Will Lopez joins CBI & Taipans

Cairns Basketball Inc. is pleased to announce former High Performance Coach for Basketball NSW Will Lopez is joining CBI as the Basketball Development Manager, while also joining the Taipans coaching line-up. Lopez will deliver the association’s junior development programs at both club and representative level, while also supporting the progression of all CBI coaches and taking them to an accreditation standard.

Lopez brings a breadth of experience as the previous Director of Coaching for the Bankstown Bruins Representative Program, where he managed 18 junior representative teams and five semi-professional teams in the Waratah League.

He also managed the Bruins Skills and Development Program for over 400 players aged 5-17 years old, while mentoring 25 program coaches.

Lopez has previously been appointed Head Coach of the Bankstown Bruins (NBL1 East), Head Coach of NSW Metro U16 Men’s, Assistant Coach of NSW Metro U18 Men’s as well as head coaching roles for several Waratah Basketball League teams.

Cairns Basketball General Manager Mike Scott said Lopez would be an excellent addition to the association and couldn’t wait to bring him on board.

“We are excited to welcome Will to Cairns Basketball; he is an exceptionally qualified individual that will help so many people involved with our association. Previously, we haven’t had a dedicated person to develop our local coaches at both club and elite level, so this means they will have ongoing support available to them,” said Mr. Scott.

“He will also be facilitating programs to get all our new coaches accredited, whereas previously we have had to bring in external people to hold these sessions. It will be excellent to have someone in-house that can facilitate this, and help our association become stronger and better credentialed.”

Originally from Sydney, the 30-year old was recommended by his former Basketball NSW colleague Sam Gruggen and will assist the Taipans coaches for the upcoming season.

“Sam gave me a call and spoke to me about the opportunity and got me in touch with Mark Beecroft and Adam Forde. It was an interesting process, dealing with the Taipans side as one part of the job while also interviewing as a candidate for Cairns Basketball. This is what is so appealing to me – Cairns have managed to facilitate a basketball pathway that is extremely hard to find in Australia,” said Mr. Lopez.

“There is a clear pathway from learning to play, to representing at state level, to semi-pro NBL1 opportunities right up to the national Taipans franchise – basically all in the same building. It’s obvious there is something special here and I’m excited to be part of it.

“I love working at the community level and developing young basketball players, particularly as they get up to the senior teams and look to play professionally. There is a huge crop of talent here, but of course my ambition is to be a Head Coach in the NBL. Hopefully I can bring some skills that can step the basketball development up while also learning from some of the best in the business – Forde, Grugs and Kerry.”

Lopez is set to join CBI and the Taipans from November 1, 2021.