2
Jan
CODE Sports
Bullets icon calls for NBL club to 'fix the culture'
Mitch Norton of the Bullets is awarded the Loggins-Bruton Cup by Brian Kerle during the 2024 NBL Blitz match between Brisbane Bullets and Cairns Taipans at Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre on September 14, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. Photo: Russell Freeman/Getty Images
Press Conferences
One of Brisbane's two championship coaches says the club's culture is a 'band-aid system'
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Brisbane is the sporting capital of Australia following the success of the Broncos, Lions and brilliant sprinter Gout Gout, but the NBL’s Bullets remain a basket case, prompting pioneering coach Brian Kerle to plead with club officials to “fix the culture”.
Kerle – who led the Brisbane Bullets to championships in 1985 and 1987 – bleeds blue, gold and white and is determined to see the franchise become a force, writes Matt Logue from CODE Sports Basketball.
The now 80-year-old constantly gets approached by frustrated fans and the NBL Hall of Famer is sick of seeing Brisbane struggle.
Kerle wants Bullets officials to be aggressively proactive to resurrect the battling franchise.
“The whole culture of the organisation leaves a lot to be desired and there is just a Band-Aid system in place at the moment,” Kerle told Code Sports.
“We’ve got the top rugby league team, Aussie rules team, we’ve got the best swimmers in the world up here in Queensland and basketball was once also in that bracket.
The Bullets are currently in talks with multiple coaches from America and Australia and are hoping to lock in a new coach in the coming weeks.
Code Sports understands previously successful American NBL coaches Chase Buford and Will Weaver are in the mix. It’s believed ex-Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis has also been mentioned.
Kerle would like to see Brisbane hire five-time NBL championship-winning mentor Trevor Gleeson, who is currently coaching in Japan but recently declared his desire to return to the NBL.
“Trevor would be ideal,” he said about the ex-Perth Wildcats coach.
“I know he is getting big money in Japan. My question is: why are we spending a million dollars on players yet we baulk at trying to get a good coach or an Australian coach?"
For the full story on CODE Sports Basketball, click here.
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