Gordon Walter Herbert (born February 16, 1959) is a Canadian-Finnish professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach and a retired professional basketball player. He is the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the
Germany national team.
Playing career
Herbert attended two-year
North Idaho College
North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...
in
Coeur d'Alene,
and transferred to the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in
1979, where he played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
under head coach
Don Monson
Donald Lloyd Monson (born April 11, 1933) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon. ...
.
Prior to his senior season in he injured his wrist and was
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
; the Vandals were and went to the
NCAA tournament as
Big Sky champions.
As a fifth-year senior in
1981–82, Herbert started at forward and Idaho won its first sixteen games, went in the regular season,
and were sixth in the AP and UPI They advanced to the
Sweet Sixteen,
and finished with the best record in school history While undefeated at 15–0, an article on the team appeared in ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''. Late in the regular season, Herbert was the conference player of the week.
After college, he played professionally in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
for 12 years with various teams. His
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
...
playing career ended in 1994, when he started coaching.
Herbert also played with the senior
Canadian national team at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
, where they finished just out of medal position in fourth place. He also played with Canada at the
1986 FIBA World Championship
The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was held at the ...
.
Coaching career
Herbert has coached many teams, including
Frankfurt Skyliners, with which he won the
German League title in 2004. He led the Skyliners to their 3rd German League finals appearance, against the league's first place
Brose Bamberg
Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketba ...
, after beating other top-rated German teams, such as
Alba Berlin
Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...
, in the playoffs. He also coached French teams
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Pau Orthez, with which he won the
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
in the 2006–07 season.
On July 7, 2007, he officially became the
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
basketball coach
Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...
of the Greek club
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...
. Herbert has also been an assistant coach of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
. In the
2015–16 season, Herbert won the
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in nation ...
with the
Skyliners
The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh. The original lineup was: Jimmy Beaumont (lead), Janet Vogel (soprano), Wally Lester (tenor), Jackie Taylor (bass voice, guitarist), Joe Verscharen (baritone). The Skyliners were bes ...
, after his team defeated
Pallacanestro Varese
Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...
in the Final. Herbert was also named the German
Basketball Bundesliga Coach of the Year
The Basketball Bundesliga Coach of the Year (German: ''Trainer des Jahres'') is an annual Basketball Bundesliga award that goes to the league's best coach. The award was handed out for the first time in 1989–90 season, to Dirk Bauermann
Dirk ...
that season.
Herbert's contract with the Skyliners ended in May 2020. On July 2, 2020, he signed with
Avtodor
BC Avtodor (russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the VTB Uni ...
of the
VTB United League
VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...
. He was sacked in March 2021. In September 2021, he was named head coach of the Germany national team. He guided the German team to a bronze medal at the
2022 European Championships.
Coaching titles
*
Skyliners Frankfurt
The Skyliners Frankfurt, currently known as Fraport Skyliners for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball club based in Frankfurt, Germany. Their home arena is Ballsporthalle.
The club has played in the Basketball Bundesliga sinc ...
(2001–04, 2010–11, 2013–present):
**
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
: 2003–04
**
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in nation ...
:
2015–16
*
Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
Elan Corporation plc was a major drugs firm based in Dublin, Ireland, which had major interests in the United States. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ELN, the Irish Stock Exchange as ELN.I, and the London Stock Exchange as ELN ...
(2006–07):
**
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
: 2006–07
*
Espoon Honka
237px, Petteri Koponen with Espoon Honka in 2007
Espoon Honka, also known as Honka Playboys, was a basketball club based in Espoo, Finland and it played in Korisliiga. The club was dissolved in 2011 due to financial difficulties.
History
Espoon ...
(1996–99, 2009–10):
**
Finnish Cup
The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955.
The winner qualifies for the ...
: 2009
See also
*
List of foreign NBA coaches
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), foreign coaches—also known as international coaches—are those who were born outside the United States.
This list includes all international coaches who have been assistant and/or head coach in t ...
References
External links
FIBA Player ProfileEuroleague.net Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Gordon
1959 births
Living people
Alba Berlin basketball coaches
Aris B.C. coaches
Basketball people from British Columbia
Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Finland
Canadian expatriate basketball people in France
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Germany
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Greece
Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Canadian men's basketball coaches
Canadian men's basketball players
FIBA Europe Cup-winning coaches
Idaho Vandals men's basketball players
Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade
Olympic basketball players of Canada
Paris Racing Basket coaches
Skyliners Frankfurt coaches
Small forwards
Sportspeople from Penticton
Toronto Raptors assistant coaches
Universiade gold medalists for Canada
Universiade medalists in basketball