INTERVIEW: Basketball coach Liz Mills on shaping a defensive powerhouse with Bangui Sporting Club on the road to BAL qualifications

In the world of basketball, success often hinges on more than just skill and strategy. It's about passion, perseverance, and the unwavering belief that boundaries can be shattered. For coach Liz Mills, a name synonymous with breaking barriers, these principles defined her remarkable journey in the sport. On September 4, the legendary basketball coach joined the Central African Republic's (CAR's) Bangui Sporting Club for the 2024 Road to BAL. In this exclusive interview with Times Sport’s Christianne Murengerantwari, the coach spoke about her love for basketball, and what motivated her to pursue a career in coaching. Mills who has followed the Rwandan league believes that if investment continues, the level of the game will also continue to improve. The excerpts: Qn: Coach Mills, your coaching journey has taken you to various countries and teams, from Australia to Africa. How did you first fall in love with basketball and what motivated you to pursue a career in coaching? My twin sister and I grew up in Australia, where we played multiple sports. When we were 10, we started watching the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and that inspired us to start playing basketball. When we were 16, we started to coach too. I was really inspired by the female head coaches of the WNBL. They were intelligent, strong, and successful women, and seeing them marching up and down the sideline leading their teams inspired me. Qn: You've achieved several historic milestones in your coaching career, such as being the first female head coach of a men's national team at a FIBA continental championship. Can you walk us through some of the defining moments in your coaching journey and how they shaped your approach to the game? Being able to shatter the glass ceiling with regard to female coaches working with men's teams has been one of my greatest motivators in the last decade of my career. Being able to prove that women can coach on the men's side and be successful, as well as being a visible female role model for the next generation of coaches is what inspires me to continue to step on the court every single day. From working with my first men's club team in Zambia to leading the Kenyan men's national team to the 2021 AfroBasket, the journey has been long and often challenging. Facing cultural, societal, and religious barriers makes these achievements mean so much more and my greatest achievement has been to inspire other women to coach or continue to coach and to achieve their goals. Qn: Beyond the court, are there any personal experiences or anecdotes that had a profound impact on your coaching philosophy and the way you approach working with athletes? Being able to travel and live in numerous countries across the continent I have had the opportunity to work with numerous men's clubs and national teams but I have also had the opportunity to work with NGOs that work with some of the most disadvantaged youths in Africa. This has given me a great perspective. I know that I am incredibly privileged to be able to travel the world and coach and that at the end of the day, basketball is just a game. Winning and losing isn't the end of the world. This perspective allows me to help our players gain perspective and also be able to handle the highs and lows of basketball a lot better. Qn: Coach Mills, you've had an impressive coaching career with a focus on defense. How are you planning to translate your defensive expertise to prepare Bangui Sporting Club for the Road to BAL qualifications? I'm excited to be bringing in assistant coach Jeff Sparrow. He is a renowned defensive specialist and he will be responsible for building our team's defense. Coach Sparrow is elite at developing man-to-man defensive systems and has a unique zone defense that will no doubt have a significant impact on the BAL qualifiers. Qn: Considering your history of leading teams to success in various leagues and tournaments, what unique approach or strategies are you implementing with Bangui Sporting Club to ensure a strong performance in the BAL qualifiers? For me, it is all about preparation. We will have a two-week training camp in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with practice games before our group games commence. This training camp will involve on-court and off-court activities that will enable us to build team chemistry and cohesion, as well as allow us to scout our upcoming opponents. Preparation fuels a team’s confidence and it helps eliminate pressure. It is also how a team can gain a competitive advantage over their opponents and that is why I have always emphasized this with all the teams I have worked with. Qn: Bangui Sporting Club recently won the 2022 and 2023 championships in the Bangui Basketball League. How do you intend to build on this success and prepare the team for the challenging Road to BAL qualifications? Coach [Ulrich] Gabin and the team had a very successful season in the Central African Republic, capped off by winning the championship. This team has learned valuable lessons from their experience in last year’s Road to BAL qualifiers and combined with the addition of new players and coaching staff I believe we have the personnel at all levels for this team to achieve its goal of winning the BAL Western Conference qualifiers. Qn: The Road to BAL qualifications will be a highly competitive journey, with only a limited number of slots available. Can you share some insights into the specific training and preparations you've introduced to give Bangui Sporting Club an edge in this tournament? Every year the standard of the competition in the qualifiers gets better and better. Teams have recruited better imports, and improved coaching staff and local players continue to improve every season. The Western Conference, like last year, will be more competitive than the East, with up to six legitimate teams competing for the three slots that qualify for the 2024 BAL. As previously mentioned, the priority for our team will be on us, and how we prepare for the upcoming games, whilst also respecting our opponents and scouting them in order to be as prepared as possible for the upcoming games. Qn: Considering that six champions have already qualified for the BAL season, how does Bangui Sporting Club plan to overcome the competition and secure their place in the upcoming BAL season? Are there any specific players or strategies you're relying on? Our focus for the upcoming qualifiers is on ourselves. We can only control what we do and therefore we will be focusing on our preparation. We have also recruited key local players, as well as four impressive imports, which will allow us to play at a high level. We respect all our opponents but we do not fear them and we know we will implement great strategies to enhance our performance and limit the performance of our opponents. Qn: What do you make of the level of the game in Rwanda, broadly? You were in Kigali during the BAL games. You surely follow Rwanda basketball closely. Where do you see it in the next few years? From coaching Patriots to the 2019 Eastern Conference BAL qualifiers title, I have followed the league in Rwanda. Every year it has continued to get better. More investment in the sport, as well as the development of more indoor facilities, have enticed more Rwandans to return home to play, as well as a higher standard of import players. If investment continues, I have no doubt that the league and the standard of the game will continue to develop.

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INTERVIEW: Basketball coach Liz Mills on shaping a defensive powerhouse with Bangui Sporting Club on the road to BAL qualifications