Brondello named Silver Stars head coach
Former Opals guard Sandy Brondello has become the third Australian head coach in WNBA history, writes Grantley Bernard for The Herald Sun.
Brondello was elevated from assistant coach with the San Antonio Silver Stars when Dan Hughes stood down to become general manager.
Brondello's husband, Olaf Lange, is associate head coach and will assume the lead role for early games when his wife gives birth in May.
A four-time Olympian with a decorated club career in the WNBL, Europe and the WNBA, Brondello follows Tom Maher (Washington Mystics) and Carrie Graf (Phoenix Mercury) into head coaching positions.
"You always hear there are two forks in the road ... and I was lucky this was the path I always wanted to take," she told the San Antonio News-Express.
Since retiring as a player after the 2004 Olympics, Brondello moved into coaching as an assistant with the Silver Stars, impressing Hughes and the players with her vast knowledge and understanding of basketball.
"She has been an invaluable piece to the growth of the Silver Stars over the past five years as an assistant coach," Hughes said. "I have been fortunate to have had great assistant coaches as well as players over the past 10 years, but perhaps the greatest gratification for me has been to watch them develop into head coaches.
"Sandy will be my fourth assistant coach to become a head coach in the WNBA. Her evolution from player to coach over the past five years has been unlike any other I have seen. She is an effective teacher of the game, relates to the professional player and is ready to lead a team of her own."
A native of Mackay in North Queensland, Brondello was recently in the news when disgraced Olympic sprinter Marion Jones launched a bid to play professional basketball after working out with Lange and seeking Brondello's counsel.
So far, Jones' bid has failed to materialise.
Add comment