Tag: actress

Udoka eager for next chapter

Isiah Thomas was the first to plant the seed. Nate McMillan helped water it. When Gregg Popovich echoed the sentiment, suggesting to Ime Udoka two years ago that he might consider going into coaching once his playing days were over, a retirement plan was hatched to fruition.

“Pop told me, ‘I hope I get a chance to hire you some day,’ ” Udoka said. “That made the decision to stop playing a lot easier.”

This week, Popovich got his wish. Udoka, who last played in the NBA in January 2011 with the Spurs, was hired as the team’s newest assistant coach, the first step in a a new career path the 35-year-old former small forward has been plotting for several years.

A veteran of 316 games over seven NBA seasons, parts of three of which were spent in San Antonio, Udoka joins a Spurs coaching staff depleted by the loss of Jacque Vaughn (Orlando head coach) and Don Newman (Washington lead assistant).

Because Vaughn’s spot on the staff was considered “extra,” created specially for him when he became available in 2009, Udoka — a 35-year-old coaching rookie — is expected to be the team’s only bench hire this offseason.

“I ran into Pop in Las Vegas during Summer League (in July),” said Udoka, a Portland native. “He let me know the deal with Jacque, that he was probably leaving. He told me a good opportunity might be there (in San Antonio).”

Udoka joins a staff that includes a pair of longtime Popovich assistants, Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown.

Though new to the coaching game, Udoka believes his varied NBA experiences — with stops as different as San Antonio and Sacramento — have prepared him for a variety of situations.

From his previous stint with the Spurs, Udoka learned the value of meticulous preparation.

“Taking care of your own business, that’s one thing you learn with Pop,” Udoka said. “If you have pride and just do what you do, you’ll be successful, whether the shots fall on any given night or not.”

In a press release announcing the hire, Popovich praised Udoka’s “outstanding work ethic” and “a natural inclination to teach.”

Thomas, who coached Udoka in summer league and for eight games of 2005-06 season with the Knicks, was the first to put the coaching bug in Udoka’s head.

“He said, ‘You don’t score 20 points a game, but the young guys seem to respect you and respond to you,’ ” Udoka said.

Since his retirement in 2011, Udoka had been living in Los Angeles, where his girlfriend, actress Nia Long, and their 9-month old son reside. The Spurs’ history as a proving ground for future NBA head coaches helped lure Udoka back to the game he loves.

“You see their family tree all over the league,” Udoka said. “It’s a great opportunity. You know they’ll help you develop.”

TP’s new girlfriend turning heads during Spurs’ NYC stay

Life is pretty good for Spurs point guard Tony Parker these days.

His team is in the middle of an eight-game winning streak as he’s earned the fourth selection of his career to the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 26 in Orlando.

And his personal life appears to have picked up as well.

The New York City tabloids were buzzing during the Spurs’ recent trip there about Parker and his mystery girlfriend, a French model known only as Axelle.

The New York Post reported that Parker and the stunning French-speaking brunette were recently seen shopping at the SoHo custom jeans store 3 x 1.

A witness told the Post that Parker and Axelle “.” Another source close to Parker told the Post that “they are an item,” and have been dating for many months.

Axelle was first seen over the summer when she attended a Paris tennis tournament with Parker during the NBA lockout. The gossip website Radar Online quoted a Parker insider this week as saying this could be a special friend for Parker.

“They were so cute!” an insider . “They were holding hands and kissing. They looked really happy and in love. Tony has been playing phenomenally recently! Axelle must be responsible.”

It’s Parker’s first serious girlfriend since his divorce from actress Eva Longoria last January.

Five days in New York during the Rodeo Road Trip was almost guaranteed to get Parker in the gossip columns.

And like his performance on the basketball court in recent games, Parker assuredly didn’t disappoint.

Mike Monroe: Big Shot Rob finds more thrills

When Robert Horry’s 3-point basket with 5.8 seconds left in overtime gave the Spurs a 96-95 victory in Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals, the game’s announcers called it another dagger from “Big Shot Bob.”

It was a name Horry accepted but didn’t really like, so after the game teammate Tim Duncan delighted in his teammate’s minor discomfort.

On Tuesday afternoon, someone at the White House called Horry “Big Shot Bob,” and it was perfectly fine with a player who ranks among the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history.

“President Obama walked up and said, ‘Big Shot Bob, it’s nice to meet you,’” Horry said after returning to his home in Houston from a week-long USO tour that took him to Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Germany.

“It was very cool meeting him. It’s OK that he called me Bob. It really doesn’t matter that much to me, ‘Big Shot Rob’ or ‘Big Shot Bob.’ Either one is OK.”

The occasion was the return of the United States Forces-Iraq colors, the battle flag under which U.S. troops had served during the Iraq war. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden received the colors in ceremonies at Andrews AFB.

Horry had been aboard Air Force Two, the aircraft used by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, along with the other participants in the USO tour — comedian Thomas Miles, actress Minka Kelly and RB singer Jordin Sparks — when it landed at Andrews with the colors.

“That was the part that really hit you,” Horry said. “Bringing that flag home, well, it just hit you what that meant.”

The NBA reached out to Horry several weeks ago when the USO coordinators asked for a retired player the troops would enjoy meeting. A member of seven NBA championship teams in Houston, Los Angeles and San Antonio, Horry was a natural.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Horry, now 41. “Visiting with the troops was what it was mostly about, just hanging out with them, taking pictures with them and talking. Just trying to break up the monotony of the war.

“I don’t know if we were in any dangerous areas in Afghanistan or not, but we kind of figured out that if they were asking us to wear IBA (individual body armor), it was probably a little dangerous.”

Amazingly, Horry ran into two old friends.

“Willie Locke was my company commander in ROTC (at Alabama),” he said. “My other friend from my hometown was Claude Burnett. His mom always baked my birthday cakes.”

Back on his home turf in Houston, Horry will try to reconnect soon with another old friend. He hasn’t spoken to Antonio McDyess for more than a month because McDyess hasn’t been answering his phone.

Horry knew McDyess’ decision to retire was final, despite the Spurs’ attempts to get him to change his mind.

“When you’ve had knee injuries like he had, you know when it’s time,” Horry said. “That last year I was with the Spurs, I knew it was time after I banged knees in a game in Sacramento. It just wouldn’t heal. Every morning I’d get up, and it would kill me just walking to the bathroom.”

Horry believes the Spurs will be well served in a short season by a core that has been together for years, instead of weeks or months. Lack of time to school new players offsets some of that edge.

“They can sneak out some wins because they’ve got their core back,” he said. “It’s hard to get in a rhythm with new teammates. I know its going to be difficult to beat those young teams, especially Oklahoma City, the Clippers and, well, yeah, the Lakers, too.

“To be honest, I’m thinking 5 or 6 seed, just because of the age of the team and not being able to incorporate new guys into the system in a short season.”

mikemonroe@express-news.net