Jackson: Brassard ‘One of the Best’ to Lead Tasmania Jewels

Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson has backed the appointment of Claudia Brassard as the Tasmania Jewels’ inaugural Head Coach.

Brassard will lead the WNBL’s newest franchise when the Tasmania Jewels join the competition in WNBL27, bringing decades of experience as both a player and coach.

The former Canadian Olympian has lived in Townsville for the past 24 years after being recruited to the Townsville Fire following the 2000 Sydney Olympics, becoming one of the most respected figures in Australian women’s basketball.

Bassard is coming off an NBL1 North season where she coached the Townsville Flames to the Quarter Finals, and Jackson believes she is ready to take on the challenge of building a brand new program.

“Tasmania has such a rich basketball history, off the back of the success of (NBL’s) JackJumpers, I think the Jewels are definitely going to come in and going to make a real impact,” Jackson told Win News.

“She knows basketball. She's smart. She's coached some of the best players in this country already. We need really high-quality coaches, and she's definitely one of them.”

After her playing career ended, Brassard moved into coaching and was part of three Championship teams with the Fire, two as an assistant and one as Head Coach in 2018.

Jewels Chairman Steven Old said securing a coach of Brassard’s calibre was a major coup for the club.

“I never could have dreamed as Chair of this amazing club that we could have got a coach of Claudia’s experience and esteem, so we are really excited,” Old said.

“With Claudia’s background in leadership, we could not have got a better coach to start off the Jewels’ campaign… she’s the one to take this club forward.”

As the WNBL26 season comes to a close, Tasmania will now begin its search for its inaugural playing roster ahead of the club’s debut season. Stay tuned for all the latest info via the WNBL App.

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