Tag: assistant coach

Lakers finalizing deal to hire David Fizdale as assistant coach

The Los Angeles Lakers will be bringing on David Fizdale as an assistant coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have many coaching staff changes to deal with last season after winning the NBA championship in the Orlando bubble, but that will not be the case this time.

The NBA had a busy few days when many teams parted ways with their head coaches, opening the door for potential promotions for current assistant coaches.

Jason Kidd, who was an assistant coach with the Lakers for two seasons, became a hot name in coaching searches around the league. Ultimately, Kidd departed L.A. to become the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.

That move created an opening on Frank Vogel’s staff, so the Lakers needed to bring in a replacement. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, L.A. has found one:

David Fizdale first became an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors in 2003 and held assistant coaching roles for multiple teams until 2016. when he landed his first head coach job.

Fizdale coached the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2016-17 season and the New York Knicks in the 2018-19 season. Neither stint lasted long, unfortunately.

But from 2008 to 2016, Fizdale was an assistant coach with the Miami Heat giving him multiple years of experience working with LeBron James.

Other teams also reportedly pursued Fizdale, but he’ll be on his way to L.A. for next season.

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WATCH: Steve Sarkisian receives Broyles Award for being nation’s top assistant

On Wednesday, Texas HC Steve Sarkisian accepted the Broyles Award for his great work in Tuscaloosa. You can watch the video below:

What Steve Sarkisian did with Alabama’s offense last season was incredible. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith (winner), quarterback Mac Jones, and running back Najee Harris all finished in the top five of Heisman voting.

To add on, the Crimson Tide’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award. Everything went right on offense with Sarkisian running the show.

After averaging 48.5 points per game and winning the national championship, Sarkisian won the Broyles Award for being the top assistant coach in the country. Here were the four other finalists:

  • Jeff Grimes, Offensive Coordinator, BYU
  • Marcus Freeman, Defensive Coordinator / LB, Cincinnati
  • Kane Wommack, Defensive Coordinator / LB, Indiana
  • Mike Hankwitz, Defensive Coordinator, Northwestern

On Wednesday, Sarkisian accepted the award for his great work in Tuscaloosa. You can watch the video below:

Sarkisian will now attempt to replicate his offense in Austin. Another layer of responsibility will be added on as a head coach, but his roots of being an offensive play-caller will remain.

Other assistant coaches such as QB coach A.J. Milwee and offensive line coach Kyle Flood have been brought over from Alabama as well to help. Flood may have been the biggest hire Sarkisian made, while Milwee has been his right-hand man for the past two seasons.

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Texas Football: Which new hire will make the biggest impact in year one?

Longhorns Wire Roundtable discusses which assistant coach will make the biggest impact in year one on the Forty Acres.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has formed an impressive group of assistant coaches. Continue reading “Texas Football: Which new hire will make the biggest impact in year one?”

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Former Texas CB coach Jay Valai is expected to be hired by Houston

Roughly a week after tweeting goodbye to Texas players, cornerbacks coach Jay Valai appears to have found a new home in Houston.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is assembling an entirely new defensive staff. Continue reading “Former Texas CB coach Jay Valai is expected to be hired by Houston”

Report: Steve Sarkisian is targeting LSU DB coach, recruiting coordinator

Newly hired Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is attempting to build an extremely strong staff.

Newly hired Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is surely putting his best foot forward to land the top assistant coaches around the college football landscape. Continue reading “Report: Steve Sarkisian is targeting LSU DB coach, recruiting coordinator”

Update on reported assistants to join Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas

Reports are beginning to indicate the expected hires for Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas.

Reports are continuing to surface regarding Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s potential new staff. Continue reading “Update on reported assistants to join Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas”

Stephen Silas explains focus areas for Rockets’ new coaching staff

Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver are tilted to offense, while John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are “tilted to the defensive side.”

When new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas was in Dallas, he was effectively the “offensive coordinator” for a group that finished the 2019-20 regular season as the most efficient offense in NBA history.

Now that he’s running his own team in Houston, though, it appears that Silas won’t be quite as rigid with his assistant coaching assignments.

While acknowledging that each coach will “tilt” in a certain direction, he won’t have anyone in a set coordinator role. Here’s how Silas explained the dynamic after Wednesday’s training camp practice:

Here, we don’t have coordinators. I have Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver kind of tilted toward the offensive side. John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are tilted to the defensive side. But I think it’s good for a coach’s growth to be able to do a little bit of everything.

DeSagana was running on a two-on-two, pick-and-roll drill today. Luc was down on the other end doing switching, pick and rolls. Everybody gets to touch a little bit of everything. There are certain focuses that I’m thinking about, those guys tilt either way, but they’re basketball coaches. They’re going to be allowed to do so.

Hornacek and Lucas are Houston’s most tenured assistants, with each having served as a head coach at multiple other NBA franchises. Thus, beyond their personal areas of expertise, it makes sense from an experience perspective to spread them out. It might also allow Hornacek and Lucas to serve in a mentor role to younger assistants such as the 36-year-old Weaver, 33-year-old Higgins, and 38-year-old Diop.

Silas said he would be getting together with his assistants on Thursday to map out lineups and plans for Houston’s upcoming preseason games, which begin on Friday night in Chicago.

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Rockets formally announce staff of assistant coaches for Stephen Silas

John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are officially assistants in Houston, according to the team.

The Houston Rockets on Monday announced that John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop will join head coach Stephen Silas’ staff as assistant coaches.

Agreements with all five assistant coaches had been previously reported. However, with training camp for the 2020-21 season starting Tuesday morning at Toyota Center, each addition needed to be finalized.

Here’s how each coach is described (in this order) in the official press release, which was sent out by the team late Monday.

John Lucas:

Lucas, who was the first overall pick by Houston in the 1976 NBA Draft, re-joined the Rockets organization as their Director of Player Development prior to the 2016-17 season.  He was head coach of San Antonio and Philadelphia for stretches during the 1990’s and for Cleveland in 2001-02 and 2002-03.  Lucas is widely respected throughout the sports community for his ability as a mentor and has helped numerous athletes develop professionally and personally.

Jeff Hornacek:

Hornacek was a key member of the Utah Jazz during the mid-to-late 1990’s and for his career, shot 49.6% from the floor, 40.3% from 3-point range, and 87.7% from the foul line.  He joined the Jazz as a shooting coach in 2007 and became an assistant coach in 2010-11.  Hornacek was head coach of Phoenix for two and a half seasons from 2013-16 and for two seasons with New York from 2016-18.  Rockets forward P.J. Tucker played for Hornacek during his time with the Suns.

Will Weaver:

Weaver joins the Rockets after guiding the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia to the best record in the league and the championship game in his first season as head coach.  In 2018-19, he was named NBA G League Coach of the Year after leading the Long Island Nets to the championship game.  Weaver began his NBA career as the video coordinator for Philadelphia in 2013-14 before transitioning to the role of special assistant to the head coach for two seasons, followed by two seasons in that capacity for Brooklyn.

Rick Higgins:

Higgins spent the past two seasons with Orlando as associate coach/player development.  Prior to joining the Magic, he was with Charlotte for eight seasons, serving as a basketball operations assistant, video scout and coaching associate/video coordinator.  Higgins played collegiately for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  His father, Rod, played in the NBA for 13 seasons and is currently the vice president of basketball operations for the Atlanta Hawks.

DeSagana Diop:

Diop was the eighth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft and was a starter for Dallas during its run to the Finals in 2006.  Following a 12-season career, he joined the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as a player development coach in 2014-15 before being promoted to assistant coach the following season.  Diop spent the past four seasons as a coaching associate on Quin Snyder’s staff in Utah.

With the complete coaching staff in place, Houston’s training camp will begin Tuesday with limited individual workouts and COVID-19 testing. Group activities will not commence until Sunday, Dec. 6.

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Report: Stephen Silas working hard to keep John Lucas with Rockets

Per Mark Berman, Lucas would have a higher role on Silas’ coaching staff than when he was director of player development for Mike D’Antoni.

New Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas is “working hard” to retain John Lucas on his staff, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.

Since 2016, Lucas has worked with the Rockets as the director of player development for previous head coach Mike D’Antoni.

But according to Berman, Lucas could have a bigger role as an assistant for Silas. Lucas was reportedly one of three finalists in Houston’s recent search for the lead job, alongside Silas and Jeff Van Gundy.

Now 66 years old, Lucas was previously a head coach with San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Cleveland in the 1990s and early 2000s. His age and experience could be a good fit with the 47-year-old Silas, who is becoming an NBA head coach for the first time. Lucas also has existing relationships with current players like All-Star guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook, which is part of why he was a finalist for the main job.

Last week, Lucas congratulated Silas via Twitter on becoming head coach of the Rockets, which appeared to indicate that there were no hard feelings in regards to his personal bid coming up short. If that’s the case, it could further boost the odds of a potential partnership.

Other names believed to be in consideration for Silas’ staff of assistants include former NBA head coaches Jeff Hornacek and Nate McMillan. As of Monday night, there was no clear timetable for potential hires.

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Locked On Longhorns Podcast: ‘Surprising depth chart updates’

On Thursday’s episode, Patrick and Cami dissect the two-deep depth chart that Chip Brown of Horns247 recently provided.

On Thursday’s episode, Patrick and Cami dissect the two-deep depth chart that Chip Brown of Horns247 recently provided. The chart is based on the rumblings of multiple team sources.

There were a few surprises at running back, wide receiver and quarterback. This must be taken with a grain of salt due to the likelihood of injuries playing a role as well as the timeframe of still being two weeks out from the start of the season. However, it’s certainly telling in terms of which players are performing well.

Sophomore Roschon Johnson appears to have climbed up the depth chart and is currently sitting as the starter. Keaontay Ingram has battled injuries throughout fall camp, while true freshman Bijan Robinson continues to impress.

Could freshman Hudson Card compete for the backup quarterback position behind Sam Ehlinger? Why isn’t wide receiver Brennan Eagles listed as a starter?

To close out the show, we take a look at Texas men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart’s hiring of SMU assistant K.T. Turner.