Celtics hire Ime Udoka as HC

OurF'ingCity

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Apr 22, 2016
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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.
 

EL Jeffe

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Udoka seemed to have the best combination of experience, youth, and player relatability. How that manifests itself remains to be seen, but I'm happy enough with the hire.
 

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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Not a bad hire. Preferred Sam I am.

Udoka Ubuntu has a nice ring to it, hopefully ring #18. And 19. And 20.
 

DJnVa

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I'm going to call him the Hotstepper, because when I first heard his name my mind thought of Ini Kamoze.
 

bowiac

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With the caveat that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm thrilled with this hire.
 

radsoxfan

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Udoka seemed to have the best combination of experience, youth, and player relatability. How that manifests itself remains to be seen, but I'm happy enough with the hire.
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
 

cardiacs

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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.
 

nattysez

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Udoka seemed to have the best combination of experience, youth, and player relatability. How that manifests itself remains to be seen, but I'm happy enough with the hire.
All of this. I was not familiar with him previously, but his resume looks pretty darn perfect.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Aug 12, 2009
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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.
 

PedroKsBambino

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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)
 

thehitcat

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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?
 

Cellar-Door

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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.

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 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.
 

Eddie Jurak

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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).
 

bankshot1

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With the caveat that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm thrilled with this hire.
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.
 

Mystic Merlin

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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.
 

OurF'ingCity

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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?
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Everetts Dinosaurs

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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.