Wisman wise man for Qatar

MANILA, Philippines - For well-traveled basketball coach Tom Wisman, the key is for Qatar to play smart at the 27th FIBA-Asia Championships here and that means taking full advantage of his veterans’ experience on the court.

So far, so good for Wisman as Qatar is unbeaten in the tournament, edging Japan, 75-74, last Thursday, crushing Hong Kong, 87-64, last Saturday and trouncing Jordan, 75-61, to start second round hostilities yesterday. Tonight, Qatar takes on host Philippines in a critical game at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Against the Philippines, we need to contain their speed and penetration,” said Wisman who has dual American and Australian citizenships. “We’ll need to slow it down and control the pace. We’ve got to keep the ball in front of us and contest shots.”

Wisman has been a coach for over 40 years. “Coaching is something you do when you retire so I’ll keep on coaching for as long as there’s a contract out there,” he said. “I’ve had wonderful memories of having coached the national teams of England, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and now Qatar. I also coached several years in Australia where I now live with my (Japanese) wife, four children and two grandchildren. It’s funny that sometimes, I now find myself coaching against players whom I used to coach.”

Wisman, 63, visited Manila for the first time in 1982 as a consultant with the Hong Kong team during the Asian Youth Championships. He left a job with the Solent Stars in the English second division league to accept a contract in Hong Kong as coach of the Institute of Sports, then known as the Jubilee Sports Center. The year before, he was involved in a minor controversy after suiting up for the Portsmouth Pirates in a game against Plymouth in the Founders Cup, an English tournament not sanctioned by the National Basketball League (NBL). Portsmouth leaned on Wisman’s heroics to upset Plymouth, 75-71, but the English Basketball Association reversed the outcome since he was registered with the NBL as a coach.

“I wasn’t registered as a player but as a coach with the NBL,” said Wisman. “It doesn’t hurt me individually but it hurt the players in our team after we came back from 20 points down at halftime. We were trying to encourage juniors in the Portsmouth team and the Founders Cup is the best level of competition they can get. They fought hard and trained hard only to be thrown out. That sort of decision stifles the enthusiasm of young players. I’ll admit that as a player, I had a forgettable career.”

Wisman, a former University of New Mexico assistant coach, shared his wisdom with boys in operating a basketball school in the 13-18 age bracket at the King Alfred College in Winchester during his stay in England. His younger brother Jim was the same Indiana University sophomore guard whose jersey was yanked off by Hoosier coach Bobby Knight after making two bad passes in front of a shocked national TV audience in 1976. Jim recently retired as executive vice president of Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago at the age of 57 and now plays tennis everyday shuttling from his homes in Spain and France. Jim was on Knight’s NCAA title team in 1976 with Scott May, Tom Abernathy, Quinn Buckner and Kent Benson.

After leaving England, Wisman transplanted to Hong Kong where in 1983, he coached the national team at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland. Hong Kong beat Fiji and Gibraltar twice in the tournament. Last year, he took on the Qatar assignment, brought the team to a 10-day training camp in Lithuania then piloted the squad to the bronze medal at the FIBA-Asia Cup in Tokyo.

With regard to coaching Qatar, Wisman said he’s stressing a defense-first mentality and spacing on the floor in offense. “It’s an honor to be their national coach and I couldn’t ask for anything more than what they have provided in terms of the commitment to the team,” said Wisman quoted by fiba.com. “Everyone has been fantastic, a pleasure to work for and with.”

Wisman said choosing Qatar’s naturalized player was a difficult decision. In the end, the slot went to seven-year NBA veteran Jarvis Hayes over another NBA cager Trey Johnson and Boney Watson. “Trey was a good fit with our team but it came down to a choice between someone who could control the game as a guard or someone who’s an overall scorer and a tough defender,” he said. “We had to make our adjustments particularly at the guard spot with Jarvis in the team. Luckily, Daoud (Daoud Mosa) has done a good job in the backcourt.  In the Jordan game, Jarvis did a solid job defending Jimmy Baxter so that’s a real positive for us.”