Coach Hawks first priority: Kordahi

New Hawks co-owner Dorry Kordahi is excited for what lies in store for the franchise, saying that a new coach is the first priority ahead of the NBL 2020-21 season.

Kordahi, who has an extensive business portfolio as well as being on the NBL advisory board was announced as one of three co-owners of the Hawks franchise, as part of a syndicate announced by the NBL on Wednesday.

The syndicate also includes prominent former NBA executive Bryan Colangelo and US businessman and basketball influencer Michael Proctor, as part of an exciting new era for the only remaining foundation club.

Kordahi, also a previous co-owner of the Sydney Kings was delighted to be a part of the new Hawks ownership.

“It was something that came left field from my end. I met Bryan through mutual friends and we started talking about this. Having sat on the NBL advisory board I’ve always known about the issues the league have had with the Hawks and the challenges that have always been there,” he said.

“When they went in to administration me and Bryan started talking and looked at this as an opportunity. The more we spoke about it and the more we networked and started collaborating our thoughts behind it we made a plan to see if we could make this work.

“It’s an exciting moment for us and for the Illawarra region. For us we believe it’s a positive step for the league.”

The club was placed in to voluntary administration in May, with the NBL vowing to keep the club alive.

Kordahi said there was too much history and tradition for the club to fold.

“The Wollongong area and the Hawks have had 41 years of history within the NBL, they are the only founding club that’s played in every season. There’s a lot of history and pride with the club itself,” he said.

“That definitely for us was something we believe we can contribute to it and contribute to the local community and the fans. For us it’s the challenge of turning this club around. We know the past and what’s happened, we want to make sure we take this to another level and make it a respected club.”

The Illawarra tag has been dropped from the club’s moniker, as the club looks to make more of a footprint in other parts of New South Wales.

Kordahi supported the move, even though the club will remain based in the Illawarra/Woolongong region.

“We don’t see it as a discredit to the Illawarra region, the Hawks brand has been there since the start and that’s something we aren’t going away from. For us it’s about maintaining that history.” He said.

Free Agency opens July 1st, but Kordahi said a coaching announcement would be made public before that date, after previous coach Matt Flynn was made redundant when the club went in to liquidation.

“It all starts with the coach. That’s something we are looking at as a priority. We’ve got some exciting things happening. That will be released very soon. It all starts with a coach coming in with a winning mindset,” he said.

“We need to get the right coach in there, and we believe we have got a few good prospects we are looking at. Once that rolls through it’s going to feed through to the players and in to the organisation and build from there.”

Further announcements are expected in the coming weeks from the club, as the NBL 2020-21 season begins to take shape.

IMAGE: Yahoo Sport.