Fraser Valley Bandits to name Peter Guarasci as head coach, GM

Conor Roche

Fraser Valley Bandits to name Peter Guarasci as head coach, GM image

A former Team Canada player will man the sidelines for Fraser Valley Bandits.

Peter Guarasci will be the Bandits' first-ever head coach and general manager.

Guarasaci revealed the news to NBA.com's Carlan Gay, telling him that he's excited to be a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League's inaugural season.

"I've very thankful to Lee Genier (Bandits' President) and Joe Raso (CEBL Director of Basketball Operations ) and the CEBL stakeholders," Guarasci said.

Guarasci, 44, played professionally for 12 seasons in leagues in Germany, Italy and Spain. He was also a part of the Canadian's men's basketball teams that competed at the 1998 FIBA World Championships and the 2000 Olympics, which was the last time Canada competed in the Olympics.

NBA Trade Rumors: The Raptors path to acquire Anthony Davis

After retiring from playing, Guarasci turned his attention to coaching. He was the head man for University of British Columbia Okanagan's men's basketball team from 2012-18.

Guarasaci said he believes his professional playing days will him help in his new role.

"I have a playing history professionally so to be able to coach at the professional level is very exciting for me," Guarasci said. "It's a challenge that I'm ready to take on."

NBA All-Star Game 2019: Selecting East, West reserves is no easy task 

Despite six years of head coaching experience, Guarasaci has never been a general manager. He said he thinks that will be the interesting part of the new role.

"The [general manager] part is also going to be interesting - the work that goes into building the right team, making sure we're competitive and making sure we got the right character individuals on the team," Guarasci said. "Also, guys that can embed themselves in the community - it's a big challenge but I'm pretty excited about it."

The Valley Bandits are expected to announce the hiring sometime on Tuesday.

The Valley Bandits are one of six teams in the CEBL, which is Canada's first division professional league, and will play in  Abbotsford, B.C. starting in May. 

Conor Roche