Joonas Iisalo
Joonas Iisalo (born 5 January 1986) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as head coach of the MLP Academics Heidelberg.
 Iisalo in 2023 with Heidelberg | |
| MLP Academics Heidelberg | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Basketball Bundesliga |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 5 January 1986 Berlin, Germany |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Listed height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2002–2004 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Coaching career | 2005–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2002–2004 | Kouvot |
| As coach: | |
| 2005–2009 | Tapiolan Honka (youth coach) |
| 2009–2010 | Espoo Basket Team (youth coach) |
| 2010–2011 | Espoon Honka (assistant coach) |
| 2012–2013 | KaU Koris Karkkila |
| 2013–2015 | Bisons Loimaa (assistant coach) |
| 2015–2016 | Forssan Koripojat |
| 2016–2019 | Vilpas Vikings |
| 2019–2021 | Crailsheim Merlins (associate head coach) |
| 2021–2022 | Telekom Baskets Bonn (associate head coach) |
| 2022–present | MLP Academics Heidelberg |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As player:
As head coach:
| |
Standing at 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in), Iisalo played as shooting guard during his playing career. He capped for Finnish youth national teams on many occasions.
Early life
Joonas Iisalo's father worked as a foreign correspondent in East Berlin in the 1980s.[1]
Both Joonas and his older brother Tuomas later became professional basketball coaches. Their sister Meri Valkama became a journalist who won the 2021 prize for best debut novel in Finland with her book "Sinun, Margot" where she describes the story of the Iisalo family.[1]
Coaching career
Joonas coached as an associate head coach to his brother Tuomas for the Crailsheim Merlins and for the Telekom Baskets Bonn. For the 2022–23 season, he switched teams to become head coach of the Bundesliga competitor MLP Academics Heidelberg. On 27 September 2023, he extended his contract with Heidelberg, signing a deal until the end of 2025–26 season.[2]
Coaching style
According to reports, the Iisalo style has been based on pace, many three-point shots and strong offensive rebounding.[1]
Personal
Joonas Iisalo is married and has three children.[3]
References
- Zwei Brüder, ein Stil Stefan Koch - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 November 2022. Accessed 11 May 2023.(in German)
- "HEADCOACH JOONAS IISALO VERLÄNGERT BEI DEN MLP ACADEMICS BIS 2026" (in German). mlp-academics.de. 27 September 2023.
- Schröer, Michel (3 April 2023). "BBL-Trainer muss VOR dem Spiel wieder los!". Sport Bild (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2023.