WAYNE Larkins - the coach who guided the Bendigo Telstra Braves to their most successful period - has quit the basketball club.Larkins announced yesterday he was ending his seven-year tenure with SEABL club Bendigo that began in 2003 to pursue business interests in Queensland.Larkins will finish with the club next Friday, bringing the end to a coaching stint that included guiding the Braves to four straight conference grand finals between 2005 and 2008, winning championships in 2005 and 2007, and claiming the national title in 2005.“I feel that I’ve had a real good go at this,” Larkins said at the Schweppes Centre yesterday.“They (the Bendigo Basketball Association) said, 'this is your job, go and do what you think is the right thing', and that’s what I’ve always tried to do.“Every decision I’ve made, I’ve always done for the betterment of basketball in Bendigo.“Some people may argue that, but I believe I’ve always made the best decision for basketball . . . not for Wayne Larkins, or the player, or the administrator, it’s always been about basketball.“I have loved the ride over the past seven years; it has been nothing short of sensational and an awesome period of time for Bendigo basketball, of which I was pleased to be part of.”While not disclosing any details of his new venture, Larkins says it won’t be basketball-related.“I played basketball as a junior from the time I was nine to 18, then I went into the NBL, where I played as a professional player for 15 years,” said Larkins, whose role in Bendigo also doubled as Braves’ manager.“I did a little bit of part-time work in between to keep my hand in the real world, and from the NBL I then went into administration and coaching straight away as an assistant coach with the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL, and then head coach of South West Metro in Brisbane for three years, before taking the position in Bendigo seven years ago.“You could say the last 28 years of my life have been full-on basketball and basically, for the first time in my life I will be stepping out of basketball.“I think it’s just that point in time where I need to move on to another facet of my life.”Larkins reached his decision to stand down on Monday with one year still left on his contract, before informing Braves’ players, who have only just returned for pre-season training, on Tuesday night.Bendigo Basketball Association president Eain McRae said the BBA had not yet established a timeframe for which to appoint a new coach.“The BBA and the Bendigo Stadium will have a look at it from today after Wayne’s announcement and explore the options as to which way we go with it,” McRae said.“Clearly, we need a new coach and we will be investigating that as soon as possible.“We’re not going to be rushed into making a decision, but clearly at this time of the year we need to get something established for next season.”The Braves were eliminated in the first week of the play-offs by Kilsyth this year.