WNBL to the Wolves: New coach joins Joondalup

The Joondalup Wolves have announced the appointment of current Adelaide Lightning WNBL Assistant Coach, Marcus Wong as its new NBL1 Women’s Head Coach.

Wong comes to the Wolves from Adelaide where he is a respected coach and ports administrator at both the NBL1 and WNBL level.

He has spent over seven years as an Assistant Coach with the Lightning in the WNBL and over 10 years as the Head Coach of the Sturt Sabres in what is now the NBL1 where he led the team to two championships.

Wong also has significant experience in coaching elite junior teams having been the SA U20 women’s head coach as well as stints as state assistant coach with the U16 and U18 age groups in both men and women.

An NITP coach for Basketball Australia along with Director of Coaching roles at both Sturt and Forestville basketball associations round out Wong’s experience.

Off the court he has been an elite sports administrator, holding the role of General Manager of the Adelaide Lightning WNBL franchise and Sturt Basketball Association.

Wolves CEO Andrew Summerville had this to say about Wong: "I’m really excited with the signing of Marcus and can’t wait to get him here and get to work.

"We knew we wanted to find the best available candidate and we were willing to take our time to make that happen.

"We conducted a national search and interviewed candidates locally and across WA and interstate.

"However, we could not go past Marcus’s WNBL experience as we feel that is the level of coach needed to give our players the best chance of success.

"Marcus is very well respected by the players he has worked with. I have personally spoken to some current and past Adelaide Lightning players who speak very, very highly of him.

"We knew following on from the success the team had this year that we needed to get the right person who could continue to build on that success, and we think Marcus has the ability and experience to do that.

"Marcus has an interest in how the juniors and D-League players link to the NBL1 program which will only strengthen the pathway for our juniors and provide them with the opportunity to learn what it takes to progress through the NBL1 ranks to the WNBL."

Wong was equally excited by the opportunity.

"I am extremely thankful and excited for the opportunity to coach the Wolves NBL1 Women’s team," he said.

"The team had great success last season making the grand final and we will be working to go one step further in 2022.

"I can’t wait to get out on the floor with the group and start building for the season."

View the 2022 NBL1 roster tracker here.