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 (appro ...

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 gu ...

, 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 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 Entertain ...

Early life

Stacker grew up in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

Nunawading Nunawading () is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 miles) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse and City of Manningham local government areas. Nunawading recorded ...

. 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 ...

and

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

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 a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

competition in 1979 and 1980, Stacker joined the

Frankston Bears Frankston Blues 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 Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketbal ...

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 (NBL). With the Melbourne Tigers joining the competition, the league's number of teams increased to 17, with nine teams in the Eastern Division and eight teams in the Wes ...

. 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 n ...

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 en ...

before returning to the SEABL in 1987 to play for the

Dandenong Rangers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

Coaching career

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, 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. The Magic were established i ...

as an assistant in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, when in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

he served as head coach of the

Geelong Supercats Geelong United is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Geelong, Victoria. Previously known as the Geelong Supercats, the club fields teams in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Geelong United Basketball and plays ...

. 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 language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, 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 Croco ...

. He was named NBL Coach of the Year in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and guided the Crocodiles to the NBL Grand Final in

2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

. 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 the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

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 The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizat ...

. Stacker was set to coach Australia at the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (; ), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated ...

in Russia, but he stepped down from the role for 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