Gordie McLeod leaves rich legacy

Wollongong Hawks club legend Glen Saville has paid a warm tribute to departed coach Gordie McLeod after his controversial resignation on Monday night.

A two-time Olympian and Wollongong's all-time leader in points, rebounds and assists, Saville spent his final four years with McLeod at the Hawks before drawing the curtain on a storied 19-season career.

He has known McLeod for 22 years and was saddened by the news that he ended his six-season coaching tenure with the Hawks.

"Gordie meant a lot to me and my career," Saville said. "He was my coach at the Australian Institute of Sport when the NBL wasn't even a dream for me, and he helped me realise that it was.

"That was in 1993 and '94, and when it came to recruiting he helped me decide on the Hawks.

"I played against him when he was coach of West Sydney and we crossed paths for a number of years, and then he was our coach for my last four seasons.

"That was just the icing on the cake for my career."

McLeod grew up in Wollongong and played nine seasons with the Hawks.

A natural leader and master playmaker, he was destined to join the coaching ranks when his playing career ended.

After 18 years of various coaching stops, he finally returned home to coach the Hawks in 2009, guiding the team to the grand final in his first season after being widely tipped to finish last in pre-season polls.

"He's one of the best coaches around," Saville said.

"I was treated like a veteran by him and he let me be the professional I needed to be. I just thought he was a brilliant coach to play for.

"I played for Brendan [Joyce] and [Brian] Goorjian and Gordie's work ethic is second to none. He really knows his stuff.

"He knows how to recruit and he gave a lot of guys good opportunities to do well and be their best. He'll be missed."

Echoing Saville's sentiments was Hawks free agent Tim Coenraad, who is coming off a career-best season.

The 29-year-old forward joined the Hawks shortly after McLeod signed on as coach and holds the two-time NBL Coach of the Year in high esteem.

"It's sad to see him go," Coenraad said.

"Gordie was the guy who took a chance on me when no other NBL clubs would. I can't ever thank him enough for that.

"I wasn't really getting any other offers when I came out of college, but Gordie and the Hawks gave me the go-ahead to come and practise.

"That set me up to have a decent NBL career so far and I'll always be grateful that Gordie gave me that chance."

Coenraad humbly credits McLeod for his growth as a player.

"I learnt a lot under Gordie," he said. "He's a good tactician, he works his butt off to prepare his teams the best he can for every single game. It'd be tough to find another harder-working coach.

"The legacy he leaves behind is that he always squeezed the most out of his teams.

Coaching applications have started arriving in the Wollongong Hawks’ mailbox.

The Hawks have less than four months to find a coach and build a team from the ground up before the 2015-16 NBL season tips off.

The coaching vacancy surfaced when Gordie McLeod informed Hawks general manager Kim Welch during a Monday night phone call that he would not be taking up the club’s offer to stay.

Welch says he knows the clock is ticking in his search for a new coach.

‘‘We’re really looking to fast-track this process, but we also want to make sure we do our due diligence and go through the right process in order to bring in the right person,’’ he said.

‘‘Applications are streaming in from around the world, but right now we’re still putting the process we want to go through in place, in terms of how we recruit a new head coach. Until I put those processes in place, I’ve got assistant coach Matt Flinn putting the basketball program together and we’re preparing for the season as best we can.’’

McLeod coached the Hawks for six seasons, earning a reputation as a shrewd and tough-minded tactician who pushed his teams to overachieve.

Wollongong fans became accustomed to seeing him urging on his team from the sideline and many were shocked to learn he would not be back with the club next season.

‘‘I think it’s been taken for what it is,’’ Welch said of reactions to McLeod’s exit.

‘‘People have expressed their gratitude for what Gordie has done for the club, and it’s a similar feeling from us. We’re sorry to see him go but we’re very grateful for what he’s done in his six years as coach.’’

Welch said negotiations with player recruits would remain on hold until a new coach is named.