Todd Marshall felt the sting of defeat plenty of times when he coached the Nuggets but he was hurting more yesterday.
Marshall was the longest-serving Nuggets coach in the franchise's 18 years of existence. His tenure, split into two three-year periods (1998-2000 and 2002-04), included plenty of mediocre results but also some memorable wins.
The former police dog handler also played for the Nuggets. They have been a huge part of his life and he was gutted yesterday to contemplate a future without the team.
"It's just really disappointing. I don't know how I feel," Marshall said.
"It might just be a game of basketball but it's something I'm very passionate about. I will always treasure my memories of coaching the Nuggets and I made some great friends.
"The greatest thing was just trying to be competitive at the top level. We weren't always successful but it was great trying to compete with the best.
"What do we do now? Where do we go to watch top basketball?"
Marshall hopes the break from the NBL will encourage the Basketball Otago board to spread the net wider and get more people involved in running the Nuggets.
He's not convinced the Nuggets can make it back within 12 months.
"Every year has been a struggle for funding and it's not getting easier. But I don't think we should be aiming to spend as much as they are saying. That's just not sustainable."
Marshall thought BBO's plan to offer control of the franchise to the Save The Nuggets group, of which he is a part, had some merit but was devised too late.
"It's an idea that could be attractive but it would probably take us a year to see if we could do it."
