Category: In the News

Former player Udoka joins coaching staff

By Jeff McDonald

Ime Udoka, who played parts of three seasons in two stints with the Spurs from 2007-11, will return to the team as an assistant coach. The Spurs announced the hiring Tuesday.

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

Udoka, 35, said the Spurs’ history of producing head coaches from their staff drew him to the job.

“You see their family tree all over the league,” Udoka said by phone from Los Angeles, where he was preparing to board a flight to San Antonio. “It’s a great opportunity. You know they’ll help you develop.”

A hard-nosed, defense-first small forward, Udoka logged 181 games for the Spurs, including 21 in the postseason. He most recently appeared in 20 games during the 2010-11 campaign that was his last as a player.

Though Popovich lost two assistants this summer — with Jacque Vaughn landing the head-coaching position in Orlando and Don Newman leaving for the lead assistant’s gig in Washington — Udoka is expected to be the Spurs’ lone coaching-staff addition this offseason.

The spot Vaughn occupied on Popovich’s bench was created especially for him when he joined the club before the 2009-10 campaign and is likely to remain unfilled.

Layden a front-office candidate: The Spurs also have two vacancies to fill in their front office, with R.C. Buford aides Danny Ferry and Dennis Lindsey having departed for general manager jobs in Atlanta and Utah, respectively.

Jazz assistant Scott Layden, a former GM in Utah and New York, has been given permission to interview with the Spurs for one of the openings.

The Salt Lake City-based Deseret News reported Layden’s meeting with Buford and Popovich was scheduled for Monday night in San Antonio, though it was not immediately clear if it took place as planned.

Anderson to Atlanta: The Hawks extended a training-camp invitation to former Spurs swingman James Anderson. The 23-year-old, drafted 20th overall by the Spurs in 2010, appeared in 87 games in two seasons, averaging 11.5 minutes.

A former Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State, Anderson became an unrestricted free agent in July as the Spurs declined to pick up his third-year contract option.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

Layden to interview with Spurs

Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden will tonight for a job as assistant general manager, the Deseret News reported earlier this afternoon.

Citing an anonymous source, the D-N says Layden, who held GM positions with the Jazz and the New York Knicks, will meet with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford.

Layden’s history in the front office is mixed. The son of former Utah head coach Frank Layden, he is credited with helping the Jazz zero in on future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton. He also finished second in the voting for the 1995 Executive of the Year award. But Layden is also persona non grata in the Big Apple after a flurry of poor acquisitions led to his ouster in 2003.

He’s been an assistant in Utah since 2005. As the D-N article notes, the position Layden is interviewing for opened up when Dennis Lindsey left San Antonio to replace Kevin O’Connor in Utah.

ESPN: Pop a top candidate to replace Coach K

ESPN’s Mark Stein that Gregg Popovich is a top candidate to succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of Team USA. Sources say Boston’s Doc Rivers will also get strong consideration should Krzyzewski, as expected, step down after leading the USA to its second straight gold medal.

“Coach K” has received rave endorsements from his players after going 62-1 during his tenure with USA Basketball. But even though program chairman Jerry Colangelo has said he’ll make one last attempt to convince him to stay, Krzyzewski said earlier this year that he would be leaving after the London Olympics, his fourth major tournament.

It goes without saying that Popovich would be an ideal fit. In addition to his wild success in the NBA and the instant respect he’d command, Popovich has extensive experience scouting and developing international players during his tenure with the Spurs.

But there’s also the matter of his relationship with Colangelo, which . He could also be at a disadvantage after Rivers was afforded the opportunity to rave about how special the opportunity would be as the NBC’s studio analyst during the Olympics.

Still, if winning is the top priority — and there’s no reason to think otherwise after Colandelo’s astute overhaul of USA Basketball — then there’s little doubt that Popovich will get a long, hard look.