Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Smith column: The Lakers' film star
Chris Bodaken spends hours of time in the video room, helping to prepare the Lakers for their next opponent.
MARCIA C. SMITH
Register columnist
masmith@ocregister.com
TBD – to be determined – is like a curse phrase. It's the ugly, unnerving unknown and quite possibly the worst three letters anyone can tell Chris Bodaken.
As a Lakers scout and director of video services, Bodaken has to think ahead. He's the guy who sizes up the next opponent, considers the next contest, writes statistics-loaded scouting reports, strings together highlight footage for each player and coach and anticipates each one-on-one matchup, game situation and crunch-time scenario.
And with "TBD" as the Lakers first-round opponent in NBA playoffs for much of the last frenzied week in the wild, wild Western Conference, Bodaken has had to fight a panic that strikes like a medicine ball to the kidney.
"It's a crazy time, not knowing," said Bodaken, a 1990 USC grad who latched onto the Lakers 15 seasons ago as an intern. "The uncertainty of the playoffs is hard. When this happens at the end of season, I have to ask myself, 'Can I be a gambler? Can I wait until the last minute and pull an all-nighter?' "
A week ago, the Lakers' playoff picture was scrambled. As games played out and teams flip-flopped positions, there were four possible opponents, then three, and after the Lakers locked up the top seed with Tuesday night's regular-season-finale victory over Sacramento, two.
Bodaken had to wait until the final buzzer of the league's regular season sounded Wednesday night for the Lakers' first-round foe – TBD – to turn into either the Denver Nuggets or the Dallas Mavericks.
Denver or Dallas? Denver or Dallas? Denver or Dallas? The teams rattled in Bodaken's head and twisted his stomach for days.
He's the gambler he was a decade ago when he would wait to know the opponent, get the coffee pot going on a constant drip and spend 24 tense hours scanning through boxes of videotape.
He doesn't want that work stress anymore. He's 40 now. He has children.
So by Tuesday morning, Bodaken and his assistant, Patrick O'Keefe, had prepared for both the Nuggets and the Mavericks, knowing all along that they would ultimately have to chuck half their work into the trash.
"I'm afraid to guess how many days and hours of watching film it takes to get ready for the playoffs," said Bodaken, of Pasadena. "It's probably a scary number."
Bodaken and O'Keefe can pace themselves and even get ahead during the regular season because the next game and the next opponent are on the schedule. Playoffs usually kick their work into fast-forward.
Their workplaces at Staples Center and at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo are cramped, chilly climate-controlled quarters with just enough room for two chairs, a video editing station, 10 TV screens, four TiVos, a couple VCRs, a DVD recorder, walls lined with thousands of hours of archived NBA footage, stacks of blank DVDs and a clock.
There are no windows. Only a timepiece tells Bodaken whether it's day or night in these rooms where it's always gametime.
"It's like a Vegas casino in here," he said. "You keep going, watching, working, not knowing what's happening outside."
Getting ready for the Nuggets and the Mavericks began with poring over the Lakers' games against both teams and meeting with the Lakers assistant coach assigned to study that team throughout the season.
The Lakers went 3-0 against the Nuggets, but they haven't faced Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony since a 116-99 victory on Jan. 21. So Bodaken had to pull footage from the Nuggets' more recent games to see how they're playing now against other teams.
The Lakers went 3-1 against the Mavericks in close contests with an average score of 107-106. Fortunately for Bodaken, the Lakers played the Mavericks on April 4 and won, 112-108.
Bodaken and O'Keefe also retrieved the fourth-quarter action of every close game the Nuggets and Mavericks played this season to see what the teams did in critical situations. They watched the game both teams played this week, checked injury reports and analyzed statistics from the minutes the star players played to the team's free-throw shooting percentage.
"About 98 percent of NBA games are on DirecTV, so it was just a matter of going back and finding the game," he said. "It was a lot harder before the days of digital TV and the Internet."
For each Lakers coach, Bodaken and O'Keefe made highlight DVDs – or in the case of some less tech-savvy assistants, VHS tapes – of game footage featuring both teams.
"Phil (Jackson) likes to see the flow of the game, so he won't get quick cuts but segments of action," said Bodaken of the Lakers coach's viewing preferences. "He watches more video than any coach I know."
For each Laker, they put together 15-20 minute DVDs featuring about 60 game scenes of the Nugget or Maverick player or players whom the Laker will be defending.
"It's all about finding the tendencies of the other player in the matchup, things like whether a guy dribbles twice to his left before pulling up and shooting," said Bodaken. "Knowing the details, especially for a student of the game like Kobe Bryant, really helps them get ready."
His eyes have burned from all the watching, scanning in fast-forward and focusing frame-by-frame in slow-motion. But Bodaken is at ease knowing he will be ready to hand the Lakers their customized DVDs and written scouting reports when they leave their first practice in preparation of the playoffs.
His job will be done – until the next gametime, when he will log Sunday's action live from his Staples Center workroom. His day could last 15 hours. His eyes could be tired. His hands could cramp, his back ache.
But Bodaken knows that the Lakers depend on him to leave as little as possible to TBD.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
More on Tom Thibodeau
Outside of two seasons, the teams that Tom Thibodeau has been an assistant coach for have been very successful on the defensive side of the ball - thirteen times finish in the top ten in defensive points per game in the league.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Another Quick Mock Draft
1.) Miami: Michael Beasley
2.) Seattle: Derrick Rose
3.) Memphis: Brook Lopez
4.) Minnesota: O.J. Mayo
5.) New York: Eric Gordon
6.) LA Clippers: Danilo Gallinari
7.) Milwaukee: Blake Griffin
8.) Charlotte: D.J. Augustin
9.) Chicago: Anthony Randolph
10.) Indiana: Jerryd Bayless
11.) New Jersey: Kevin Love
12.) Sacramento: Russell Westbrook
13.) Portland: Darren Collison
2.) Seattle: Derrick Rose
3.) Memphis: Brook Lopez
4.) Minnesota: O.J. Mayo
5.) New York: Eric Gordon
6.) LA Clippers: Danilo Gallinari
7.) Milwaukee: Blake Griffin
8.) Charlotte: D.J. Augustin
9.) Chicago: Anthony Randolph
10.) Indiana: Jerryd Bayless
11.) New Jersey: Kevin Love
12.) Sacramento: Russell Westbrook
13.) Portland: Darren Collison
Thursday, March 27, 2008
"Policies ensure futures"
Policies ensure futures
Insurance protects top college athletes
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE - North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough doesn't worry about his NBA future despite being bruised, nicked, bloodied -- and sometimes broken -- by his aggressive style of play.
"I think it does concern my parents at times, though,'' he said.
Which is why the All-America is one of three Tar Heels starters, along with point guard Ty Lawson and shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who has a special insurance policy that protects him in the case of a career-ending injury.
"I don't even want to think about, talk about, the possibility of him getting seriously hurt,'' said Gene Hansbrough, who first took out a policy on his son when Tyler was a senior in high school. "But it does give him some level of protection to fall back on, just in case."
The investment is expensive. Once they leave school, players get bills for premiums usually in the range of $20,000, although they can top $50,000. And the protection rarely pays off, mostly because of medical advances and the limited instances of devastating injuries.
Still, the insurance has become as standard as autograph requests and ESPN highlights for elite college athletes who stand to make millions in the pros.
Hansbrough, a junior, originally was insured by Lloyd's of London, but he switched to an NCAA-sponsored program during his freshman season, his father said. His policy is worth close to $4.4 million, the NCAA's current maximum for men's basketball players. Ellington and Lawson, both sophomores, also became eligible and signed up for policies through the NCAA during their freshman seasons. Their parents declined to disclose the amounts of their policies, but even players projected to be chosen near the bottom of the first round of the NBA Draft are eligible for $500,000 policies.
Eventually, UNC forwards Deon Thompson and Danny Green could be candidates. On top 10 teams, it's not unusual for multiple players to be insured, said Keith Lerner, an insurance underwriter and CEO of Total Planning in Gainesville, Fla.
"There won't be a player drafted in the first round this year that doesn't have insurance," predicted Lerner, who has been in business 20 years. "... These are guys who are going to be making millions in the NBA. So it makes business sense to protect that. ... The cost will come out of their first paycheck."
A variety of reasons
Insurance policies have been available through private underwriters for decades.
The NCAA launched its Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance program in 1990 for men's basketball and football players. Baseball was added in 1991, hockey in 1993 and women's basketball in 1998.
The reason for the program isn't to protect student-athletes' pro careers but to safeguard their college ones, said Juanita Sheely, the NCAA's manager of travel and insurance.
"Back in its original inception, the idea was to help get agents out of the mix," Sheely said.
"Agents would promise, 'I will get you this insurance coverage if you sign with me.' And immediately, if there was any kind of agreement there, the student-athlete lost his eligibility."
One company, HCC Specialty Underwriters of Wakefield, Mass., is the administrator of the program and also handles other insurance needs for the NCAA, including protecting its signature event of the year -- the men's basketball tournament -- in the case of disruptions, cancellations or other trouble.
Roughly 100 to 150 athletes per year have the insurance at any one time, Sheely said. And at certain points in the year, as many as 40 basketball players can be in the program, said Jeff Stanley, senior sports underwriter at HCC.
Eligibility and the amount of coverage are based on projected draft status.
Football players are eligible for up to $3 million of insurance if they are projected to go in the first three rounds. Men's basketball players can get up to $4.4 million if they have top-five potential.
Which players are eligible and for how much is determined in large part by several confidential scouting services.
"We try to base our coverage on 50 to 60 percent of their after-tax salary on their contract, only for the first two years,'' Sheely said. "We can't include any bonuses or endorsements, because we don't know exactly what those will be."
Projecting when, or whether, athletes will be drafted is not an exact science, however. UNC coach Roy Williams said that in September 2004, the school applied to get the insurance for center Sean May. The junior, who went on to become MVP of the Final Four, was denied.
"They wouldn't approve it because they weren't comfortable saying he was going to be a first-round draft choice,'' Williams said. "And then 10 months later, he was the [13th] pick in the draft. So it's also a deal where everyone's not perfect."
Security at a price
For those who are approved, NCAA premiums cost about $6,000 per year (plus interest), per $1 million of coverage.
UNC encourages Tar Heels who want insurance to go with the NCAA program, UNC senior associate athletic director Larry Gallo said, to make sure the players stay in compliance with NCAA rules. But it isn't required.
Players who choose to go with private insurance companies and banks outside the NCAA program must still check in with their school's compliance office to make sure their interest rates and payment schedules are within the rules. But there are benefits.
Through Lerner's company, Lloyd's of London offers policies worth up to $12.5 million for projected top NBA draft picks, almost three times more than the NCAA allows for basketball players. Those premiums cost more -- usually $8,000 to $10,000 per year for every $1 million of coverage. But for about double that bill, a rider can be added to the policy that also protects an athlete's draft status -- meaning that if he falls from his projected draft status because of injury, he still could be paid.
The NCAA's policy pays out only if an injury is so catastrophic it ends the athlete's chances at any pro career.
Either way, payouts are rare. Stanley, of HCC, estimated that only about five claims had been paid under the ESDI program in the past seven or eight years. Lerner's company has paid twice, to a football player and to a hockey player.
Buying peace of mind
But business is still booming. Only about 10 percent of Lerner's policy-holders are basketball players, but he said hoops interest has increased since the NBA passed the 19-and-under rule, eliminating almost all prep players from jumping straight to the NBA.
"I've gotten a lot more calls from parents, because they anticipate their son only being in college a year -- and they want him to be protected,'' said Lerner, who insures athletes throughout the ACC, SEC and Big East.
"There are even kids in high school [taking out policies],'' he added. "Those are still few and far between, ... but it's happening more than it used to."
Hansbrough was one of those kids who qualified for a private policy when he was a McDonald's All American at Poplar Bluff (Mo.) High.
Seeing the aggressive way he played and anticipating a possible pro future, his father had no qualms about insuring him then -- or now -- despite the expense.
Lawson's mother, Jackie, did not want to comment on her son's involvement in the insurance program. But Ellington's dad, Wayne Sr., lauded the opportunity to buy insurance as "a good business decision."
"It does help take the pressure off kids to come out early, or think that they should come out early, because they're scared that they may get hurt ... especially the kids with no financial pressures,'' he said.
Wayne Ellington Sr. said his son will evaluate all his options after this season. Meanwhile, Gene Hansbrough said he doesn't anticipate that having the policy will affect whether his son leaves school early for the NBA. Tyler Hansbrough has said the biggest factor will be whether UNC wins a national title.
To that end, No. 1 seed UNC will play fourth-seeded Washington State in the NCAA's round of 16 tonight.
"For Tyler, playing is not about the money,'' Gene Hansbrough said. "He's a pretty frugal guy; the most he spends on is food. He just wants to win.
"But it [the insurance] gives me a little bit of piece of mind. I love the way he plays, I love how hard he plays. But every time he goes down, I hold my breath till he gets back up."
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/unc/story/1014707.html
Insurance protects top college athletes
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE - North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough doesn't worry about his NBA future despite being bruised, nicked, bloodied -- and sometimes broken -- by his aggressive style of play.
"I think it does concern my parents at times, though,'' he said.
Which is why the All-America is one of three Tar Heels starters, along with point guard Ty Lawson and shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who has a special insurance policy that protects him in the case of a career-ending injury.
"I don't even want to think about, talk about, the possibility of him getting seriously hurt,'' said Gene Hansbrough, who first took out a policy on his son when Tyler was a senior in high school. "But it does give him some level of protection to fall back on, just in case."
The investment is expensive. Once they leave school, players get bills for premiums usually in the range of $20,000, although they can top $50,000. And the protection rarely pays off, mostly because of medical advances and the limited instances of devastating injuries.
Still, the insurance has become as standard as autograph requests and ESPN highlights for elite college athletes who stand to make millions in the pros.
Hansbrough, a junior, originally was insured by Lloyd's of London, but he switched to an NCAA-sponsored program during his freshman season, his father said. His policy is worth close to $4.4 million, the NCAA's current maximum for men's basketball players. Ellington and Lawson, both sophomores, also became eligible and signed up for policies through the NCAA during their freshman seasons. Their parents declined to disclose the amounts of their policies, but even players projected to be chosen near the bottom of the first round of the NBA Draft are eligible for $500,000 policies.
Eventually, UNC forwards Deon Thompson and Danny Green could be candidates. On top 10 teams, it's not unusual for multiple players to be insured, said Keith Lerner, an insurance underwriter and CEO of Total Planning in Gainesville, Fla.
"There won't be a player drafted in the first round this year that doesn't have insurance," predicted Lerner, who has been in business 20 years. "... These are guys who are going to be making millions in the NBA. So it makes business sense to protect that. ... The cost will come out of their first paycheck."
A variety of reasons
Insurance policies have been available through private underwriters for decades.
The NCAA launched its Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance program in 1990 for men's basketball and football players. Baseball was added in 1991, hockey in 1993 and women's basketball in 1998.
The reason for the program isn't to protect student-athletes' pro careers but to safeguard their college ones, said Juanita Sheely, the NCAA's manager of travel and insurance.
"Back in its original inception, the idea was to help get agents out of the mix," Sheely said.
"Agents would promise, 'I will get you this insurance coverage if you sign with me.' And immediately, if there was any kind of agreement there, the student-athlete lost his eligibility."
One company, HCC Specialty Underwriters of Wakefield, Mass., is the administrator of the program and also handles other insurance needs for the NCAA, including protecting its signature event of the year -- the men's basketball tournament -- in the case of disruptions, cancellations or other trouble.
Roughly 100 to 150 athletes per year have the insurance at any one time, Sheely said. And at certain points in the year, as many as 40 basketball players can be in the program, said Jeff Stanley, senior sports underwriter at HCC.
Eligibility and the amount of coverage are based on projected draft status.
Football players are eligible for up to $3 million of insurance if they are projected to go in the first three rounds. Men's basketball players can get up to $4.4 million if they have top-five potential.
Which players are eligible and for how much is determined in large part by several confidential scouting services.
"We try to base our coverage on 50 to 60 percent of their after-tax salary on their contract, only for the first two years,'' Sheely said. "We can't include any bonuses or endorsements, because we don't know exactly what those will be."
Projecting when, or whether, athletes will be drafted is not an exact science, however. UNC coach Roy Williams said that in September 2004, the school applied to get the insurance for center Sean May. The junior, who went on to become MVP of the Final Four, was denied.
"They wouldn't approve it because they weren't comfortable saying he was going to be a first-round draft choice,'' Williams said. "And then 10 months later, he was the [13th] pick in the draft. So it's also a deal where everyone's not perfect."
Security at a price
For those who are approved, NCAA premiums cost about $6,000 per year (plus interest), per $1 million of coverage.
UNC encourages Tar Heels who want insurance to go with the NCAA program, UNC senior associate athletic director Larry Gallo said, to make sure the players stay in compliance with NCAA rules. But it isn't required.
Players who choose to go with private insurance companies and banks outside the NCAA program must still check in with their school's compliance office to make sure their interest rates and payment schedules are within the rules. But there are benefits.
Through Lerner's company, Lloyd's of London offers policies worth up to $12.5 million for projected top NBA draft picks, almost three times more than the NCAA allows for basketball players. Those premiums cost more -- usually $8,000 to $10,000 per year for every $1 million of coverage. But for about double that bill, a rider can be added to the policy that also protects an athlete's draft status -- meaning that if he falls from his projected draft status because of injury, he still could be paid.
The NCAA's policy pays out only if an injury is so catastrophic it ends the athlete's chances at any pro career.
Either way, payouts are rare. Stanley, of HCC, estimated that only about five claims had been paid under the ESDI program in the past seven or eight years. Lerner's company has paid twice, to a football player and to a hockey player.
Buying peace of mind
But business is still booming. Only about 10 percent of Lerner's policy-holders are basketball players, but he said hoops interest has increased since the NBA passed the 19-and-under rule, eliminating almost all prep players from jumping straight to the NBA.
"I've gotten a lot more calls from parents, because they anticipate their son only being in college a year -- and they want him to be protected,'' said Lerner, who insures athletes throughout the ACC, SEC and Big East.
"There are even kids in high school [taking out policies],'' he added. "Those are still few and far between, ... but it's happening more than it used to."
Hansbrough was one of those kids who qualified for a private policy when he was a McDonald's All American at Poplar Bluff (Mo.) High.
Seeing the aggressive way he played and anticipating a possible pro future, his father had no qualms about insuring him then -- or now -- despite the expense.
Lawson's mother, Jackie, did not want to comment on her son's involvement in the insurance program. But Ellington's dad, Wayne Sr., lauded the opportunity to buy insurance as "a good business decision."
"It does help take the pressure off kids to come out early, or think that they should come out early, because they're scared that they may get hurt ... especially the kids with no financial pressures,'' he said.
Wayne Ellington Sr. said his son will evaluate all his options after this season. Meanwhile, Gene Hansbrough said he doesn't anticipate that having the policy will affect whether his son leaves school early for the NBA. Tyler Hansbrough has said the biggest factor will be whether UNC wins a national title.
To that end, No. 1 seed UNC will play fourth-seeded Washington State in the NCAA's round of 16 tonight.
"For Tyler, playing is not about the money,'' Gene Hansbrough said. "He's a pretty frugal guy; the most he spends on is food. He just wants to win.
"But it [the insurance] gives me a little bit of piece of mind. I love the way he plays, I love how hard he plays. But every time he goes down, I hold my breath till he gets back up."
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/unc/story/1014707.html
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Basketball Thoughts
-Thursday, I watched the first half of the Kansas-Portland State blowout. I have always liked Brandon Rush, and he really shined in this game early on. Rush has always been very consistent in his three years with Kansas and can do a lot of things well. Rush finished with eighteen points in thirty minutes along with six rebounds. Rush also shot four for nine from behind the three point line. In terms of pro potential, I think Rush is a sleeper, similarly to what Tayshaun Prince's stock was like coming out of college. Both players were very consistent in their college career, played for big time universities, and had NBA bodies. Likewise, people wondered if they reached their ceiling early, and would not have much room to get better in the NBA. I love Rush's pro potential and think he can be a strong contributor. Along with great size and strength, he has a large wingspan and runs the floor well. Rush does a lot of things well, including rebounding efficiently for a guard, shooting range, and playing terrific perimeter defense. Rush's biggest weakness seems to be his ball handling, but I would assume this is a skill he will work on prior to individual team workouts.
-I've also spent some time watching Kevin Love of UCLA over the last few weeks. Love is an interesting prospect because he does not have the super athleticism that many young big men do today. He is more of a polished player, who does a lot of things well. For a pro team, if you are drafting him to be a top player within a franchise, I think you are making a mistake. However, if a team is looking for him to be their fifth player, I think he is a great fit.
Some interesting videos of Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TQkWr8tQ3Q
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JoVpjgj6GAo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dGLwJaayL0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wykfvQFtCkc
-I'm still concerned about the Celtics making it through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs. Boston beat the Pistons two-out-of-three in the regular season, but the Pistons guards have played excellent in the matchup. Down the stretch of games, if Doc Rivers feels the need to play Sam Cassell over Rajon Rondo because of the experience, I see Cassell as a huge liability on defense. Cassell cannot keep up with Richard Hamilton running off screens and will not be able to stay with Chauncey Billups' physical play. In a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, I would again be concerned with their defense on LeBron James. Boston split their four matchups with Cleveland this season and James scored 38, 33, DNP, and 26. I don't see Pierce being able to matchup with James for most of a playoff game and still able to produce at a high level on offense. James Posey appears to not have much left in his tank and Tony Allen is not big enough to defend James. The main benefit the Celtics do have on their side in a big defensive matchup is Kevin Garnett defending the basket and Tom Thibodeau creating defensive game plans.
-I've also spent some time watching Kevin Love of UCLA over the last few weeks. Love is an interesting prospect because he does not have the super athleticism that many young big men do today. He is more of a polished player, who does a lot of things well. For a pro team, if you are drafting him to be a top player within a franchise, I think you are making a mistake. However, if a team is looking for him to be their fifth player, I think he is a great fit.
Some interesting videos of Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TQkWr8tQ3Q
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JoVpjgj6GAo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dGLwJaayL0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wykfvQFtCkc
-I'm still concerned about the Celtics making it through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs. Boston beat the Pistons two-out-of-three in the regular season, but the Pistons guards have played excellent in the matchup. Down the stretch of games, if Doc Rivers feels the need to play Sam Cassell over Rajon Rondo because of the experience, I see Cassell as a huge liability on defense. Cassell cannot keep up with Richard Hamilton running off screens and will not be able to stay with Chauncey Billups' physical play. In a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, I would again be concerned with their defense on LeBron James. Boston split their four matchups with Cleveland this season and James scored 38, 33, DNP, and 26. I don't see Pierce being able to matchup with James for most of a playoff game and still able to produce at a high level on offense. James Posey appears to not have much left in his tank and Tony Allen is not big enough to defend James. The main benefit the Celtics do have on their side in a big defensive matchup is Kevin Garnett defending the basket and Tom Thibodeau creating defensive game plans.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Will Tom Thibodeau Get a Shot at the Bulls Head Coaching Job?
Below are some notes on another great candidate to be the Chicago Bulls' next head coach:
-Currently serves as the Celtics associate head coach.
-Specializes in the establishment of Boston's team defense.
-Previously coached seventeen seasons in the NBA with Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Seattle and Minnesota.
-During those seventeen seasons, his teams have finished among the top ten in fewer points allowed fourteen times.
-In 2000-01, the Knicks set an NBA record by holding opponents to fewer than 100 points in 33 consecutive games.
-In his first year in Houston, Thibodeau helped the Rockets set franchise records in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
-From New Britain, Connecticut.
-Graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a then a Master’s in Counseling from Salem State College. He lettered in four seasons at Salem State.
-Has worked under notable coaches such as: Bill Musselman, Jerry Tarkanian, John Lucas, Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney
-Coming into this season, he has coached in 87 career NBA playoff games, including New York’s appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.
-Worked closely with Yao ming in 2005-06.
-Has gone to China the past two summers to work with Yao on his individual skills.
-Before taking the Celtics job, Thibodeau interviewed for several head coaching jobs and agreed with Washington to be an assistant for the Wizards. He worked several days with the Wizards and then had a change of heart and didn’t sign the contract. Reports are that he was promised the head assistant position and then wasn’t given it and that is why he backed away from working with the Wizards.
-Signed a one year deal with the Celtics.
Articles about Thibodeau:
http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/coaches/tom-thibodeau.html
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-299/Talking-to-Celtic-Assistant-Coach-Tom-Thibodeau.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2998331
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/11/01/thibodeau_is_celtics_minister_of_defense/?page=full
-Currently serves as the Celtics associate head coach.
-Specializes in the establishment of Boston's team defense.
-Previously coached seventeen seasons in the NBA with Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Seattle and Minnesota.
-During those seventeen seasons, his teams have finished among the top ten in fewer points allowed fourteen times.
-In 2000-01, the Knicks set an NBA record by holding opponents to fewer than 100 points in 33 consecutive games.
-In his first year in Houston, Thibodeau helped the Rockets set franchise records in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
-From New Britain, Connecticut.
-Graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a then a Master’s in Counseling from Salem State College. He lettered in four seasons at Salem State.
-Has worked under notable coaches such as: Bill Musselman, Jerry Tarkanian, John Lucas, Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney
-Coming into this season, he has coached in 87 career NBA playoff games, including New York’s appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.
-Worked closely with Yao ming in 2005-06.
-Has gone to China the past two summers to work with Yao on his individual skills.
-Before taking the Celtics job, Thibodeau interviewed for several head coaching jobs and agreed with Washington to be an assistant for the Wizards. He worked several days with the Wizards and then had a change of heart and didn’t sign the contract. Reports are that he was promised the head assistant position and then wasn’t given it and that is why he backed away from working with the Wizards.
-Signed a one year deal with the Celtics.
Articles about Thibodeau:
http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/coaches/tom-thibodeau.html
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-299/Talking-to-Celtic-Assistant-Coach-Tom-Thibodeau.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2998331
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/11/01/thibodeau_is_celtics_minister_of_defense/?page=full
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