Tara Murray
Chris Lucas has been appointed Geelong United’s inaugural Women’s National Basketball League coach.
The championship winning coach has been appointed for two years.
Lucas, a strong advocate for women’s sport, has spent his entire career working exclusively in women’s basketball leagues and brings a wealth of experience to Geelong United.
“Chris has a proven track record in the WNBL, coaching Townsville to back to back WNBL championships from 2014-2016,” United said in a release. “An achievement which would see him appointed as the assistant coach of the Australian Opals, which won a silver medal at the 2018 World Cup in Spain.
In recent years, Lucas has coached WNBL teams to successive finals campaigns, something which he hopes to continue here in Geelong.
“I haven’t felt this way in a long time. I’m very excited, and very appreciative to Mark Neeld (GUB CEO) and the board for giving me this opportunity,” he said.
“The expectations of every coach in the league is to make finals, and mine is no different,” he said. We’re hoping to put an extremely competitive group together that will hopefully put us in a position to make finals.”
Geelong United chief executive Mark Neeld is excited by the experience Lucas brings, and believes he is the perfect person to guide our team through its maiden WNBL season.
“Our values at GUB are united, inclusive, professional and integrity – and as our first WNBL coach, Chris aligns with those values perfectly.
“We had early conversations with each other once this opportunity to join the WNBL presented itself, and we really saw his passion for the players and the WNBL product as a whole. We’re in very good hands with Chris at the helm.”
Lucas said the hardest piece would be putting the team together,
“I want to make sure we create a terrific balance in the team, covering all positions on the floor with a blend of experience and youth. Traditionally my teams play an up tempo style, and that blend of experience and youth will bring some real excitement to the group.”
