Ian Stacker (born ) is an Australian former 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 ...

player and coach. Listed by the NBL in 1983 as 181 cm and a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, he had an eight-year playing career before becoming a successful coach in the National Basketball League (NBL), winning the

NBL Coach of the Year The National Basketball League Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1980 NBL season to the best head coach of the regular season. At the season's end, each c ...

in 2000 and 2003 with the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

Early life

Stacker grew up in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of

Nunawading Nunawading is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 miles) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Whitehorse local government area. Nunawading recorded a population of 12,413 at the 2021 cens ...

. He represented the

Nunawading Spectres Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...

and

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

in the Victorian Basketball Association as a junior, winning one Under 14 and two Under 20 state titles. He also played for Victorian state teams at Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16 levels.

Playing career

After playing for the

in the pre-

SEABL The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

competition in 1979 and 1980, Stacker joined the Frankston Bears for the SEABL's inaugural season in 1981. The Bears won the SEABL championship in 1982, which saw them promoted to the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1983 season. Stacker made his NBL debut with the Bears in 1983 and then joined the

for the

1984 NBL season The 1984 NBL season was the sixth season of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). With the Melbourne Tigers joining the competition, the league's number of teams increased to 17, with nine teams in the East ...

. He continued with the Spectres in the NBL in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

before returning to the SEABL in 1987 to play for the Dandenong Rangers.

Coaching career

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, Stacker returned to the NBL and the

, now known as the Eastside Spectres, as an assistant coach. After four years as an assistant with the Spectres, he joined the

South East Melbourne Magic The South East Melbourne Magic was an Australian basketball team based in Melbourne. The Magic competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1992 and 1998, and played their home games at Rod Laver Arena. In their seven seasons, the ...

as an assistant in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. The Magic won the NBL championship in 1992. He continued on as a Magic assistant until

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, when in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

he served as head coach of the

Geelong Supercats Geelong Supercats is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Basketball Geelong and Geelong United Basketball. The Supercats play their home gam ...

. After a season as an assistant coach with the

North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, Stacker was appointed head coach of the

for the

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Crocodi ...

. He was named

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and guided the Crocodiles to the NBL Grand Final in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. He parted ways with the Crocodiles following the 2005–06 season after eight seasons as head coach. Stacker served as an assistant coach in 2008–09 and 2009–10 with the

. In July 2010, Stacker was appointed head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) men's basketball program. He led the program until 2013. In February 2019, Stacker was appointed an assistant coach of the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 ...

for their inaugural season in the NBL in 2019–20. He parted ways with the Phoenix in March 2020.

National team career

In 1997, Stacker was head coach of the Australian Under 23 team that won a gold medal at the World Championships. The gold medal was the first won by an Australian men's team in international competition, and included consecutive victories over United states (quarter final), Argentina (semi final), and the previously undefeated Puerto Rico (gold medal game). In 2001, he coached Australia at the

FIBA Under-21 World Championship The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). It was known as the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship before FIBA lowered the age limit to 21 year ...

. Stacker was set to coach Australia at the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (russian: XXVII Летняя Универсиада), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 un ...

in Russia, but he stepped down from the role due to personal reasons.

Personal life

Stacker and his wife had three sons before their divorce. His eldest son, Jackson, died in 2021. As of September 2022, the death remained a mystery.

Notes

References

External links

NBL profile (2000)NBL profile (2002)NBL profile (2005)Coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stacker, Ian 1957 births Living people Australian men's basketball coaches Basketball players from Melbourne National Basketball League (Australia) coaches Nunawading Spectres players Townsville Crocodiles coaches People from the City of Whitehorse