Stars Coach Martin Schiller Hired By Lithuanian Club Zalgiris
Jul 14, 2020, 9:45 AM | Updated: 11:31 am
Former BYU Cougar Kyle Collinsworth at the Salt Lake City Stars media day. (Photo: Cleon Wall, KSL Sports)
(Photo: Cleon Wall, KSL Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Salt Lake City Stars will be in the market for a new head coach. Martin Schiller, who oversaw the Stars for the past three season’s was announced as the new head coach of Zalgiris Kaunas, a member of the Lithuanian Basketball League. Zaligiris announced Schiller’s move early Tuesday morning.
“I will be honored to work in a club with such a deep tradition,” Schiller said in a video announcing his new position. “I am grateful to be able to coach such a good team. I look forward to starting work in Lithuania, a country that is one of the dominant basketball states in Europe”
Schiller oversaw the Stars for three seasons before joining Zalgiris and helped lead the team to the best record in the G’League’s Western Conference.
Schiller’s Accomplishments
In June, Schiller was named G-League Coach of the Year. The head coach led the Stars to a franchise-best 30 wins before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus.
Under Schiller, the Stars saw a dramatic turnaround in performance. The team posted back to back winning seasons after eight consecutive sub .500 finishes. In addition to the franchise and conference-best 30 wins, the Stars won the NBA G-League Showcase Tournament and saw two players called up to the NBA. Juwan Morgan signed with the Utah Jazz in November, while William Howard signed with the Houston Rockets in December.
Join us in congratulating Martin Schiller, the 2019-20 Dennis Johnson @nbagleague Coach of the Year! pic.twitter.com/D5ZmcV6pc4
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) June 24, 2020
Hailing from Austria, Schiller has strong roots in the international basketball community. Schiller coached in both Austria and Germany before moving to the G-League as the Stars head coach. He was also an assistant coach on the German National Team with Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen.
As a result of finishing the season with the Western Conference’s best record, the Stars earned a $10,000 donation towards a charity of their choosing. The $10,000 was be donated to Represent Justice which the Stars chose as the beneficiary.
