Randy Wittman and Sam Cassell named assistant coaches

[Ruzious]

^ another good choice

Laimbeer certainly knew how to play. Very smart player.
Hated him when he was against us with the Pistons.
Love to have him mentor our bigs.

Nah, he could only coach women. Seriously, he'd be a great choice, because he got by on smarts and guile/cheating - much more than Kevin "Black Hole" McHale. Btw, I'm not much of a WNBA fan, but I watched a couple of the women's Olympic games. If I had to play against that team, they'd make me cry. They were ultra-aggressive and physical... and really good. In the Australia game, I was just hoping they wouldn't hurt Lauren Jackson - the most beautiful 6'5 woman I've ever seen. To be honest, Australia had a little PG who took more physical abuse than I was comfortable watching.

[LyricalRico]

Nah, he could only coach women.

Well then he'd be perfect for Blatche...

(Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal!)

[doclinkin]

There would an interesting irony in having McHale on the bench next to the last two coaches he fired. Not sure how that would work, I'm pretty sure Flip has a good relationship with him still, no idea about Wittman.

[dobrojim]

rotflmao

hopefully AB will have something for those Missouri folks next season

[Benjammin]

There would an interesting irony in having McHale on the bench next to the last two coaches he fired. Not sure how that would work, I'm pretty sure Flip has a good relationship with him still, no idea about Wittman.

Yeah, it would be sweet irony. Wittman would be the number two assistant so McHale would be third in the pecking order. I think that would be tough to take, but you never know. I think Laimbeer would fit in very well though.

[keynote]

Lee said this a few weeks back:

Gene Banks, a former Duke star who played for Saunders in the CBA and later San Antonio and Chicago in the NBA, also ran workouts this afternoon. But it was unclear if he will be part of the staff.

As an update, we get this from today from Peter Vescey:

Gene Banks made a big impression ("strong presence") on Washington's hierarchy after a three-day tryout working out some of its players. Looks like the former Bull/Duke forward will be hired as a fourth assistant.

Any scuttle on Banks? He played at Duke during the late 70s/early 80s; I don't remember his tenure with the Spurs or Bulls.

[Benjammin]

^^^
Thanks for the find. I remember Gene Banks more at Duke than in the NBA. He was not a 4 or 5, but that doesn't mean he can't teach or impart those skills to a big guy.

[keynote]

I got the impression he was a G/F swingman (at least, that's how he's listed on basketball reference).

What was his game like? Spot-up shooter? Athletic slasher? Hard-nosed perimeter defender (please please please)?

[forthepeople]

"Second interesting tidbit: Vescey says that Gene Banks will likely be hired as an assistant coach because he made a "strong impression," whatever that means. Whatever. The worst part, to me, is that Vescey said he beat out the recently fired Kevin McHale, who was also very much in the mix. I'd much prefer McHale, a big man with a good reputation for individual teaching, than Gene Banks. Our young bigs desperately need a teacher and there are few who could teach better than McHale. "

Is there any chance we can bring Mchale in as a big man coach. I have long been advocating to bring in a great big man coach. LA has Kareem for Bynum. Orlando has Ewing for Howard. Mchale would be a great addition for both Blatche and Mcgee. Look what he did for Garnett and Al Jefferson.

[Kanyewest]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

[verbal8]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

Not much involving basketball and Kwame Brown has worked out.

[TheSecretWeapon]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

To describe what Ewing did as "worked" would require redefining the word to mean "1. did basically nothing; 2. went through the motions."

[Benjammin]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

To describe what Ewing did as "worked" would require redefining the word to mean "1. did basically nothing; 2. went through the motions."

That's very interesting. Do you have any stories to tell about Mr. Ewing's "work ethic"?

[Ruzious]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

To describe what Ewing did as "worked" would require redefining the word to mean "1. did basically nothing; 2. went through the motions."

It seemed like he did the same with Yao. When Yao was learning the ropes early on and Ewing was a coach, he would sit next to him on the bench every game - but Ewing would be wearing a suit and laughing the whole time with Yao. Appearance-wise, it didn't look like any teaching was going on. It was strange to see, because Ewing was so intense as a player. But perhaps his role was to get Yao to relax. He certainly did a good job of it.

[TheSecretWeapon]

Ewing worked here with Kwame Brown. Man, that didn't work out.

To describe what Ewing did as "worked" would require redefining the word to mean "1. did basically nothing; 2. went through the motions."

That's very interesting. Do you have any stories to tell about Mr. Ewing's "work ethic"?

I've posted a couple anecdotes on the boards, and maybe in an article I wrote back when Ewing was with the team. Here's the short version:

I get to Wiz games early when I went on press pass. I'd go wherever they'd let me go, including the practice court if no one was watching the door. Anyway, among the many things I spent time watching, I reguarly saw Ewing "working" with Kwame and Haywood. I was surprised to see how lax and pointless the work was.

For example, they were working on post moves on multiple occassions. Ewing stood on the perimeter and threw them the ball when they posted. "Posting" didn't involve setting their feet, "sitting down" on the imaginary defender, or even putting their hand up. They just jogged to the block, and Ewing would toss them the ball. Then they'd make the move. Except they'd travel half the time. They'd bring the ball down. They wouldn't spin quickly or jump hard or dunk. They'd just make a half-assed approximation of the move and then move on.

The whole time, Ewing would say nothing. Just stand there and pass the ball. They put in TIME, but there was no real work going on.

Contrast that with what I saw when I went back the next year and watched Phil Hubbard or Tom Young put the bigs through the same kinds of workouts. Constant verbal corrections. Demanding proper footwork and posting technique. Reminders not to bring the ball down. Encouraging a strong finish at the rim. The coaching difference was night and day.

Maybe Ewing has gotten better since then. Being a great player doesn't mean he knows how to be a good coach or teacher. If he's learned how to teach, then good for him. But he didn't do a lot for the bigs in DC.

[doclinkin]

Mr Lee:

Oberto was recently waived by the Pistons after being traded from San Antonio and Milwaukee. He's currently in Argentina, but the Wizards have a connection with Oberto with new Wizards assistant coach Mike Wells working with him in San Antonio the past four seasons.

Mike Wells headed the Spurs advance scouting:

So, all this work and nights of travel by the advanced scout culminates into part of the preparation that our coaches undertake for the post-season. The trick here is of course that some teams could be playing any one of a few teams in the first round....you guessed it: Three different preps are needed in these cases...As the post-season unfolds, teams are always preparing for both opponents that they could face if they are fortunate enough to advance. Luckily, advanced scouts are on the road all year long preparing their teams for every upcoming opponent and normally see a team two or three times prior to when their team is scheduled to play them…that’s a lot of times to figure out if Cleveland is better running “Hawk Triple 61 Slash” with LeBron or Larry Hughes at the point...Luckily for us we have Mike Wells working on all of our advanced scouting and he does a great job. Mike’s job is a grind, he travels to the city of the game during the day, scouts the game in the evening and then files his report late into the night once he gets back to the hotel and puts it into a format that can be sent to our offices through cyberspace…the next morning, he’s off to another NBA city to work on another team.

When building afresh, steal from the best.

Re-name this the Wiz Assistant Coaches Thread?

[closg00]

Now this is kind of signing I like

[fishercob]

Yet more Dan Steinberg destruction of anyone else who has covered the Wiz in recent years:

Meet New Wizards Asst. Don Zierden

Wizards fans aren't likely very familiar with Don Zierden, the former CBA head coach, NBA assistant, and WNBA coach who joined Flip Saunders's staff this spring.

Heck, many players still aren't totally familiar with him; they universally call the assistant "Z," and when I asked Nick Young about working with Zierden, he had no idea who I was talking about.

Zierden will coach the Wiz Summer Leaguers Friday night against the Timberwolves and Saturday against Blake Griffin and the Clippers, so this seemed to be an appropriate time to learn some more. I'll be writing a full story for Saturday's paper, but suffice it to say, Zierden and Saunders have been colleagues at nearly every level imaginable; they played pickup against each other as college kids, worked together at the University of Tulsa and in the CBA, with the Timberwolves and with the Pistons, and now again with the Wizards. They've spent something like two decades together professionally, and have known each other for nearly 40 years.

Read the rest here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... l#comments

He's also got a nice interview with Dajuan Summer, who I know had some bigtime supporters in these parts.