2026 ENBL Coach of the Year: Jason Dourisseau, Donar Groningen
- marisnoviks
- Feb 25
- 2 min read
Jason Dourisseau is the 2026 European North Basketball league`s Coach of the Year, according to a 50/50 shared vote by the ENBL teams and fans.
A former Nebraska Cornhuskers wing (2002-2006) has a legendary status in Groningen.
Omaha, Nebraska born Dourisseau represented Donar from 2009-2014 and then again, from 2015-2020.
He helped Groningen win five Dutch championships (2010, 2014, 2016-2018), four Dutch Cups (2010, 2014, 2017, 2018) and two Supercups (2015, 2017).
Jersey number 8 is retired by Donar.
Dourisseau`s other stops included Ludwigsburg (2006-2008), KR Reykjavik (2008-2009, Iceland champion), Würzburg Baskets (2014-2015) and Aris Leeuwarden (2023).
Jason Dourisseau took the coaching reins of Donar Groningen on December 3, 2024, after the club parted ways with Andrej Štimac.
Eight days later Dourisseau posted his first win in the ENBL, defeating Spartak Pleven, 87-84, at the martiniplaza, while playing without star center James Karnik.
Groningen team lost the next two games and didn`t qualified for the 2025 ENBL playoffs, while averaging 2 350 fans for the regular season games at the martiniplaza.
Donar won the Dutch quarterfinal series against Den Helder, 2-0, before falling at the semifinal series against top seeded Heroes Den Bosch, 0-3.
Groningen returned to the ENBL and lost the home opener against (2026 Latvian Cup winner) Valmiera Glass ViA, coached by the 2013 European U20 championship silver medalist Kaspars Vecvagars and Gunārs Gailītis.
A back-to-back-to-back home wins followed, as well as road successes at the Bristol Flyers and the Kapfenberg Bulls.
On January 6, 2026, Donar put up a fight on the road, before falling at the hands of the 2025 German Cup winner SYNTAINICS MBC, 104-106.
Eventually, Donar posted a 5-3 record to advance to the 2026 ENBL playoffs, becoming the first Dutch team to do so.
Jason Dourisseau has a 6-5 record in the ENBL after a 1-3 start.
The other Coach of the Year candidates: Arnar Guðjónsson (Tindastoll), Matthew Otten (Manchester Basketball), Damir Mulaomerovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Dan Mihai Ioan (CSO Voluntari).
really shows how much he’s grown with the team. It makes sense when you think about his long history with Donar as a player and now as head coach he knows the club inside out and has been able to help his players step up in big games, even when they were down or had injuries earlier in the season. Seeing how he guided Donar to the 2026 playoffs and earned recognition among all the ENBL coaches is impressive, and it feels like the team really responds to his style and experience. For anyone reading this who might be dealing with their own challenges like tight deadlines, confusing assignments or essays, Assignment Writing help is a really useful resource it can…