Search for Liam Flynn online and you will find an ale house owner, a wood turner, a flautist and someone known as Liam Flynn, party legend!! (with two exclamation marks, as noted).

Liam Flynn, basketball coach, is none of the above. What he is, is the new head coach for the Fico Finance Nelson Giants for their 2013 national basketball league campaign.

Flynn's appointment was confirmed today after he tied off some loose ends with the Townsville Crocodiles, where he is the senior assistant coach.

The 33-year-old will join Nelson as soon as the Crocs' Australian league season ends, with the New Zealand NBL season running from April to June next year.

Flynn said he had kept an eye on the New Zealand league for the past five or six seasons and felt the time was right to seek a head coaching role here. Nelson, where friend and fellow Croc Jacob Holmes played as an import in 2005, appealed.

"New Zealand's a well-respected league," he said. "There are quality players there and some strong programmes.

"Jacob had a lot of positive things to say about his time in Nelson, in particular, so it seemed like the right time to throw the hat in the ring."

Queensland-born Flynn began coaching as a 13-year-old, stepping up the grades when he moved to Adelaide to study for a business degree. He was closely involved with Holmes at the Sturt club and spent time with the Adelaide 36ers organisation before moving to Townsville to become the lead assistant with the Crocs. Flynn runs the region's development programmes and is also the head coach of the Townsville Heat in the state league.

He is a teacher of the game, an aspect that appealed to the Fico Finance Giants organisation as they looked to replace five-season head coach Chris Tupu.

"I take a lot of satisfaction from developing the kids in an area, bringing them through to the next level," he said.

"In Townsville, the young boys from the schools system made age group sides, then the Heat, got development roles with the Crocodiles, now some of them have secured full contracts and play a big part in our national league programme.

"I'm certainly aiming to do something similar in Nelson."

Flynn will need to catch up quickly once the ANBL season ends. With that in mind, he is putting faith in the likes of Tony Rampton and Phill Jones to start the spadework.

He plans to use many of the systems employed by the Crocodiles and will bring in his Giants assistant to watch how things are done during the Australian season.

"I suppose I have a style of game that I feel works," he said. "I expect my teams to get after it defensively, we will be well-prepared, there will be a high level of accountability and I like to include my senior players in a leadership group.

"The culture can be driven by your senior players but, with the likes of Phill and Mika [Vukona], if they are available to me, I have no doubts about the quality of their work.

"I expect my players to be able to look each other in the eye and be confident they are playing with all they have to offer."

Flynn is married to Tracy and they have two young girls, Ruby, 2, and Isla, four months. The family will move to Nelson for the NBL campaign.

"It's a bit of an adventure for us," he said. "It's something we are looking forward to, though.

"Talking to Phill and Tony, Nelson's a great place to bring up a family and it's got a real basketball heart . . . that's exciting for someone like me who has spent three-quarters of his life in love with the game.

"I'm really looking forward to taking the chance the Giants have offered me. I think we'll build a team that the people of Nelson will love to come out and watch."

- © Fairfax NZ News