coach the 36ers in an official NBL game but preparations are continuing with a couple of pre-season hit outs in Cairns against the Taipans this week leading into the season-opener on Friday January 15 against Melbourne United at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Given pre-season has been going for so long now with the majority of the team having been in Adelaide and on court for months now aside from imports Tony Crocker and Donald Sloan who have only recently arrived, it has presented a whole new set of challenges.

Being able to keep practice fresh and interesting for the playing group has had to be one thing Henry has been mindful of while also ensuring the players don't burn out but are also remaining in tip top shape to be ready to fire once the NBL season does end up getting underway.

There was a break up to the training with a couple of games against the Brisbane Bullets in Adelaide in mid-November and then the playing group had a few days off over Christmas, but aside from that all effort has been made to ensure the group is clicking and individuals are improving physically.

It has been a challenge right along the way for Henry and the Sixers' staff, but he couldn’t be happier with the results now with the season start within touching range.

"Our biggest challenge has been to navigate this long of a period of just training," Henry said in an appearance on Sixers Fix with Scott Ninnis.

"We've been trying to go two weeks hard and then give them three days off, and we might do a team function within those three days or might do a hike or go down to the beach or something on the last day of that. 

"We've had a couple of team dinners and then leading into Christmas we ramped it up and they worked really hard in the weight room, and they got through that. 

"A few of the guys were a little fatigued from that, but they've really improved their stamina and strength which was a huge part of the off-season to go out and get Nick Richardson our strength and conditioning coach to make a real improvement within the club. 

"However long it takes, but long-term we want our guys to up the strength and conditioning part of our program, and to improve our strength and fitness as a group. Managing all of that has been a challenge with COVID but we think we've come pretty good up to this point."

It's a totally new-look coaching staff at the 36ers for the upcoming season as well after the tremendous service provided by Joey Wright and Kevin Brooks.

Henry has arrived as head coach and brought with him someone he has enjoyed his dealings with ever since he first came out to Australia 14 years ago, Jamie Pearlman.

So when Henry was looking to put his coaching staff together, Pearlman was right at the top of his list to be his right hand man and now he couldn’t be happier with how it's playing out in reality with him by his side.

"Jamie's a head a coach. He has coached in Asia and he deserves to get an opportunity as a head coach in the NBL or elsewhere for sure," Henry said. 

"My relationship with Aaron Fearne and Jamie over the years has been a good one so I knew that Jamie was the right selection for me coming here to Adelaide as my right hand man. He gets it. 

"He keeps me organised, we have a good rapport and planning when it comes to not only our daily and weekly, but our long-term goals.

"He has just been exceptional and he comes from a defensive mindset like I do from early on in our coaching careers so we feel that defensively we have that emphasis in our team already. 

"We play with a pace and physicality now on the defensive end, and we've asked the guys to embrace that part of it. 

"We're not a team that switches much and we try to be very good with our pick and roll coverages, and there'll be times that we switch but often switching can be more difficult than playing straight up. 

"We feel good with where we're at defensively because of what we've focused on as coaches, and the guys have met the challenge of playing hard at that end. 

"I don’t know if as a collective unit they have played that hard together over the years in this system so we're pleased with where we're at defensively and now we just have to go out and play, and see where we are at."

Personally, Henry always hoped his basketball career would bring him back to Australia at some stage after how much he enjoyed his previous stints both in Perth with the Wildcats and Sydney with the Kings.

On top of enjoying the basketball side of things and being part of the NBL, Henry loves the Australian lifestyle and has settled nicely into life in Adelaide. The only thing now is for him to get his family out to join him when COVID makes it possible.

"I've settled into Adelaide real good and having spent a number of years in Perth and then in Sydney meant I already knew I loved this country," Henry said.

"I love this place and I love the people, and I love how everybody in this country likes to get outdoors and exercise, and sport is so important. Then I'm having a ton of fun with friends off the court so it's been really enjoyable. I'm settled in here and living down near the beach, and my routine is great.

"Our offices are at Titanium and we have that building all to ourselves this year so we have our court there and then our strength and conditioning is being done at SASE which is only a couple of minutes away.

"It has been nice for the guys to have the one training venue so that side of things is going well. Personally my family hasn’t been able to come over just yet because of COVID. I'm hoping things continue to relax a little bit because obviously I'd like to get some of them over here as soon as possible."