Tuomas Iisalo

Tuomas Iisalo (born 29 July 1982) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. He currently is the head coach of the Telekom Baskets Bonn. 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.

Tuomas Iisalo
2019 as head coach of Merlins Crailsheim
Telekom Baskets Bonn
PositionHead coach
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Personal information
Born (1982-07-29) 29 July 1982
Helsinki, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Listed height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight89 kg (196 lb)
Career information
Playing career2000–2014
PositionShooting guard
Coaching career2014–present
Career history
As player:
2000–2003Kouvot
2003–2006Espoon Honka
2006–2009Kouvot
2009–2011Espoon Honka
2011–2012Torpan Pojat
2012–2014Espoon Honka
As coach:
2014Finland U-20
2014–2015Tapiolan Honka
2016–2021Crailsheim Merlins
2021–presentTelekom Baskets Bonn
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

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.[1] In March 2016, he signed with Crailsheim Merlins.[2] With the team, he won promotion from the ProA to the Basketball Bundesliga.[3]

In the 2017–18 season, Crailsheim was promoted to the Bundesliga once again as the ProA season's runners-up.[4][5] Iisalo managed to establish the club in the Bundesliga and in 2020-21 guided the Merlins to their first ever Bundesliga playoff berth.[6] In May 2021, he inked a two-year deal with fellow Bundesliga side Telekom Baskets Bonn.[7] In 2022, he was named Bundesliga Coach of the Year.[8] Iisalo repeated as Bundesliga Coach of the Year in the 2022-23 campaign.[9] In May 2023, he won the Basketball Champions League with Bonn and was presented with Champions League Coach of the Year honours.[10]

References
  1. "Crailsheim Merlins - Herzlich Willkommen, Tuomas Iisalo!" (in German). Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  2. Südwest Presse Online-Dienste GmbH (2016-03-15), "Ingo Enskat über sein Aus und den neuen Merlins-Coach", SWP.de (in German), retrieved 2017-03-13
  3. Südwest Presse Online-Dienste GmbH (2016-04-14), "Tuomas Iisalo bleibt Headcoach der Merlins", SWP.de (in German), retrieved 2017-03-13
  4. "2. Basketball-Bundesliga | RASTA Vechta ist ProA Meister 17/18 – neuer Außenauftritt der 2. Liga ab Juli 2018" (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  5. "2. Basketball-Bundesliga | Aufstieg für Vechta & Crailsheim" (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  6. "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.
  7. "Tuomas Iisalo ist der neue #HEARTBERG-Dirigent". www.telekom-baskets-bonn.de. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  8. "Boiling like Salin, glacial like Sasu". FIBA. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  9. "TJ Shorts named the MVP of the German BBL". Eurohoops. 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  10. "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.
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