Tag: Rick Higgins

Jabari Smith Jr. settling in for Rockets, ready to get more involved

Jabari Smith Jr. on his Rockets debut (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists): “Coming into the second half, I felt more relaxed. I settled into the game, and I felt like they could see that.”

LAS VEGAS – When the doors finally opened to the Thomas & Mack Center, fans rushed down the aisles to get to the open seats closest to the court. Most wanted to make sure they had the best view to witness the marquee matchup between rookies Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr. in the first game of the 2022 NBA summer league.

The Orlando Magic selected Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, while Smith went to the Houston Rockets two picks later. What made the matchup so intriguing for fans and intense for the two individuals involved was the pre-draft analysis done by most NBA media members, who had flipped the ultimate order.

Once Thursday’s game began, it was clear that Banchero was the more polished offensive player of the two, as he helped lead his team to a 91-77 victory (box score) over the Rockets. The Duke product finished the game with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, and he made quite an impression by connecting on his first four shots and not missing any until the middle of the second quarter, leading to 13 first-half points.

“He is good,” Rick Higgins said of Banchero. Higgins, who is normally an assistant coach for the Rockets next to Stephen Silas, is head coach for Houston’s summer league team (schedule). “He is good. We knew that. He hit some tough shots. Still not why we lost.”

Smith could not match Banchero point-for-point in the first half, when he scored just 3 points. But he showcased more offensive skills in the second half, finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds on the night.

“Coming into the second half, I felt more relaxed,” said Smith, who admitted to reporters that he had a lot of adrenaline heading into the game. “I settled into the game, and I felt like they could see that.”

One glaring thing that will stand out during film study of Smith’s summer league debut is the need to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the court and find more comfortable spots on the floor. The idea is for his teammates to get him the ball within the flow of the offense.

“I thought I could have been more involved, just off of me finding more ways to be involved on the offensive end,” Smith told reporters postgame. “That’s going to come just from learning a new offense, a new system. Other than that, I felt I was pretty involved just have to make more open shots and crash the glass more.”

Houston returns to action on Saturday with a matchup versus Oklahoma City, which features the No. 2 overall pick from the 2022 draft in Chet Holmgren. It’ll be yet another opportunity for Smith on a big stage.

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Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. sets priorities for 2022 summer league

Jabari Smith Jr. on Houston’s summer league: “No matter if I am making shots or missing shots, I want to know that I was out there competing, out there listening, and out there learning.”

HOUSTON — Once media members were allowed into the Toyota Center practice facility on Tuesday, we walked into the gym area and found a very intense scrimmage taking place. It was between the Rockets’  2022 summer league roster, which had been split into two teams.

The team led by second-year guard Josh Christopher and rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr., who was picked at No. 3 overall in the 2022 NBA draft, was down by three points with 1:03 left on the clock.

Daishen Nix stood on the baseline looking for a teammate to throw the ball to, but they were all covered except for Smith, who made himself available by using his tall frame and athletic ability to separate himself from his opponent. Nix threw the ball over the defender into the waiting hands of Smith beyond the 3-point arc, who immediately jab-stepped to the right and exploded left towards the basket.

As he blew by the defender and headed towards the lane, he had one more obstacle to clear when fellow rookie TyTy Washington slid over to slow down Smith’s momentum while preparing to take a charge.

The average 6-foot-10 player probably would have run right over 6-foot-3 Washington, but Smith is not an ordinary power forward. As he took one step into the lane, Smith recognized what Washington was about to do and used his exquisite body control to glide right past his summer league teammate to score the basket while also drawing the foul.

He completed the 3-point play by hitting a free throw to tie the game.

If that play indicates what the Rockets can expect this season and beyond from Smith, then the future is very bright for them.

The former Auburn player will put his skills on display for all NBA fans to see in the first two summer league games. His first two opponents are the No. 1 overall draft pick in Orlando’s Paolo Banchero (on Thursday), followed by No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City on Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to playing everybody,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter what team. I’m just excited to play with my new team and new organization and just get back out there competing. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. I want to feel like I played hard all week.”

Smith continued:

No matter how long I am there, no matter if I am making shots or missing shots. I want to know that I was out there competing, out there listening, and out there learning. At the end of the day, all of this is new to me, so I am not going to put too much pressure on myself going out here (Las Vegas). But I am going with a chip on my shoulder, and trying to win.

One person tasked with helping Smith and his fellow rookies get better during their time in Las Vegas is Rockets assistant coach Rick Higgins, who is coaching his first summer league team (schedule).

“We have a really, really good group,” Higgins said. “I can’t wait to see most of our new guys mixed with the guys we already have because they have great energy level and excitement about playing basketball.”

After only three summer league practices, Higgins stressed that Smith is not ready to compete in an NBA game just yet, as he is still learning the intricacies and nuisances of being in the league.

“I’m going say this isn’t quite him in the NBA,” said Higgins. “I mean, he’s got some other NBA players in the gym with him, but this is a summer league. And we know that and we’re here to get better and grow. I would hold on saying that is his getting his feet wet in the NBA, yet.”

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Interviews: Rockets practice in Houston, set 2022 summer league goals

Check out summer league practice highlights and interviews with Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, TyTy Washington, Daishen Nix, Josh Christopher, Eron Gordon, Stephen Silas, and Rick Higgins.

HOUSTON — Less than two weeks ago, Auburn forward Jabari Smith Jr., LSU forward Tari Eason, and Kentucky guard TyTy Washington didn’t know where their professional home would be. Now, after all were selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft, they’re headed to Las Vegas to headline the 2022 summer league squad for the Rockets.

The newly drafted rookies are the obvious headliners, as evidenced by their ceremonial activity later that same day of throwing out the first pitch at Tuesday night’s Astros game. But there are accomplished second-year players on the roster, as well, in guard Josh Christopher and forward Usman Garuba. The summer Rockets will also feature third-year forward Anthony Lamb and a handful of undrafted rookies hoping to earn training camp invites from Houston or any other NBA team.

It all starts Thursday night in Las Vegas (schedule), when Smith leads the summer Rockets versus No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and the summer Magic. Until then, here’s what the players had to say Tuesday at the Toyota Center practice court in Houston, along with insights from Stephen Silas and summer league head coach Rick Higgins.

Scroll on for highlights of Tuesday’s practice, as well.

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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Orlando development coach Rick Higgins joins Rockets as assistant

Orlando player development coach Rick Higgins is joining the Houston Rockets as an assistant to new coach Stephen Silas, per ESPN.

Orlando player development coach Rick Higgins is joining the Houston Rockets as an assistant to new coach Stephen Silas, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Higgins joins former NBA head coaches John Lucas and Jeff Hornacek as confirmed members of Silas’ staff.

Higgins is the son of ex-NBA player and GM Rod Higgins.

Just 33 years old, Higgins had worked in Orlando alongside head coach Steve Clifford since the 2018-19 season. Prior to their time with the Magic, Higgins worked for Clifford over multiple years in Charlotte, with roles including coaching assistant/video coordinator and video scout.

“In his expanded role, Higgins will assist with game planning, scouting reports, and player workouts, in addition to his role in the video department,” Charlotte said in a September 2017 press release.

Silas was also a member of that Hornets staff (in a higher assistant role) until 2018, so he and Higgins already have a working relationship.

Beyond Lucas, Hornacek, and Higgins, other rumored assistant options include Jazz assistant DeSagana Diop and former 76ers and Nets assistant Will Weaver. A pair of former Rockets — player development coach Irv Roland and guard Rafer Alston — have also expressed interest in joining the staff, but it’s not clear if that is reciprocated by the team.

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