Basketball: Hawks sack head coach

The franchise yesterday fired coach Liam Flynn. Photo / File

The Hawke's Bay basketball franchise yesterday sacked its new coach Liam Flynn just nine rounds into the national competition.

The IMS Payroll Hawks tip off on the road at 7pm in round 10 today against the Wellington Saints, with just four wins from a dozen games. They will be without the Australian coach who was in his maiden season with the franchise in the Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL).

The franchise has appointed co-captain Paora Winitana player/coach until the end of the season with assistant coach George Galanopoulos continuing in his role.

Franchise board chairman David Aflallo said it was a tough decision to terminate the contract of the former Nelson Giants coach with "immediate effect" and it was not based primarily on the team's mediocre run but, more significantly, that Flynn was not "the right fit for our organisation".

Aflallo said the franchise board, management and team had toiled on team culture and spirit.

"Everyone has worked hard to continue the culture that's been synonymous with the Hawks but, unfortunately, we've struggled to do so. Therefore, it's with regret that we are releasing Liam."

Flynn, 35, from Brisbane, was last month embroiled in a player/coach impasse with American import Zack Atkinson, after the Hawks' uneventful South Island double header on the highway to the Canterbury Rams and the Zerofees Southland Sharks.

Flynn and the power forward had been trying to find a medium to iron out their differences on the player fulfilling his role and the coach offering the "big man" more court time to accomplish his mission.

Benching the 29-year-old from South Carolina, the coach had said his role was to fulfil the tasks of rebounding, blocking shots, screen and be a target closer to the basket rather than showing a penchant for offensive transitions.

He had made it unequivocally clear to Atkinson that he would continue to warm the bench until he adhered to his contractual obligations.

In reply, Atkinson had said it was a "miscommunication thing" but nothing they couldn't resolve professionally.

However, Aflallo said it was an all-encompassing decision on adhering to the constitution of the franchise.

"It's not about Liam as a coach. He has a fine track record. It's about how we all embrace a culture that's been part of our make up for a very long time."

Outgoing Hawks general manager Tanya Dearns believes the sixth-placed Hawks still have a slender chance of making the Final Four playoffs in the capital next month but must win their remaining six games and rely on other contenders' results to go their way in the eight-team competition.

Dearns, who Hawke's Bay Today last week named as the 2016 Central Pulse netball coach, said it was a big step up for Winitana to assume the mantle of player/coach although she felt the former Tall Black had not only been part of the franchise for many years but had been instrumental in helping establish the template of the franchise culture.

Liam Flynn was replaced with player/coach Paora Winitana. Photo / File

"Paora is an icon in the game. He has the respect of his fellow teammates and we will put a good support network around him, with assistant coach George Galanopoulos staying on board.

"It's been a tough decision for him to take on the role and not one that he sought but one he will take on as a new challenge."

She revealed co-assistant coach Theo Tait had stepped down from his role three weeks ago and was no longer part of the coaching stable.

The Hawks have won just one NBL title, in 2006, under Australian coach Shawn Dennis.

In 2013, the franchise had signed up former Tall Black and coach Tab Baldwin after former captain/coach Paul Henare switched allegiances to the Southland Sharks when the ownership of the franchise changed hands.

But in his maiden season here, Baldwin's troops missed the cut to the Final Four, ironically staged at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, with just four wins.

The former multiple NBL title-winning coach conceded his "full-court press" philosophy he had brought from his stint in Europe had failed to find traction with his Hawks roster.

Last year, the American-born naturalised Kiwi, who was named the NBL coach of the year, changed his philosophy and roster considerably to take the Bay side to the playoffs in Wellington but they succumbed in the grand final to the Saints.

In a statement last night, Flynn thanked the franchise for giving him the opportunity to spearhead it's campaign.

He lauded the sponsors and PG Arena faithful for their support and his support staff.

"It is disappointing not not be able to finish out the season strongly and continue to develop the young players we have on our roster but I understand this to be the nature of professional sports sometimes," he said.

Flynn, whose family enjoyed being part of the community, jets off tomorrow morning for Brisbane then Adelaide before heading abroad for his next coaching stint.

"I will move on to the next coaching job knowing I gave the Hawks everything I had during my time in the Bay.

"To all the players, I wish you and your families all the very best. I hope you achieve all that you set out to do in your individual careers. I hope the team gets healthy and overcomes all the injuries and illness it has had in the past few weeks. I am sure you will finish the season in a way that will make the Hawks fans proud."