Saint Kentigern College’s head of basketball has been named as the new assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats basketball team.
Aaron Young was just 24 when he arrived at Saint Kentigern College with the objective of developing his coaching career.
Now eight years on, he has caught his big break, being announced as the assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats in their 2023/24 National Basketball League (NBL) campaign.
Young says the level of coaching he’s going to be involved in is something he’s always looked forward to.
“It’s all really worked out well. I love the group that’s being assembled on and off the court. I’m just happy to be a part of it,” he says.
Young has played a major role in the basketball programme at St Kents over the past eight years, particularly in his role as the premier boys coach, which he led to win the National Premier Competition in 2019.
“It was never a matter of if, but when Aaron was going to be elevated and make it to the next level of basketball coaching,” says a Saint Kentigern spokesperson.
Alongside his commitments with the east Auckland College, Young was employed by the NZNBL franchise the Auckland Tuatara 2020 as head coach.
He took the side to three consecutive finals series in three seasons, including a grand final in 2022.
Perth Wildcats general manager of basketball operations, Danny Mills, says Young met a lot of the criteria sought for the club.
“As we went through a thorough search process to identify an assistant coach we could bring into our programme, we found Aaron ticked a lot of boxes in regard to his background and experience as a current head coach in the New Zealand NBL.
“His ability to connect with and develop players whilst having a modern and innovative mindset on how he views and teaches the game,” he says.
Meanwhile, Young is confident that he can help the Perth organisation and he is very passionate about the team.
“The Wildcats are a world-class organisation. I’ve always had great respect for Perth.
“I know they do things at a high level, so just being able to contribute to and complement what’s already been built over a couple of decades is pretty exciting,” he says.
