William Voigt (born August 18, 1976) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who last served as head coach of

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

of the

Egyptian Basketball Super League The Egyptian Basketball Super League, also known as the Egyptian Basketball Premier League A, is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is ...

. As the head coach, he led the Nigerian team to its first ever AfroBasket title in 2015, where they defeated

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

in the finals to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Early life

Voigt grew up in

Cabot, Vermont Cabot is a New England town located in the northeast corner of Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,443 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated villages of Cabot Village, Cabot Plains, South Cabot, East Ca ...

and attended Cabot High School, where he played varsity basketball and soccer. He attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

in California, lettering in soccer, and graduating with a degree in political science.

Coaching career

During college, Voigt landed an internship with the NBA's

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. After graduation, he became a video coordinator with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, and a year later entered the college coaching ranks taking on an assistant role with

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

under

Rick Barnes Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

. Voigt moved on to Division II powerhouse Metro State as an assistant for

Mike Dunlap Michael Gregory Dunlap (born May 27, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who serves as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Dunlap is the former head coach of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. ...

. Voigt's first head coaching job came in Norway, taking over Ulriken Elite where he stayed from 2003 to 2006. When

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 twi ...

writer

Alexander Wolff Alexander Wolff is a writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' and former owner of the Vermont Frost Heaves of the Premier Basketball League (PBL). He has written several books about basketball, among them ''Big Game, Small World'' (), a look at basketb ...

decided to purchase an ABA franchise, the

Vermont Frost Heaves The Vermont Frost Heaves were a professional basketball team in Vermont, United States, that last played in the Premier Basketball League, last coached by Joe Salerno. History The formation of the team was announced in December 2005 by foundi ...

, he put the naming of the head coach to a vote by the fans. The Vermont native Voigt was selected. In the first two seasons of the franchise's existence, Voigt led the Frost Heaves to back-to-back ABA Championships. In 2009, Voigt, in similar fashion, was selected by the fans to be the head coach of the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

of the NBA Development League. Voigt led the Jam to three playoff appearances, before leaving the team in 2014. Heading back abroad, Voigt spent one season as an assistant coach for the Shanxi Brave Dragons of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. Voigt was then selected to lead the Nigerian national team at

AfroBasket 2015 AfroBasket 2015 was the 28th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. It also served as the qualifying tournament for FIBA Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament ...

, with Nigeria winning its first title, and automatic qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics. In November 2017, Voigt signed a three-year deal with the

Angolan Basketball Federation '' , abbrev=F.A.B. , logo=Federação Angolana de Basquetebol (logo).png , logosize= , countryflag=Angola , iocnation=ANG , url= http://www.fab.ao/web/ , sport= Basketball , othersport1= , othersport2= , othersport3= , othersport4= , historytitl ...

as head coach of the

Angola national basketball team , oly_appearances = 5 , oly_medals = , wc_appearances = 7 , wc_medals = , zone_championship = AfroBasket , zone_appearances = 21 , zone_medals = ''Gold:'' (1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013) ''Silv ...

. In the same year, he visited the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as consultant to a team in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

. In February 2020, he was also named head coach of German Bundesliga side

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn, also known as Baskets Bonn, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball le ...

and stayed for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. On January 18, 2021, he returned to the Telekom Baskets Bonn as head coach for a second stint. He parted ways with the Bonn team after the conclusion of the 2020–21 season. In January 2022, Voigt signed a one-year deal as head coach of the

of the

and the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...

(BAL). He guided Zamalek to the third place in the 2022 BAL Playoffs, as well as the semi-finals of the Super League.

Personal life

Voigt's mother,

Ellen Bryant Voigt Ellen Bryant Voigt (born May 9, 1943) is an American poet. She served as the Poet Laureate of Vermont. Biography Voigt was born May 9, 1943, in Danville, Virginia. She grew up in Chatham, Virginia, graduated from Converse College, and received an ...

is the former Poet Laureate of the state of Vermont. He married his wife in 2009, and they were divorced in 2018. They had two children, a boy and a girl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voigt, Will 1976 births Living people American men's basketball coaches Bakersfield Jam coaches Basketball coaches from Vermont Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball coaches People from Cabot, Vermont Pomona College alumni Telekom Baskets Bonn coaches Zamalek SC basketball coaches Texas Longhorns men's basketball coaches Basketball Africa League coaches

Early life

Coaching career

Personal life

See also

References