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          Olgs' Notebook: Gleeson is ready for Australia's top job, Cotton is ready for the NBA

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          Cotton, Wildcats take down 36ers (1:42)

          The Perth Wildcats take down the Adelaide 36ers in a high-scoring affair, lead by superstar Bryce Cotton. (1:42)

          • Olgun Uluc, ESPN Basketball Insider
          Dec 9, 2024, 02:15 AM

          Every week, ESPN's Olgun Uluc runs through what's catching his eye across the NBL, and takes you inside the conversations trickling around the Australian basketball ecosystem.

          Gleeson's Boomers pitch

          Trevor Gleeson feels he's ready to take on Australian basketball's top job.

          A five-time NBL champion with the Perth Wildcats who recently spent time as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, Gleeson has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant Australian Boomers job left behind by Brian Goorjian.

          The selection process is underway within Basketball Australia, with the expression of interest deadline passing on Monday, and an expectation that candidates across world basketball will be given consideration for the job.

          Gleeson, who's currently the head coach of the Chiba Jets in Japan's B.League, is among the Australians who have expressed interest in the position, and is confident he has the requisite experience for the job.

          "Look at the track record," Gleeson told ESPN.

          "Everywhere I've gone, I've built a program, from Townsville, where it was a small budget and we made the playoffs every year, then taking a good program in Perth and turning it into a great program. Eight years, five championships, six finals.

          "It's having that experience, knowing what it takes to be successful. Every team I've had has been well known as ones that play hard, they play together, and they're all committed, and I think I can help the Boomers achieve that. I know what it takes to be successful, and to build an environment, and to have a culture that facilitates success. I have that vision, and I'm really relentless in the pursuit of getting that done.

          "I have high standards, non-negotiables that you build around being successful. I think I'm a better coach now for having that Boomers experience, the four years at the World Cup in 2014, and losing a heartbreaking bronze medal game to Spain with a very dubious call in the last three seconds of the game. Having success in the NBL as a head coach, and now with the NBA, with the man management skills, I think this is just the perfect timing."

          Gleeson was an assistant under Andrej Lemanis at that 2014 World Cup, where the Boomers finished in 12th place, and then again for the program's fourth-place effort at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

          Following those national team duties, Gleeson continued to bolster his resume. He won a few more championships with the Wildcats - making it five all-up - and won a second NBL Coach of the Year award. He then joined Nick Nurse's staff in Toronto for two seasons, before heading to Milwaukee to serve as an assistant under Doc Rivers.

          For a Boomers team that's increasingly incorporating more and more credentialed players with each major tournament - the most recent Olympic campaign was led by the likes of Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, and Jock Landale - arguably the most important trait for the program's next head coach will be the ability to effectively lead, and that's something Gleeson feels he's honed over the past few years.

          "You're learning man management," Gleeson said of his time in the NBA.

          "Nick Nurse is one of the best at it. Doc Rivers is one of the best at it. You learn how to manage egos, you learn how to manage environments. I had a smaller take of that in Perth... and it's really reconfirmed what I already knew. The man management in the NBA is first class, and the elite coaches know how to do that; to have that three years of experience was something that's really helped my coaching."

          Gleeson's pitch is largely centered around his demonstrated success in the NBL, along with how his experiences with the Raptors and Bucks make him suited to guide a Boomers team primarily filled with NBA players.

          The Boomers are coming off a quarterfinals exit from the Paris Olympics, with Giddey, Daniels, and Landale firmed as the core of the team, as the program moves on from the older talent that made up the bulk of the bronze-medal winning group from Tokyo 2020.

          Gleeson sees the role as Boomers head coach as one that incorporates getting the most out of the roster in the short-term, while continuing to foster the team's culture and development pathway.

          "It's really about getting your team playing the best possible basketball at their strength," the 55-year-old said.

          "You have to tilt your philosophy to, for example, if you have a Giannis; you need shooters around him. That'd be the same with Giddey. Giddey's one of the best in the world at getting to the rack, so you're gonna have to provide opportunities for the shooters to be around him, so the lanes are opening up.

          "Dyson Daniels is one of the best defensive players in the league, so your defence has to adapt to bring his strengths into the game. You've got the young fellas coming through; you're looking at [Alex] Toohey, you're looking at Rocco [Zikarsky], you're looking at [Johnny] Furphy, Luke Travers, Alex Ducas, all that next generation coming through. That's a really exciting bunch to go through and to work with, and develop, and bring that core environment and culture. That's what really excites me, to hopefully build the next generation of Boomers."

          With the expressions of interest portion of this hiring process coming to an end, Basketball Australia will soon commence interviews with prospective candidates.

          Cotton to the NBA?

          Bryce Cotton is maybe the hottest player in world basketball right now.

          The four-time NBL MVP capped off Round 11 with a 49-point performance in the Wildcats' win over the Adelaide 36ers, rounding out a three-game stretch that began with that 59-point explosion against the New Zealand Breakers, followed by a 40-piece against the Illawarra Hawks.

          Over those three games, Cotton is shooting 47/72 (65.3%) from the field, 18/32 (56.3%) from beyond the three-point line, and 36/38 (94.7%) from the free throw line, while also averaging 5.0 assists per game.

          A lot of the recent discourse has been around whether Cotton, who's off contract at the end of the season, will choose to remain in Perth or potentially gauge his other options, either in the NBL or abroad. Those questions are legitimate and worth tracking moving forward, but there's a more immediate option that's gathering some steam.

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          2:34
          Bryce Cotton explodes again, pours in 49 points

          Bryce Cotton continues his historic tear through the NBL, dropping 49 points and carrying the Perth Wildcats past the Adelaide 36ers.

          Multiple NBA teams are following Cotton's play closely with an eye toward potential conversations once the NBL season comes to an end, sources told ESPN.

          Cotton, 32, has always had scattered NBA interest, but nothing as firm or material as he has right now amid this incredible scoring stretch.

          Cotton has been on record over the past few years that he had no interest in chasing an NBA deal because he had, in so many words, scratched that itch already; he spent time with three NBA teams from 2015-2016. There was a sense of contentment Cotton had with his professional situation, so NBA minicamps or Summer League opportunities weren't of interest.

          This is different, though. NBA teams are actively tracking Cotton's world-level heater right now, so potentially joining an NBA team at the end of a season isn't completely out of the question.

          Rob Loe in career form

          Let's talk about one of Melbourne United's unsung heroes.

          That's Rob Loe, who's in some of the best form of his career.

          Going into the season, the five-spot was one many pointed to as a weakness for Melbourne United - with the loss of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Ariel Hukporti - but Loe has been a key to them sitting relatively comfortably atop the NBL ladder, and particularly this most recent stretch of impressive games from Dean Vickerman's team.

          Over his past six games, Loe is averaging 18.8 points per game, shooting 64.2% from the field, including 16/27 (59.3%) from downtown; United went 5-1 over that stretch. That includes a 30-point game against the Brisbane Bullets, and a 25-point effort vs the Breakers.

          "No hesitation on his shot right now," Vickerman said.

          "He's a tough cover, and people are gonna throw different things at him right now, whether that be switches or rotates, or different things. We've just got to continue to play off him at different times to keep that spacing, and keep that advantage, and make sure we've got the counters for whatever they throw at him.

          "I think the way he's sprinting as well. He's really getting out and pushing pace for us, as well as setting early step-ups and punch screens. [He's] playing at an elite level."

          My favourite plays of the week

          Speaking of Loe, here's the big-man winding back the clock with a poster slam on Karim Lopez.

          This column has highlighted the Breakers' tagging up tactic, so United countered it by sending guys long.

          Here's one of the best passes you'll see all season. Taran Armstrong will have at least one of these sorts of highlight dimes a game.

          This is typical Mason Peatling, putting his body on the line to impact winning.

          Lachy Olbrich was a monster in the post against the Wildcats. Here's some of his passing; the soft touch on the first two assists is sublime.

          I didn't know Alex Toohey had this sort of highlight in his bag.

          This was an awesome way for Jordan Hunter to clock his 1000th NBL point.