Celtics hire Ime Udoka as HC
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
Well ok then. I find it a bit odd they didn't spend the time to even interview Cassell (unless I missed that), but I like the aggressiveness of settling on your guy and closing the deal early in the offseason.
Edit: and he certainly ticks all of the boxes on paper. Young guy, Black, comes from the Pop coaching tree, lots of experience with playoff teams/Finals contenders, by all accounts is well-liked by players - hard to find any obvious reasons to be upset about this one.
Edit: and he certainly ticks all of the boxes on paper. Young guy, Black, comes from the Pop coaching tree, lots of experience with playoff teams/Finals contenders, by all accounts is well-liked by players - hard to find any obvious reasons to be upset about this one.
Not a bad hire. Preferred Sam I am.
Udoka Ubuntu has a nice ring to it, hopefully ring #18. And 19. And 20.
Udoka Ubuntu has a nice ring to it, hopefully ring #18. And 19. And 20.
There are a lot of openings and maybe they decided to get him while the getting was good
Agreed. Always an unknown with someone that hasn’t been a head coach.
But presumably he got good reports from Pop and others he has worked with, plus the Jays.
Happy with the hire, avoided any of the obvious bad chooces
He makes the most sense and I am happy with the move. I was hoping Kara Lawson would get a look but I guess it was not realistic, all things considered.
All of this. I was not familiar with him previously, but his resume looks pretty darn perfect.
More confirmation, not that we doubted Woj
Adam Himmelsbach on Twitter: "League source confirms that Nets assistant Ime Udoka will be the next head coach of the Celtics." / Twitter
Adam Himmelsbach on Twitter: "League source confirms that Nets assistant Ime Udoka will be the next head coach of the Celtics." / Twitter
Former player, long time assistant, including under Pop, gets along well with our star players, hard to find fault in this move, and plenty to be excited about.
Feels like a great hire to me….former player, younger, has been with some great programs and with star players as an assistant. LIke that he coached the Jays and by all accounts was well-liked. And at this moment, I think his ethnicity is a positive and helpful (and appropriate for the franchise which broke many barriers along the way)
So before I say something stupid like "Ime for this deal" (too late) Do folks know how he pronounces his name is it Eyem You-do-kuh or I-mee?
I like this. It's always hard to tell with assistants what is them vs. others, but I like what I hear, and I like that he has experience with multiple organizations on different HC's staffs, rather than being someone who has spent all his time with 1 HC.
I believe it is pronounced like "E-May" "Ooo-DoH-KUH" but the first sylable could be "you" over "ooo", kinda inconsistent there based on what I've heard from announcers, can't find a clip of him saying his own name to compare.
I like this move. Experience as an NBA player and coach (including with Pop), experience coaching the Jays, young up and coming guy, black, coming from outside of the Celtics management/coaching bubble.
Once the reporting on who the candidates were, this is the guy I wanted. (Of course, @bowiac caveat applies to me also).
Once the reporting on who the candidates were, this is the guy I wanted. (Of course, @bowiac caveat applies to me also).
Some clips from a few years ago, talking some offense and defensive, coaching, etc.:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKGVp963MM
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKGVp963MM
Same. Love the Pop connection and that the Jays allegedly love him. Beyond that, in Brad I trust.
This is where I am. I'm glad the uncertainty is behind us, this guy has a solid resume and he has support from the troops. I also like that Brad acted quickly and decisively. I just hope he's right.
Acknowledging we don’t know shit, I feel more comfortable with this hire than I would with Billups given Udoka’s much greater coaching experience.
Much evidence that they are the most successful immigrant group in the US.
https://www.ozy.com/around-the-world/the-most-successful-ethnic-group-in-the-u-s-may-surprise-you/86885/
View: https://twitter.com/byjayking/status/1407780995412156422?s=21
Jay King: Ime Udoka once won a sportsmanship award as a player. He has said he was shocked to receive it because of how often he got into it with players on the court. A fiery competitor, but also places a high value on relationships.
Jay King: Ime Udoka once won a sportsmanship award as a player. He has said he was shocked to receive it because of how often he got into it with players on the court. A fiery competitor, but also places a high value on relationships.
So you're saying he will yell at refs more than Stevens, but still in a polite way? Perfect!
Very optimistic about this hire. Udoka joints a list of Celtics African-American head coaches including Russell, Sanders, Jones, Carr, and Rivers. Has any other franchise had more?
This is what matters most. Yelling at the refs, constructing line-ups that satisfies 11% of this forum and using timeouts and challenges in a fan approved fashion matters not one whit. Do the stars want to play for him? That is the only question that matters.
As DJnVA notes, Stevens is pretty decisive and quick to execute. It seems like he has a plan...
Since it seemed pretty clear from the get-go that the C's were going to hire from the assistant ranks, this is about a positive an outcome as you could have hoped for:
- Positive relationship with existing stars
- Former player
- African American
- Good reputation around the league
- No history of spousal abuse or sexual assault (I can't believe I have to type those words)
Now the only question is... is he a good coach? That was going to be the question for anyone they hired from the assistant ranks.
- Positive relationship with existing stars
- Former player
- African American
- Good reputation around the league
- No history of spousal abuse or sexual assault (I can't believe I have to type those words)
Now the only question is... is he a good coach? That was going to be the question for anyone they hired from the assistant ranks.