College of the Canyons Head Men’s Basketball Coach Howard Fisher was appointed as the head coach of Team USA in the upcoming Maccabi Australia International Games, being held July 2-10 in Sydney, Australia. Fisher will lead one of two American teams, consisting of the top Jewish collegiate players in the country.

 

“I am excited about this opportunity to coach players from all different universities and represent myself, College of the Canyons, the United States and Maccabi,” said Fisher. The games will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park, a venue that was specifically built for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. This will not be the first time that Fisher teamed up with Maccabi USA. In 1997, Fisher helped Herb Brown, assistant coach of the Atlanta Hawks, in tryouts for the United States team that would travel to the Maccabi World Games in Israel. The team went on to win a bronze medal.

 

“In a time when there is so much going on in the world, it is an honor to be a part of an event that will include such a diverse group of people,” said Fisher. Team USA will be composed of more than 150 athletes and compete against 15 other countries, including: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Venezuela. Fisher has been the head coach of the men’s basketball team for six years and is only the second coach in the program after Lee Smelser’s 31-year coaching career with the school. Fisher led the Cougars to back-to-back Western State Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005, and was named Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005.