
Basketball Queensland would like to officially announce the two coaches who have been appointed to coach the 2018 U20’s State Teams! We would like to congratulate both coaches on their appointment, and wish them and their teams every success at the National Championships next year!
Bruce Palmer – U20’s Men’s Coach
Bruce brings a wealth of basketball knowledge, with over 35 years of experience as Head Coach, Assistant Coach and Director of Coaching. The last time Bruce coached a Queensland State Team, they won Gold at the 2005 U20’s Australian National Championships. Bruce is the fifth all time coach in winning percentage in the Australian National Basketball League (61%) having reached the quarter finals nine years, and reached the Championship Finals twice. He is also in the top two in winning percentage in the Australian second division, SEABL (75%) and has been awarded Coach of the Year on five occasions in the respective NBL, SEABL, Victorian Basketball League, Queensland Basketball League and the whole of Queensland Basketball.
Mark Wrobel – U20’s Women’s Coach
This will be Mark’s 9th AJC campaign as a Head Coach, which has comprised of 2 Gold Medals, including the last Queensland Women’s victory at the 2006 U20 Nationals in Perth, 1 Silver Medal, and 2 Bronze Medals. He has also attended 4 National Championships in either an Assistant or Mentor Coach role. In 2014, Mark was appointed the Assistant Coach for the JCU Townsville Fire, which has seen the Fire achieve back-to-back WNBL Championships in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, whilst falling in the semi-finals in the 2016/17 campaign. Mark will continue in this role as Assistant Coach in the 2017/18 JCU Townsville Fire WNBL season. In 2013, Mark made his International coaching debut leading an U19 group to a Gold Medal at the Pacific Championships in New Zealand. A career highlight was achieved in 2017 in his role as Assistant Coach for the World Championship winning Australian Under 17 Sapphires in Spain. Mark is engaged as an Assistant Coach in the 2018 World Championship campaign that beings with the Asian Qualifying tournament in India during October this year.