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Quinn Clinton Named Mainland Eagles Head Coach
Coach Adam Morgan will be relinquishing his role as Head Coach of the Mainland Eagles Academy, passing the mantle to Quinn Clinton for 2024.
“We thank Adam for his contributions to the Mainland Eagles Academy and look forward to him continuing in his role as the Canterbury Rams Assistant coach,” said General Manager Caleb Harrison. “Adam is a tremendous part of the Canterbury basketball community and anyone that has been around him knows his energy for the game and his ability to develop a players skill set.”
“To say Adam has played a huge part in the Eagles program would be an understatement. He has made a significant impact across the programme,” said Performance Director Judd Flavell.
Adam joined the Mainland Eagles Academy midway through 2021 and has had an undeniable impact on the academy and its athletes. During his tenure with the Eagles, he has supported athletes in achieving NCAA scholarships in Division I, II and III including Hunter Adam with Davidson College & Lauren Whittaker with Gonzaga University. He has also coached Canterbury Rams players Walter Brown and Max Darling, both of whom have been signed to development player deals in the Australian NBL with the Tasmania JackJumpers and New Zealand Breakers, respectively. Adam coached the U19 Canterbury boys teams at the past two National Championships finishing with 1st Place in 2022 & 3rd Place in 2023 as well as coaching the St Andrews College Girls finishing with 2nd Place finishes in 2022 & 2023 at Secondary School Nationals.
“Personally I have learnt a lot from Adam and believe he is a very talented coach with an amazing ability to connect with people,” states Flavell. “He is a coach that genuinely cares for his athletes and has a good balance of being a coach that will happily spend extra time after practice with an athlete to work on their shot form or sit alongside them as a mentor and talk hoops and life with them. He has moulded the Eagles program with his touch and left it in great shape.”
Adam will continue to be an Assistant Coach with the Canterbury Rams in 2024 but will relay his Lead Coach responsibilities with the Mainland Eagles to Quinn Clinton. Quinn Clinton most recently played for the Canterbury Rams championship winning squad and is the Senior A Coach at Christ’s College.
“I’m really excited to have Quinn on board and taking charge of the Eagles,” said Flavell. “Quinn has always been a high character person, great basketball mind and has a toughness about him as a player that I believe will translate well into his coaching.”
As an amateur athlete, Quinn was the leading scorer on the Junior Tall Blacks at the FIBA Under 19 World Cup and named the Male Junior Player of the Year in New Zealand in 2017. He received a Division I athletic scholarship at Saint Mary’s University in California and returned to New Zealand after his redshirt junior season, joining the Canterbury Rams for the 22-23 season and coaching the Christ’s College Senior A team.
“What Quinn did in his own pathway and journey as a player gives him great knowledge and understanding to share with the next wave of talented youngsters,” said Flavell. “Quinn is a home grown product that came through the Canterbury system and went onto US College and then into the professional game. These experiences have equipped Quinn well to lead the Eagles going forward.”
“We are looking forward to welcoming Quinn back to the Academy after coming through it as a player,” said Harrison. “Quinn knows first hand the hard work and player development required for high school players to reach their aspirations.”
The Mainland Eagles Academy have the upcoming Summer Camp & South Island Residential Coaches Workshop on the 8th – 11th December. The Academy selections for 2024 will happen shortly after the December camp with a focus on a smaller group of athletes to allow for a more intensive resourcing and development of these Academy members.