Chris Harriman played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Sydney Kings and the Hunter Pirates (runner-up in the 2004 rookie of the year award) before taking up an opportunity to coach college basketball.

Since then, he's coached at some of the top college basketball programs, including Saint Louis, Nebraska, New Mexico and the University of Cal (Berkley), where he is an assistant coach to  Mark Fox.

While few may be aware of who Harriman is, many are familiar with his work. During his almost 20 years coaching in the US, he's helped develop some of the NBL's best talent, including Kevin Lisch, Keanu Pinder, Brian Conklin, Tim Coenraad, Rob Loe and Jack McVeigh, amongst many others.

Harriman joins host Dan Boyce on the show to discuss a myriad of topics, ranging from the current state of college basketball, thoughts on the Australian basketball system compared to the USA, how the NBL hurt young basketball talent with the points system during the 2000s and advice for anyone hoping to play or coach in the US college system.

Topics include...

• The role of an assistant coach in the US college system and how it compares to being an assistant coach in the NBL (2:00)
• His time with the Sydney Kings during the 98/99 season (5:30)
• Remembering the talent of former Kings import Acie Earl (8:30)
• Playing division II college basketball with Augusta State and its Aussie pipeline during the early 2000s (9:30)
• His return to the NBL after college and a season with the Hunter Pirates (11:00)
• How the NBL points system hurt the development of Australian talent, especially point guards (14:00)
• Developing some of the NBL’s best talent, a list that includes Keanu Pinder, Kevin Lisch, Tim Coenraad, Brian Conklin, Jack McVeigh and many more (18:30)
• How US colleges view Aussie players right now (20:00)
• What Aussie players need to know if they want to play college basketball (22:00)
• How college basketball has dramatically changed since Covid (25:00)
• How things have changed now college players are ‘getting paid’, and top players are now generating ‘six figures’ (27:00)
• Lessons learnt from Rick Majerus and other coaches (30:00)
• What Aussie coaches need to know if they want to become a college basketball coach (34:00)
• Thoughts on coaching in the NBL (35:00)
• The biggest hurdles and the highlights faced during his basketball journey (40:00)

Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball.

Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin

Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Jack White, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Daniel Johnson, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Brad Newley, Kai Sotto, Luke Travers

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills

All that and much more.

Follow @AussieHoopla on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email us at info@aussiehoopla.com

This week saw Illawarra Hawks stalwart Tim Coenraad retire after 14 seasons in the NBL.

He steps away from the Hawks as the third-highest in games played capped Hawks player of all time has announced his retirement.

One of the finest three-point shooters in the league, particularly when playing at home in the WIN Entertainment Centre in front of a crowd invariably full of #22 Coenraad jerseys, he joins this episode of the podcast to talk about the different eras he went through as a player, experiencing different coaches (McLeod, Beveridge, Goorjian, etc.), across multiple seasons. The period of time where Illawarra seemed to be regularly fighting through voluntary administration and his experiences playing alongside some of the biggest names in Hawks history.

He also tells about the year spent playing alongside LaMelo Ball and the media circus which accompanied that.

Topics include...

• What retirement looks like for Tim Coenraad (2:00)

• What his role will be within the Hawks organisation moving forward (4:00)

• Looking at how his career ended and the stories behind his multiple comebacks (8:00)

• The things he will miss and the things he’s happy he'll never have to face again now his NBL career is finished (14:00)

• What was the closest he ever came to playing for another NBL team (22:00)

• Looking at different eras of the Hawks, starting with the Gordie McLeod era (27:00)

• The imports he enjoyed playing with most during his time with the Hawks (30:00)

• Why he enjoyed playing with LaMelo Ball (32:00)

• The Rob Beveridge Era and the hatred he feels for the Perth Wildcats (35:00)

• Knocking Adelaide out of the playoffs and reaching the NBL Grand Final in 2017 (39:00)

• The Hawks v Kings rivalry and how Illawarra players are introduced to it (44:00)

• His last season with the club and the difficulties faced by Jacob Jackomas in his first year of coaching (47:00)

• The most challenging times he faced being a part of the Hawks organisation whilst it faced numerous years of financial difficulty (49:00)

• The LaMelo Ball season and the circus that came with it in 2020 (53:00)

• His relationship with coach Brian Goorjian and what he taught him as a player (55:00)

• The biggest hurdles he faced as a player (59:00)

• The highlights of his career (1:03:00)

Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball.

Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin

Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Jack White, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Daniel Johnson, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Brad Newley, Kai Sotto, Luke Travers

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills

All that and much more.

Follow @AussieHoopla on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email us at info@aussiehoopla.com