GOLDFIELDS Giants coach Stephen Charlton is set to return for a fifth season at the helm in 2010.

Less than a week after the Giants bowed out of the State Basketball League play-offs with Saturday’s 104-99 semi-final loss to Perry Lakes, Charlton yesterday declared he was keen for another shot at the title.

Charlton, who became the Giants’ longest-serving coach earlier this season, has already spoken with club chairman Graham Crew regarding his tenure.

The Willetton Tigers’ head coaching job became available on Monday, but Charlton said he had not given any serious thought to returning to the club where he played 90 of his 306 SBL games.

“We’ve not put pen to paper yet, but it’s virtually a done deal that I’ll be here (at the Giants) again next season,” Charlton said.

Charlton has an impressive 94-26 win-loss record since taking charge in 2006 – a winning ratio of 78.33 per cent.

The only Giants coach who comes close to that mark is Geoff Hobba (2002, 2004-2005), who won 69.51 per cent of the time for a 57-25 record.

Charlton said he hopes to retain the bulk of the 2009 roster when he speaks with the playing group in the next fortnight. He said it was important to let the dust settle after Saturday’s loss, which ended the Giants’ dream of a hat-trick of SBL championships. “You could easily see the disappointment from the players on Saturday,” Charlton said.

“That’s still there, but after a couple of days they’ve come to terms with it and will move on.

“Most of the team will be back next year. We’ll have to sit down in the next couple of weeks because there are factors like work and family which could take these guys elsewhere.”

American import Michael Haney, who has played 89 games in three seasons, is set to begin a college coaching career when the former NCAA player returns to the United States in the coming weeks.

Haney will stay in Kalgoorlie-Boulder for the Giants’ Most Valuable Player count on August 29, where he is tipped to win the award for a second successive season.

Fellow import Alonzo Hird is fielding offers to play in Europe, possibly in Germany, Holland or Ukraine, during the Australian off-season.

Hird was the league’s second best rebounder in 2009. The 206cm centre averaged 13.4 rebounds in 30 games to finish with 401, behind only club record-holder Jason Harrison’s 1996 effort of 446 boards.

“With the imports, they’ve obviously been fantastic players for us and we’ve got a two-week window to sit down with them and see where they want to be this time next year,” Charlton said.

Meanwhile, Charlton predicted Lakeside would win its first championship since 2006 in Saturday’s grand final against Perry Lakes. “Lakeside deserves to go in as favourites after finishing on top of the ladder,” he said.

Article by Jarrod Lucas (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo by Travis Anderson - Andmedia/Sports Vision © 2009.