Will Voigt

William Voigt (born August 18, 1976) is an American basketball coach who is currently serving as head coach of the Austin Spurs in the NBA G League.

Will Voigt
Austin Spurs
PositionHead coach
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1976-08-18) August 18, 1976
Cabot, Vermont
NationalityAmerican
Career information
High schoolCabot (Cabot, Vermont)
CollegePomona
Coaching career1998–present
Career history
As coach:
1998–1999Los Angeles Clippers (intern)
1999–2001San Antonio Spurs (video coord.)
2001–2002Texas (assistant)
2002–2003Metro State (assistant)
2003–2006Ulriken Elite
2006–2009Vermont Frost Heaves
2009–2014Bakersfield Jam
2014–2015Shanxi Brave Dragons (assistant)
2020Telekom Baskets Bonn
2021Telekom Baskets Bonn
2022Zamalek
2023–presentAustin Spurs

As the head coach, he led the Nigerian team to its first ever AfroBasket title in 2015, where they defeated Angola in the finals to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.[1]

Early life

Voigt grew up in Cabot, Vermont and attended Cabot High School, where he played varsity basketball and soccer. He attended Pomona College in California, lettering in soccer, and graduating with a degree in political science.[2]

Coaching career

During college, Voigt landed an internship with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. After graduation, he became a video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs, and a year later entered the college coaching ranks taking on an assistant role with Texas under Rick Barnes. Voigt moved on to Division II powerhouse Metro State as an assistant for Mike Dunlap.

Voigt's first head coaching job came in Norway, taking over Ulriken Elite where he stayed from 2003 to 2006. When Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff decided to purchase an ABA franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves, he put the naming of the head coach to a vote by the fans. The Vermont native Voigt was selected.[3] In the first two seasons of the franchise's existence, Voigt led the Frost Heaves to back-to-back ABA Championships.

In 2009, Voigt, in similar fashion, was selected by the fans to be the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.[4] Voigt led the Jam to three playoff appearances, before leaving the team in 2014.

Heading back abroad, Voigt spent one season as an assistant coach for the Shanxi Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. Voigt was then selected to lead the Nigerian national team at AfroBasket 2015, with Nigeria winning its first title, and automatic qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In November 2017, Voigt signed a three-year deal with the Angolan Basketball Federation as head coach of the Angola national basketball team.[5] In the same year, he visited the Philippines as consultant to a team in the Philippine Basketball Association.[6] In February 2020, he was also named head coach of German Bundesliga side Telekom Baskets Bonn[7] and stayed for the remainder of the 2019–20 season.

On January 18, 2021, he returned to the Telekom Baskets Bonn as head coach for a second stint.[8] He parted ways with the Bonn team after the conclusion of the 2020–21 season.[9]

In January 2022, Voigt signed a one-year deal as head coach of the Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League and the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[10] He guided Zamalek to the third place in the 2022 BAL Playoffs, as well as the semi-finals of the Super League.

On June 28, 2023, Voigt was hired as head coach by the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League.[11]

Personal life

Voigt's mother, Ellen Bryant Voigt is the former Poet Laureate of the state of Vermont. He married his wife in 2009, and they were divorced in 2018. They had two children, a boy and a girl.

See also

References
  1. "Nigeria defeats Angola to win first-ever FIBA African Championship title in historic Afrobasket 2015 finals". Basketball. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  2. "Vermont Today". Archived from the original on 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  3. "We Bought a Team: From writer to ABA owner: My improbable saga with the Vermont Frost Heaves".
  4. "Bakersfield Jam Names Will Voigt Head Coach". 31 July 2009.
  5. "Basketball: US coach takes over Angolan basketball team". ANGOP – Angolan News Agency. 12 Nov 2017. Retrieved 14 Nov 2017.
  6. "Angola coach focused on Mighty Sports, doesn't rule out future Gilas stint". 17 January 2020.
  7. "Will Voigt ist der neue Baskets-Cheftrainer". www.telekom-baskets-bonn.de. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  8. "Will Voigt returns as head coach of Bonn". Sportando. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  9. "Tuomas Iisalo ist der neue #HEARTBERG-Dirigent". www.telekom-baskets-bonn.de. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  10. "American Voight, the new Zamalek basketball coach, arrives on Monday and a temporary device leads the summit". Middle East in 24 Sport English. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  11. "Austin Spurs Name Will Voigt Head Coach". The NBA G League. 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
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