Tale of the Tape - Vickerman's Coach of the Year season

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Dean Vickerman joins Lindsay Gaze and Joey Wright in having won the NBL Coach of the Year three times.

Heading into NBL24 Dean Vickerman was already knows as one of the greatest coaches in NBL history. After all, only two people to have taken charge of over 50 games in the entirety of the NBL have a higher winning percentage than Melbourne’s commander in chief.

Vickerman had a new challenge to take on ahead of NBL24 – how to rebuild last season’s seventh-placed roster, and return United back to the pinnacle of the NBL.

It’s a challenge Vickerman and United attacked head on, and they went back to the well where they’ve been so successful. Rather than look outside, they turned their focus inwards and looked local.

Matthew Dellavedova and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr returned for second stints at the club, prize free agent Luke Travers crossed from Perth, and star collegiate talents Flynn Cameron and Kyle Bowen elected to call Melbourne home in the face of recruiting storms.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Leading on all fronts ?<br><br>Dean Vickerman has been named the NBL's Coach of the Year for the third time in his career ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGazeys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGazeys</a> live on the NBL website & app ? <a href="https://t.co/EOKohw5t5I">pic.twitter.com/EOKohw5t5I</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1759526189646123235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

After Ian Clark’s addition as the club’s sole import, Vickerman’s new team had the aura of Melbourne’s 2021 title winning side, in which Scotty Hopson was the sole import – however that team also contained Yudai Baba as a special restricted player.

This team has played like champions all season too, even in the face of an early-season injury crisis. Vickerman once again tinkered and weaved his way through an early storm to the point where, at times, Melbourne looked almost unbeatable.

United’s late-season form saw the club falter ever so slightly, but only after first position on the ladder had been all but locked up.

Just two losses in 12 games to open up the season saw Melbourne surge ahead of the chasing pack, and five straight wins between rounds 10 and 12 all but established United as the team to beat.

Outside of the league-best 20-8 record, Melbourne claimed ultimate bragging rights over its local rivals South East Melbourne for the first time in the history of the two clubs. United and the Phoenix faced off four times in the regular season, and United emerged handily victorious on all four occasions.

Vickerman is the first Melbourne coach to be named as the NBL’s Coach of the Year since his own back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2019.

This season’s triumph has also placed Vickerman into the esteemed company of Lindsay Gaze, who himself was also named the NBL’s Coach of the Year three times, in 1989, 1997 and 1999, and Joey Wright who won in 2004, 2007 and 2017.

That 2019 victory would have been unceremoniously soured by the fact United couldn’t take their regular season strength and turn it into a title win like the season before.

On that occasion Melbourne finished as runner-up to Perth on the ladder, and if the NBL24 campaign has been anything to go by so far, we could be set for another meeting between the two powerhouse sides in another Championship Series.

Recent Coach of the Year winners:
2024 – Dean Vickerman (Melbourne United)
2023 – Adam Forde (Cairns Taipans)
2022 – Scott Roth (Tasmania JackJumpers)
2021 – Trevor Gleeson (Perth Wildcats)
2020 – Mike Kelly (Cairns Taipans)

Multiple winners of Coach of the Year:
6 – Brian Goorjian
3 – Lindsay Gaze, Dean Vickerman, Joey Wright
2 – Bob Turner, Brian Kerle, Alan Black, Brendan Joyce, Ian Stacker, Andrej Lemanis, Gordie McLeod, Trevor Gleeson