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Goorjian gave a unprompted, passionate speech about the Illawarra name and community after his team's victory over Brisbane Bullets on Thursday, which made it three wins from three to start the NBL21 season.
"I've been thinking about it hard and it's taken me some time to blurt it," Goorjian said, in the post-game press conference.
"I talked to my dad this week about what's going on here. He's in his 90s and he's been following this, and he said to me 'why the heck aren't you guys Illawarra?'.
"'You dont play like Hawks, you play like Illawarra'.
"I was thinking about it and I've been around Chuck Harmison, Greg Hubbard, Glen Saville, Mat Campbell - these guys have earned that right. They're Illawarra. And we're Illawarra.
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"I'm getting older and I've been around the block - that community's special," continued Goorjian, the NBL's most successful coach.
"It's been there longer, we've been longer, than the Red Army, and it's time.
"We want to come back, we want to fill that stadium, and we want to hear 'Illawarra, Illawarra'.
"It's time, and I think the rest of the way, my job, more so than winning games - if I win every game and win the whole thing and we're still the Hawks, I haven't done my job.
"I'm feeling that strong about it now, and I'm proud of these guys - we've been doing it on the road and we're really fired up to get back to Illawarra and put that uniform on in front of that home crowd.
"So tell the community we're on that.
NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger responded via a statement on Friday.
"Last November the Hawks approached the NBL and expressed their desire to restore the club’s name to the Illawarra Hawks," Loeliger said.
“The NBL indicated to the Hawks that we were prepared to consider this request if there was sufficient support from the Illawarra community to make the club a viable proposition into the future in the local market.
“Our position has not changed.
“However, as the new owners have also indicated, the club needs to build a long-term and sustainable future.
"We will continue to monitor the club’s progress and work closely with the Hawks ownership to ensure their long term viability and success.”
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