Brett Brown is missing his family terribly while he pulls the strings of the Australian team at the basketball world championships in Turkey.
But he hopes he doesn't have to see them again just yet.
Brown has coached the Boomers into a second-round match against Slovenia on Sunday (0100 Monday AEST), where a win would take Australian into the quarter-finals - something they haven't achieved at a world titles since 1994.
An assistant coach with the Boomers at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, Brown was appointed to the head coaching role last year and is relishing the responsibility.
Also an assistant coach with the Spurs in the NBA, Brown is missing his wife Anna and their three young children, who are all at home in San Antonio.
But he is hoping to stay in Turkey with the national program just a little longer.
"It does goes by very quickly. I vividly remember getting on a plane on June 6 from San Antonio to see a third of the (Australian) group at the Institute of Sport in Canberra.
"I miss my family a lot, it's the longest I've been away from them.
"In a twisted way I hope I can be away from them a little bit more and keep winning, but I do miss them a lot."
Brown replaced Brian Goorjian as coach of the Boomers, two men who have been indelibly linked in Australian basketball for years.
When Goorjian's South East Melbourne Magic merged with Brown's North Melbourne Giants to form the Victoria Titans in the NBL in 1998, Goorjian got the nod as head coach.
Brown ended up at the Sydney Kings, but an opening to join the Spurs was too good to refuse and left a vacancy in Sydney, which Goorjian then gratefully filled.
Goorjian coached the Boomers at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, plus the 2006 world championships, and now Brown has his chance and he is leaving no stone unturned.
"Brett's full-on. He's very, very passionate," Boomers assistant coach Shane Heal said.
"Passion is probably the thing that comes to mind when you talk about Brett most of all and everything he does is full-on with basketball.
"We watch a lot of video tape, he's really well prepared and puts a lot of time and effort in.
"And I think he's a player's coach. He wants them to enjoy it and play fresh and all those sorts of things.
"His communication with the group's really good. He's enjoyable to work with."
The players have warmed to his no-nonsense style and Brown prefers to take the emotion out of top-level sport.
The native of Portland, Maine believes dedication and meticulous planning is the key to victory, rather than grandiose speeches or magic tricks.
During the team's flight from Kayseri to Istanbul for the second round, Brown had his laptop out studying footage of the Slovenians.
"It has nothing to do with a pep talk," Brown said. "I feel like pep talks have nothing to do with winning.
"All the work put in beforehand where you don't skip steps, you respect your opponent, it's just common, basic criteria that allows teams to win or lose.
"The speeches or the tricky plays or the potions, I'm so far away from any of that.
"Ultimately these guys have to come out and play and they will.
"Not once since I've been with them has there been any signs of backing down or lacking respect for an opponent."
All business on the court, Brown has a goofy side off it that emerges from time to time.
But when the whistle blows, the Boomers know it is time to work.
"He's got his fun side off the court but we all know when the game's on everyone's 100 per cent focused on that," swingman Joe Ingles said.
"I've seen him fire up a couple of times and they've all been in games, but every coach knows when to pick and choose their times.
"I think he does a great job."
Fortunately for a man so consumed by basketball, his family also love the game.
"My kids love it, Anna loves it," he said.
"The stuff available on the internet is very interactive and off the charts.
"It's easy for them to see and follow."
If Brown has his way, they'll have to follow on the internet for a little while longer.
