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​ Basketball Wollongong Hawks general manager Kim Welch is unsure how the club’s player recruitment process will be affected by the sudden departure of iconic coach Gordie McLeod. The Hawks are in the market for a new coach after McLeod ended his six-year tenure during a Monday night phone call with Welch. McLeod had helped the club fight through its recent voluntary administration period and the announcement that he would not be signing a new deal for the 2015-16 NBL season came as a shock. Incumbent assistant coaches Eric Cooks and Matt Flinn will oversee recruiting while the club searches for a new head coach. With no players under contract, it’s conceivable that Wollongong’s roster for next season could be entirely different to the one that finished the disastrous 2014-15 campaign. Asked if McLeod’s exit would adversely impact on who plays for the Hawks next season, Welch replied: ‘‘I’m not sure. I hope not. An integral part of playing for a sports team is who the head coach is, and how heavily that influences players to come to the club or return to the club, I guess we’ll find out in due course. ‘‘We only found out officially on Monday night from Gordie himself, so the last 24 hours or so has just been digesting that information. As it got longer with negotiations with Gordie we had to put a freeze on player negotiations until we did get the head coach role confirmed, so the players have been aware that there are some movements there and we’ll no doubt be in contact with all the players very, very shortly.’’ One of Wollongong’s favourite sporting sons, McLeod played nine seasons with the Hawks. He was a foundation player with the club in 1979 and was the Hawks’ first Olympian (Moscow, 1980). He returned to Wollongong in 2009, guiding the Hawks to the 2010 grand final and capturing NBL Coach of the Year honours in 2010 and 2014. Despite having to assemble teams on much smaller budgets than the Hawks’ well-heeled rival clubs, he steered his side to the semi-finals in three of his six seasons at the helm. Welch knows that finding a replacement with McLeod’s credentials and lifelong connection to Wollongong will be impossible. He insisted he wanted the 58-year-old to stay with the club but McLeod’s mind was made up. With the season tipping off in October, the Hawks can’t waste time settling on McLeod’s successor. ‘‘It’s a bit of a setback where we are with our preparation, and we were hopeful that Gordie would rejoin us and help us kickstart those preparations for the upcoming season,’’ Welch said. ‘‘There was a lot to weigh up and as time pressed on - it’s been two weeks today [since the Hawks made McLeod an offer] - we thought that maybe he was considering other options. After the [voluntary] administration process, everyone had to individually go away and weigh up their options and their individual circumstances, and we respect Gordie’s decision and we wish him all the best.’’ The Hawks only pulled through the VA stage two weeks ago and it was generally assumed McLeod would be one of the first to sign a new contract with the club. ‘‘I guess it’s a combination of everything, and I won’t speak for Gordie, but everyone had to go away and weigh up a range of effects of voluntary administration and the revised offers we can make across the organisation to fit our new operating budget,’’ Welch said. ‘‘But it’s not just that. It’s the effect it has personally and emotionally, and we’ve all had to go away and weigh up that process.’’ Long-time Hawks fans will be sad and angry to see McLeod go. ‘‘There’ll probably be some disappointment and surprise, but again, we have to understand and respect Gordie’s decision,’’ Welch said. ‘‘It’s a time when the club needs everyone to get together as we prepare for an upcoming season, and hopefully we get a team and a new coach that can let us compete and push for a playoff position.’’

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