The Phantom
Earlier this year
3 year deal for Tatum at Hawks
Well deserved. Now would you rather have him or Ninnis as your HC going forward based on their results this season after taking over?
The Illawarra Hawks have announced interim head coach Justin Tatum has signed a three-year deal with the club.
Justin Tatum's fairy tale run with the Illawarra Hawks is set to continue following the club’s announcement of his appointment to the role of senior coach on a three-year deal.
Tatum stepped into the breach as interim coach early in NBL24 and pulled the Hawks from bottom of the NBL standings to a fourth-place finish, and they are now set to face Tasmania in the Seeding Qualifier next Wednesday.
He led the side to 12 wins from 19 games after taking over the role from former head coach Jacob Jackomas, and club CEO Stu Taggart says Tatum is the perfect candidate to take the club forward.
"This is another important step in the right direction for the club," Taggart said.
“Stability and continuity, as well as performance, are critical for the Hawks as we continue to rebuild. Justin is offering us all those things, and I am delighted that he has agreed to take on the permanent position for the next three years.”
“We are excited to recognise Justin’s success this year by elevating him permanently to the role of head coach. He has earned the respect of his team, the coaching staff and the fans in a relatively short period of time, so I am looking forward to seeing what he is able to achieve in the long term,” Hawks GM of Basketball Mat Campbell added.
Tatum initially took over the role of interim head coach despite never having led a professional team in his career.
At the NBL24 Finals launch he asserted he wants to bring a “winning culture” back to Illawarra, and he believes his side has strong momentum heading into its first Finals run in two years.
“We have some strong momentum now that we will carry into the Finals, and I am just happy that all the people of the Illawarra will have the opportunity to support their team in a [Finals Series],” Tatum said.
“I’ve grown to love this place in a very short space of time. The whole team is so proud to represent this region, and we want to continue to bring the winning feeling back to the Illawarra.”
