Tag: Mike Moser

Updated 2023-2024 Houston Rockets roster, salaries after free agency

After an extremely busy 2023 free agency, here’s an updated look at the #Rockets roster and salaries entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

When we last saw the Houston Rockets play a regular-season game in April, they were one of the NBA’s youngest teams and directed by a relatively unproven head coach in Stephen Silas.

The situation has changed significantly in the months since. Ime Udoka replaced Silas as head coach and brought in his own staff of assistants, while general manager Rafael Stone spent more than $60 million in 2023 free agency to sign veteran players Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green and Jock Landale.

Those veterans will surround Houston’s young core of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and newly drafted 2023 rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.

As of early August, here’s an updated look at where things stand with the Rockets’ coaching staff and roster of players entering the 2023-24 NBA season. Many of the team’s newcomers will not have their jersey numbers revealed until closer to training camp, which is scheduled to start in early October.

Height and weight information is from NBA.com, while salary details are from HoopsHype figures. Ages are as of Aug. 1, 2023.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka officially announces coaching staff

#Rockets head coach Ime Udoka announced Ben Sullivan, Royal Ivey, Garrett Jackson, Tiago Splitter, Cam Hodges, and Mike Moser as his assistants for the 2023-24 season.

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On Monday, Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka announced his staff for the 2023-24 NBA season. Joining the team as assistant coaches are Ben Sullivan, Royal Ivey, Garrett Jackson, Tiago Splitter, Cam Hodges and Mike Moser.

Sullivan was an assistant coach with Boston the past two seasons, including on Udoka’s staff in 2021-22. Prior to joining the Celtics, Sullivan spent seven seasons as an assistant on Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta and Milwaukee. He helped the Bucks win the championship in 2020-21. Sullivan began his NBA career as an assistant video coordinator with San Antonio after being recommended by Udoka, who was then an assistant with the Spurs.

Ivey joins the Rockets from Brooklyn, where he spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach, including alongside Udoka on Steve Nash’s staff in 2020-21. After finishing his 10-year NBA career, Ivey became an assistant coach for Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate, the Blue. He transitioned into an assistant coach role for the Thunder and was also an assistant coach with his hometown Knicks. Ivey completed his career at the University of Texas as the school’s all-time leader in starts.

Jackson spent the past two seasons as a player enhancement coach for Boston. The Portland native played overseas following his collegiate career at USC and Saint Mary’s. Jackson was a graduate manager for Hawaii men’s team in 2018-19 before taking an internship with the Spurs’ video department.

Splitter spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Nets and worked alongside Udoka in 2020-21. Following a standout playing career in Spain, Splitter joined the Spurs in 2010-11 and started 18 playoff games during their championship run in 2013-14. He has been an assistant coach for the Brazilian national team and served as head coach of their under-23 squad.

Hodges was a coaching associate for the Los Angeles Clippers for the past three seasons after serving as player development coach for Philadelphia in 2019-20 when Udoka was an assistant. He also worked three seasons as a player development assistant for the Spurs. Hodges, who served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve, played overseas before interning with the Erie Bayhawks in the G League.

Moser was a player enhancement coach for Boston last season after serving as an assistant coach for the Oregon Ducks women’s team in 2021-22. As a redshirt senior for Oregon, he earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Moser played overseas for several years with stops in Lithuania, Israel, Kosovo, Qatar, Finland and France.

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Report: Rockets, Ime Udoka hiring Boston’s Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Moser as assistants

Ime Udoka is expected to hire Celtics assistants Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles, and Mike Moser to his new #Rockets staff, per Gary Washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) of the Boston Globe.

One week after reportedly reaching an agreement to hire Brooklyn’s Royal Ivey, the complete group of assistants to new Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is taking shape.

With Boston now out of the 2023 playoffs, Udoka is ready to hire Celtics assistants Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Moser for his new staff in Houston, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. All three worked for Udoka when he coached the Celtics during the 2021-22 season, which concluded with Boston reaching the NBA Finals (which they did not do this season, in Udoka’s absence).

Miles is 40 years old, while Sullivan is 39 and Moser is 32. It appears Udoka, 45, prefers a young and energetic staff, based on those additions and the recent deal with Ivey, 41.

Sullivan is known in the NBA as something of a “shooting guru,” having boosted results for players such as Boston’s Derrick White.

Sullivan and Udoka are believed to have a close relationship, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC, Houston’s NBC affiliate.

“Both grew up in the Portland, Oregon, area and are connected through the Spurs, where Sullivan was a video coordinator thanks to a suggestion from Udoka,” Alexander recently wrote. “Udoka and Sullivan’s previous boss, Mike Budenholzer, both coached under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, and Udoka hired Sullivan away from Budenholzer’s Milwaukee Bucks staff. Sullivan is in a good situation with the Celtics, but he is an intriguing name to watch, based on that relationship.”

As for Miles, he worked as a Warriors player development coach from 2019 until 2021, which is when Udoka hired him as a Celtics assistant. He was a college point guard at Kansas from 2001 to 2005 before a lengthy professional career, which included several international stops and a brief stint in Golden State (2005-06).

Moser played internationally from 2014 through 2019 before beginning his assistant coaching career in 2019 with the Dallas Mavericks in player development and analytics. Last July, he was hired by Udoka as a player enhancement coach with the Celtics.

There is no set timetable for Udoka and the Rockets to name the complete staff. The team’s next basketball activities will not come until late June, which is when recently drafted players will take part in a minicamp to prepare for the NBA’s 2023 summer league in July.

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Women’s basketball program loses two assistants in a 24-hour span

Oregon women’s basketball coaches Mike Moser and Oti Gildon have both moved on for similar positions elsewhere.

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball head coach suddenly has two coaching positions available.

Assistant coaches Mike Moser and Oti Gildon are both moving on for greener pastures. Moser has accepted the same position with the Boston Celtics and Gildon has accepted a full-time assistant coaching job with Seattle University.

Moser, who played the 2013-14 season with the Ducks, spent just one season under Kelly Graves before moving on with his career.

In a tweet, Moser thanked his fellow coaches and said that he would be a Duck forever. He was the lead recruiter and was in charge of player development for the women’s basketball program.

Before coaching at Oregon, Moser was working in player development and analytics for the Dallas Mavericks from 2019-21, while also serving as an international scouting consultant and personal basketball trainer.

Gildon, also a former Duck basketball performer, was the interim Director of Creativity/Student-Athlete Support within the Oregon program.

According to Seattle coach Suzy Barcomb, Gildon being a native of the Northwest will be a huge advantage for the Redhawks.

“Oti will be instrumental in the development of our players, both on the court and in the community,” Barcomb said in a statement. “Her collegiate career speaks volumes to her high basketball IQ and ability to compete at a high level, allowing her to have an immediate impact on our program, particularly with our post and forwards. Her familiarity with the Pacific Northwest in terms of recruiting will be an added benefit.”

Always Us dominates the third quarter to advance in The Basketball Tournament

A huge third quarter and Dwayne Benjamin’s rebound dunk gave Always Us their first victory in TBT and one step closer to $1 million.

It wasn’t exactly how head coach Josh Jamieson would have drawn it up, but Always Us held on to defeat the Peoria All-Stars 79-73 to advance in The Basketball Tournament where the eventual winners will split a $1 million grand prize.

The team made up of former Oregon Duck hoopsters outscored Peoria 30-15 in the third quarter to break away from what was a 30-30 contest at halftime.

Always Us eventually built up a 70-59 before the first dead ball under the four-minute mark. That’s when the “Elam Ending” comes into play. The game clock is turned off and a target score is established, which is eight more points than what the leading team has. So in this game, it was the first team to get 78 wins.

To Peoria’s credit, they didn’t exactly go away quietly. After Mike Moser nailed a three to make it 73-59, Peoria turned up the defensive heat. They went on a 14-5 run to make it 77-73, but Dwayne Benjamin’s rebound slam gave Always Us their first victory in TBT.

Moser led the team with 13 points off the bench and Benjamin added 12 points. Shakur Juiston scored seven points to go with his team-leading eight rebounds. Point guard Johnathan Loyd added seven points and six boards, five of those coming on the offensive end.

Lashlan Anderson led Peoria with 20 points and Dustin Ware added 19.

With the first-round victory, the 4-seed Always Us will play 5-seed Autism Army, who managed to advance with a 78-46 win over SCD Hoops, a Chicago-based team.

Always Us and Autism Army are scheduled for a Monday morning 11 a.m. PST tip streamed on ESPN3.