Goorjian Wants to Build Miami Heat Culture with Hawks

New head coach Brian Goorjian wants to model the culture of The Hawks around that of the 2020 NBA Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat.

Goorjian will return to the NBL sidelines in the 2020/21 season with The Hawks, as he has been tasked to steer them up from last campaign’s bottom placed finish.

The six-time NBL coaching champion has been a keen observer of Miami’s run to the 2020 NBA Finals and wants to replicate the Heat’s energy with The Hawks.

“I have thought about it a lot coming back…I think a huge thing is, what do you enjoy?” Goorjian said.

“I want to win, I want to win a championship, but also I want to enjoy. I want to appreciate everything and be happy and look forward to each day.

“I’m an LA guy and I’ve been an admirer of (Miami President) Pat Riley ever since I was a kid. Now there’s been a real focus on Miami and on Pat Riley.

“My fitness coach initially in Shanghai has now evolved into being Jimmy Butler’s personal conditioning guy. Watching Jimmy Butler and watching the Miami Heat…nobody gets more out of what they got then what they do.

“There is no one I admire more right now than the way they’re playing and how they are together. That’s been something that Wollongong has been known for.”

Despite Goorjian looking to make tactical changes to the way The Hawks play basketball, he wants to maintain and grow that positive environment.

“I am trying to put together a high flying, offensive, fast paced, athletic, talented group that keeps that same Wollongong culture,” he said.

“That’s been a real strong message to all the players that are overseas that I’m communicating with. It’s really important to me how we present, how we look fit, we look strong, we are in great shape, the guys are touching each other, they’re pointing to each other, they’re communicating, they’re interacting with the crowd and we are promoting the game of basketball.

“We are helping the league, we are helping the community, and we are good for the game and we are good with each other.

“From the day I’ve stepped in here, every single day I want to make a better day and I keep saying to myself – appreciate, be happy and create an environment where there’s nobody that you don’t enjoy, that you don’t appreciate and that you don’t feel happy about.”