Tuomas Iisalo
Finnish basketball player and coach
 2019 as head coach of Merlins Crailsheim | |
| Paris Basketball | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | LNB Pro A EuroCup |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1982-07-29) 29 July 1982 (age 41) Helsinki, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Listed height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) |
| Listed weight | 89 kg (196 lb) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2000–2014 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Coaching career | 2014–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2000–2003 | Kouvot |
| 2003–2006 | Espoon Honka |
| 2006–2009 | Kouvot |
| 2009–2011 | Espoon Honka |
| 2011–2012 | Torpan Pojat |
| 2012–2014 | Espoon Honka |
| As coach: | |
| 2014 | Finland U-20 |
| 2014–2015 | Tapiolan Honka |
| 2016–2021 | Crailsheim Merlins |
| 2021–2023 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| 2023–present | Paris Basketball |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As head coach:
| |
Tuomas Iisalo (born 29 July 1982) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. He is currently serving as head coach of Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroCup.
Standing at 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), Iisalo played as shooting guard during his playing career. He also played for the Finnish national basketball team.
Early life
Tuomas Iisalo's father worked as a foreign correspondent in East Berlin in the 1980s.[1]
Both Tuomas and his younger brother Joonas later became professional basketball coaches. Their sister Meri Valkama became a journalist who won the 2021 prize for best debut novel in Finland with her book "Sinun, Margot" where she tells the story of a family in East Berlin.[1]
Coaching career
After the end of his playing career he was appointed as head coach of Tapiolan Honka and was an assistant with Finland U15.[2]
Crailsheim Merlins
In March 2016, he signed with Crailsheim Merlins.[3][4]
At the end of the 2017–18 season, Crailsheim were promoted to the Basketball Bundesliga as the runners-up of ProA season.[5][6] Iisalo managed to establish the club in the Bundesliga and in 2020–21 guided the Merlins to their first ever Bundesliga playoff berth.[7]
Telekom Baskets Bonn
In May 2021, he inked a two-year deal with fellow Bundesliga side Telekom Baskets Bonn.[8][9] In 2022, he was named the Bundesliga Coach of the Year.[10] Iisalo repeated as the Bundesliga Coach of the Year in the 2022–23 campaign.[11] In May 2023, he won the FIBA Champions League with Bonn and was presented with the FIBA Champions League Coach of the Year honours.[12] He helped the Bonn team to a trip to the 2023 Bundesliga finals, where they eventually fell short to Ulm.[13] Iisalo parted company with the Bonn outfit at the end of the 2022–23 season.[14]
Paris Basketball
On June 29, 2023, Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroCup, announced the appointment of Iisalo as a head coach on a three-year deal.[15][16]
In December 2023, Iisalo was named the head coach of the Team World (French: Team Monde) in the LNB All-Star Game.[17] On 18 February 2024, Iisalo and Paris won the 2024 LNB Pro A Leaders Cup title, by beating Nanterre 90–85 in the final.[18]
On 6 April 2024, Iisalo was voted the EuroCup Coach of the Year, leading Paris to the 2024 EuroCup Finals with a record-tying 20 wins and only one loss, with the highest team average (98.4 points) in EuroCup history.[19][20] On 12 April 2024, Iisalo led Paris Basketball to win 2023–24 EuroCup title, by beating JL Bourg-en-Bresse with 2–0 wins in the finals.[21]
Coaching style
According to reports, the Iisalo style has been based on pace, many three-point shots and strong offensive rebounding.[1]
Coaching honours
- Paris Basketball
- EuroCup: 2023–24
- French League Cup: 2024
- Telekom Baskets Bonn
- Champions League: 2022–23
- Bundesliga runner-up: 2022–23
- Crailsheim Merlins
References
- ^ a b c Zwei Brüder, ein Stil Stefan Koch - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 November 2022. Accessed 11 May 2023.(in German)
- ^ "Crailsheim Merlins - Herzlich Willkommen, Tuomas Iisalo!" (in German). Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ^ "Ingo Enskat über sein Aus und den neuen Merlins-Coach", SWP.de (in German), 2016-03-15, retrieved 2017-03-13
- ^ "Tuomas Iisalo bleibt Headcoach der Merlins", SWP.de (in German), 2016-04-14, retrieved 2017-03-13
- ^ "Rasta Vechta ist ProA Meister 17/18 – neuer Außenauftritt der 2. Liga ab Juli 2018". 2. Basketball-Bundesliga (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- ^ "Aufstieg für Vechta & Crailsheim". 2. Basketball-Bundesliga (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- ^ "HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim - Historisch! HAKRO Merlins schlagen Bonn und qualifizieren sich erstmals in der Vereinsgeschichte für die Playoffs! Freitag kommt der MBC". hakro-merlins.com. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Hullu idea, joka toimi, Yle, 23 December 2022
- ^ "Tuomas Iisalo ist der neue #HEARTBERG-Dirigent". www.telekom-baskets-bonn.de. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "Boiling like Salin, glacial like Sasu". FIBA. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "TJ Shorts named the MVP of the German BBL". Eurohoops. 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "Succétränaren Tuomas Iisalo lotsade uppstickaren Bonn till titeln i Champions League-basketen: "Ni kan kalla oss mästare"". svenska.yle.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ^ "BBL: Bonn beendet Traumsaison ohne Meisterschaft". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ ""Völlig nachvollziehbar": Erfolgstrainer Iisalo verlässt Bonn". Kicker (in German). 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ Pitet, Gustave (2023-06-29). "Tuomas Iisalo : le coach qui gagne". Paris Basketball (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-29.
- ^ Hyyppä Emma, Vuolle Jouko (2023-06-29). "Menestysvalmentaja Tuomas Iisalo pääsee Pariisissa nauttimaan luksuksesta: "Aivan uskomattoman näköinen kompleksi" – palkkakin kelpaa". YLE (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- ^ Suomalaisluotsille kova meriitti Ranskassa, Ilta-Sanomat, Juha Kanerva, 2 December 2023
- ^ Tuomas Iisalo ja Mikael Jantunen juhlivat cup-mestaruutta, Yle, 18 February 2024
- ^ EuroCup Coach of the Year: Tuomas Iisalo, Paris Basketball, euroleaguebasketball.net, 6 April 2024
- ^ Tuomas Iisalo EuroCupin vuoden valmentaja, Yle
- ^ Suomalaisten juhlaa Pariisissa – Tuomas Iisalo taas sankari, Ilta-Sanomat, 12 April 2024
