THE University of Worcester have appointed an experienced coach as their new director of basketball.

Dale Ryan comes from Australia to take up his position in the new year with a wealth of experience as a professional coach, mentor and high performance manager.

He will oversee the strategic development of all forms of basketball within the university and work with Worcester Wolves head coach Paul James and the professional programme.

Ryan’s 15-year coaching career includes spells as an assistant coach with Brisbane Bullets in the National Basketball League from 2004 until 2008 and head coach of Brisbane Capitals in the Queensland Basketball League from 2009 until 2012.

As a high performance manager or director of coaching, Ryan has worked for the likes of Basketball Victoria, Basketball Queensland and the Maribyrnong Sports Academy.

His involvement with Australian state and national junior team programmes included working with current NBA players, including Dante Exum (Utah Jazz), Aron Baynes (Detroit Pistons) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers).

Ryan, from Melbourne, was among the coaching staff of the Victoria men's team who won the Australian Under 20 National Championships earlier this year.

He said: “I am very honoured to have been chosen by the university for this role as it is clearly a very exciting opportunity.

“I look forward to working with head coach Paul James, university staff and students and the Worcester community to deliver a world-class experience across all aspects of the basketball programme in Worcester.”

The university are one of the leading higher education basketball institutes in Europe.

Alongside developing their professional team, they have extended international partnerships with Lithuania, Valencia in Spain and China.

Deputy pro vice-chancellor and head of the institute of sport and exercise science Mick Donovan said: “We have engaged in a thorough selection process to secure the right person for this role and it will be critical for our future growth and success.

“Dale’s strategic leadership will be invaluable when developing players within our expanding programme.

“The experience Dale brings will benefit several areas of our work that include partnerships and student/athlete development.”

Wolves head coach James said: “It was really interesting to meet Dale as we share many common philosophies and I am really looking forward to working with him and think we will make a formidable team.”