'In a better place than when I arrived': Vickerman's emotional United farewell

After nine seasons, three Coach of the Year awards and two NBL Championships, Tuesday marked Dean Vickerman’s final day in charge of Melbourne United.

The successful coach confirmed his departure to explore international options in ‘either Japan or China’ during a special press conference.

Upon reflecting on his tenure at United, Vickerman hopes he’s left his ‘hometown club in a better spot than when he found it’.

“The thing for me was a mentor said to me, when you exit or leave a place, did you improve it? Did you leave it in a better place? And did you create really meaningful relationships?,” Vickerman said during Tuesday’s press conference.

“To the first one, is this place better than when I got here? I think I was brought into this club to help build culture.

“I believe over the nine years, we were able to achieve that. We weren't just a team that went out and bought people. We developed people. We certainly selected talented people from all over the world to join this club, but they came through a pretty thorough process.

“I thought we picked great people to try and help us win and try and help us win the right way.

“[For example] to sit there and watch some NBA before this press conference and to see Ariel Hukporti playing 17 minutes and be plus 22 in an NBA Playoff game and to see Jacob Chance sitting on the Spurs bench [was special].

“To say both players and coaches we really developed as people [is incredible] and hopefully the club's in a better place for how we treated people.

“This [press conference] is a great example of it [that culture], allowing me the opportunity to thank everybody in this organisation for the hard work and success we’ve had over these nine years.

“[At the end of the day] this is my home team, this is the club that I love, and one I want to see succeed.”

Vickerman’s ‘full circle’ moment followed NBL stints with New Zealand and Sydney, which he is extremely appreciative for, especially being able to work with the likes of Chris Goulding and Shea Ili each and every day.

“There have been a lot of great times over this nine-year journey,” Vickerman said.

“It has been fantastic to come full circle and get back to my home state and my home team. When I say my home team, I mean the Melbourne Tigers, who I came through as a junior before going on to play NBL games for

“Then to get an opportunity later on to be a part of the coaching staff at Melbourne Tigers and win a championship with Al Westover, [is something I will cherish forever].

“To be here for CG [Chris Goulding] for those nine years has been amazing. I saw Steve Kerr’s comments about Steph Curry and being the face of a franchise and there hasn’t been a better person to represent our club from a skillset perspective on the court but also engaging with media, partners and the community. I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s given to the club and me during this time.

“While Shea doesn’t like that media stuff as much, he has lived out our selfless team values as well as anyone.

“Being able to be a part of their journey and all the other players' journeys and win with those guys has been fun [and rewarding].”

As well as the championships, Vickerman is proud of many other moments from his time in Melbourne.

“There's obviously the NBA experiences that we had, and to have that one come full circle and play the first NBA game in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena was pretty amazing,” he said.

“But [most importantly] it's the relationships that you've fostered over time, and see people like Ariel and Jock Landale live out their dream.

“We always want players to get to the highest level possible, and succeed on their development plans, including putting on the green and gold or black and silver and representing their countries with great pride.”

United are now on ‘an in-depth search for their new coach’, who will coach a roster consisting of new signing Sam Waardenburg, Goulding, Ili, Dash Daniels, Fabijan Krslovic and Kyle Bowen.