Coaching Staff - Who are these guys?

Puff · Post #1 » by **Puff** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:03 pm

There have been many compliments given to McDonough and Hornacek for the success we are enjoying this year but I do not think much credit has been given to the new coaching staff put in place this off season.

I think the following guys have been great and have the ear of the players as well as Hornacek.

Longabardi - I believe he is someone to watch and think he is legit head coaching material but man is he short. I think he has a lot to do with our improved defense.
Jerry Sichting - I remember him as a hard nosed player but not much else.
Kenny Gattison - I remember the name but do not know much about him.
Mark West - He is an icon in Phoenix and was a very serviceable but not great center for the Suns.

Just as the team appears to get along very well it also appears that this coaching staff is on the same page and are as intense as our team during games. Thank goodness, rarely if ever do they lose their cool on bad calls only on the horrible calls by the refs. These guys never seem in panic mode no matter what the circumstances. I really like that and I think the players like it as well.

Who was actually responsible for bringing these guys in? Hornacek or McDonough?

If any of you have more information on these guys it might be fun to learn more about them.

NTB · Post #2 » by **NTB** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:50 pm

I love that short guy. I think he also affects our success. I mean, of course everyone affects but Longabardi is such a nice coaching guy.

Blackification · Post #3 » by **Blackification** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:50 pm

I think Mcdonough let Hornacek pick his coaching staff but made a couple of suggestions for him. I think I read that Horny and McD were on the same page for the most part so McD brought Longabardi over from Boston. He kinda reminds me of Thibs with his height and his animated coaching style lol

Post #4 » by **Qwigglez** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:20 am

Magic Johnson tweeted he thinks Jeff Hornacek should be Coach of the Year so far...

Revived · Post #5 » by **Revived** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:38 am

Puff wrote:I think he has a lot to do with our improved defense.

We actually give up the exact same number of points defensively as we did last year. Only reason I know this is cause they actually showed it during the game on Wednesday and I thought it was funny that it was the exact same number.

Puff · Post #6 » by **Puff** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:00 pm

SF88 wrote:
Puff wrote:I think he has a lot to do with our improved defense.

We actually give up the exact same number of points defensively as we did last year. Only reason I know this is cause they actually showed it during the game on Wednesday and I thought it was funny that it was the exact same number.

Just read Coro's column today and he mentions that we allowing 47.1 % shooting in the past 11 games without Bledsoe. He also says that is the same percentage that ranks Minnesota last in the league for the season.

Where are our main weaknesses? It appears that we are at least trying to play defense on every possession which is a good thing. Maybe Longabardi is not doing as good a job as I thought.

I think we generally get killed with points in the paint if I am not mistaken.

spanishninja · Post #7 » by **spanishninja** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:30 pm

Puff wrote:There have been many compliments given to McDonough and Hornacek for the success we are enjoying this year but I do not think much credit has been given to the new coaching staff put in place this off season.

I think the following guys have been great and have the ear of the players as well as Hornacek.

Longabardi - I believe he is someone to watch and think he is legit head coaching material but man is he short. I think he has a lot to do with our improved defense.
Jerry Sichting - I remember him as a hard nosed player but not much else.
Kenny Gattison - I remember the name but do not know much about him.
Mark West - He is an icon in Phoenix and was a very serviceable but not great center for the Suns.

Just as the team appears to get along very well it also appears that this coaching staff is on the same page and are as intense as our team during games. Thank goodness, rarely if ever do they lose their cool on bad calls only on the horrible calls by the refs. These guys never seem in panic mode no matter what the circumstances. I really like that and I think the players like it as well.

Who was actually responsible for bringing these guys in? Hornacek or McDonough?

If any of you have more information on these guys it might be fun to learn more about them.

the fact that our assistants are somewhat unheralded is probably their biggest positive. it's probably helps them relate to our squad of underdogs.

carey · Post #8 » by **carey** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:27 am

Puff wrote:
SF88 wrote:
Puff wrote:I think he has a lot to do with our improved defense.

We actually give up the exact same number of points defensively as we did last year. Only reason I know this is cause they actually showed it during the game on Wednesday and I thought it was funny that it was the exact same number.

Just read Coro's column today and he mentions that we allowing 47.1 % shooting in the past 11 games without Bledsoe. He also says that is the same percentage that ranks Minnesota last in the league for the season.

Where are our main weaknesses? It appears that we are at least trying to play defense on every possession which is a good thing. Maybe Longabardi is not doing as good a job as I thought.

I think we generally get killed with points in the paint if I am not mistaken.

Right. Our main issues are guard penetration and points in the paint. One will be helped when Eric is back and the other is a bi-product of making a conscious effort to focus on guarding the 3-point line more effectively than other areas. At times it seems like a layup drill. Bledsoe stopping PG penetration will help here too tho since Miles will be able to spend less time worrying about erasing mistakes.