Legend dishes respect to Kelly
Superstar Andrew Gaze doesn’t have to battle the Taipans master, he just admires his work
THEY were ferocious rivals on the court and since both moving into the coaching ranks, Mike Kelly and Andrew Gaze have kept their special bond going.
The names Gaze and Kelly were synonymous with basketball through the 1990s, and still are really – with their battles legendary on the court, usually in big-time playoff games.
In Taipans coach Kelly’s darkest days in his wooden spoon rookie season, right in the middle of their embarrassing 14-game losing sequence, his old combatant Gaze was there to offer a word or two of comfort.
Gaze’s Sydney Kings belted the Snakes in late December 2018 and when everyone in Australian hoops was questioning if Kelly would make it as a head coach, the five-time Olympian declared patience and trust around the new Cairns coach.
Since then, the 54-year-old Gaze has returned to the media and Kelly has gone on to win the NBL’s coach of the year – the award named after Andrew’s champion father Lindsay, who coached in games against Kelly all those years ago.
They still exchange a text message here or there, and always chat when they cross paths at a gym, and Gaze says his respect towards Kelly from his playing days only grows now that he has taken on the clipboard. “I really felt for Mike last year, all coaches go through some dark times,” Gaze said.
“That is hard going, each week you are having to deal with it, it is the expectation and pressure.
“Mike is not necessarily a better coach than what he was last year, you just have better tools to work with and different circumstances.
“Mike was a really good coach with the systems he was trying to implement, he just did not have the right mix of guys. But when we were preparing against Cairns last season, we had an understanding that what he was doing made sense.”
When accepting the Lindsay Gaze Trophy earlier this month, Kelly said it was a “privilege and honour” to win an award named after the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame member.
On ABC radio earlier this week, Taipans chief executive Mark Beecroft declared that Kelly was coach of the year this time last campaign, in his eyes, despite the 6-22 record and finishing at the foot of the ladder.
“When you go through a season like we did last year, losing 14 games in a row at one stage, the way Mike went about his work and practice every day, he had a positive frame of mind,” Beecroft said.
“We started to build at the back end of last year.
“We started to recognise that Mike was the coach of the year last year, the record did not show it but the way he went about his work, that demonstrated that we wanted him around. He has done a tremendous job this year.”
Even when the Snakes were battling, Gaze, who has returned to the NBL commentary booth this season, thought Kelly would succeed as he was an individual with strong values.
“I am really, really happy for him, and that goes back to the battles we had a really long time ago,” Gaze said.
“Mike is a good fella, he knew we were out there competing, but you need to keep the game in perspective.
“I have built great respect for Mike. I would not say I am great friends with him, but I say I know him reasonably well and I have tremendous respect for the way he conducts himself as a player and coach.”