Stewart jobless, but still focused

SOUTHERN Huskies coach Anthony Stewart has declared he will move interstate — or overseas — to secure his next job as he strives to prove himself a worthy NBL candidate.

Stewart has been sensationally left without a job in the immediate future following the Huskies’ shock decision to walk away from the New Zealand NBL and NBL1.

The Hobart Chargers’ SEABL championship-winning coach guided the Huskies to a 9-9 record in their inaugural season in the NZNBL, where he went head to head against Kiwi international coach Paul Henare and former Boomers assistant Mick Downer.

He will soon hire former Chargers teammate and close friend Mark Nash as his agent and has no plans on deviating from his long-term aspiration of coaching in the NBL.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought over the last 12 months, the one thing I know is I want to coach at the highest level I can and now I’ll make myself available,” Stewart said.

“Not just NBL but any forms of basketball. I’ll probably put myself out there and I’m happy to make myself available whether it be Tasmania, Australia, or even internationally.

“I’m signing on an agent in the near future and the one thing I’ve learnt out of this experience, coaching against the Paul Henares and the quality coaches in the New Zealand league and players, I’m always up for a challenge and I want to coach at that level.

“I was really proud of the way the guys approached the season and stuck it out, the travel was an incredible challenge for everyone but the one thing I’ve learned is I definitely want to coach at the next level wherever that may be.

“So for me now, it’s putting myself out there and being happy to travel if I have to.”

Speaking at the announcement of the NBL Blitz last month, NBL legend Andrew Gaze said Stewart deserved a shot at the NBL.

While disappointed the Huskies pulled the plugt, Stewart is confident basketball is headed in the right direction in the state. “I’ve always said for me it’s the pathway for our players, making sure that we look after the locals and give them the opportunity to play at the next level. Fortunately enough we’ve got a great entrepreneur in Larry [Kestelman] coming to town and hopefully he will provide us with that full pathway through from NBL1 through to the actual NBL.”