O’Loughlin who has worked as an assistant coach with the team for the last 3 ½ years has an impressive coaching resume at local and Victorian County level, and is also an assistant coach of the Australian Under 18 team which is due to compete in Germany in 2010.

Director of Basketball Operations, Craig Herbert, said the selection process was difficult with a number of quality applicants applying for the position from both Australia and overseas however the unanimous recommendation of the sub-committee was that Jamie was the right person to lead the club into the future.  “Jamie is an outstanding young coach who was extremely impressive throughout the whole selection process, with his vision for the club and the development of players into the future.  We believe his ability to work with and develop young players within the basketball community will ensure the success of our program in the future, and the board is very excited about the appointment.

O’Loughlin said that he is looking forward to the challenge of coaching in the SEABL and working in a program that has had so much success over the years.  “I am really excited to have the opportunity to Head Coach such an outstanding club. The board have shown great faith in me and together I am confident we can continue the clubs success. I would like to thank Mark Leader, he gave me an opportunity 3 ½ years ago to assist him and I have learnt a lot from working with him.”

The preseason program will commence shortly with a number of players being invited to tryouts for the 2010 season.

The season is due to kick off in the first weekend of March 2010