Steve Kerr has already been a five-time NBA champion as a player and three times as a coach. Few people have been so successful in each of those roles in the best league in the world. And yet the current Golden State Warriors coach, at 56, is still hungry for glory. “I am excited for the challenge”Kerr said on Monday when he took over as the new coach of the United States National Team.
Kerr rises to the position of head coach of the USA Basketball men’s team after being Gregg Popovich’s assistant in the national team for four years. The San Antonio Spurs coach left his post after having become champion in the last edition of the Olympic Games and his successor is someone from his “school”, whom he managed as a player for four seasons (Kerr retired as a player in 2003, being a champion with the Spurs).
“I’m incredibly honored to represent our country as the coach of the USA Basketball men’s team. It is an exciting opportunity and I am excited for the challenge. Obviously there are a lot of people I need to acknowledge and thank, especially Grant Hill, Jim Tooley and Sean Ford from USA Basketball and obviously Gregg Popovich and Jerry Colangelo, who gave me the opportunity to be an assistant on the last staff. “Kerr told the press in his inauguration ceremony.
“Too I am beyond excited to work with three coaches that I have enormous respect for: Erik Spoelstra, Monty Williams and Mark Few. Coaching the national team carries a great responsibility, one that calls for group work with a team of coaches committed to the team, with the goal and with others, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of individuals of great character to help me. to lead the national team. Our goal, obviously, is to win and make our country proud. We will work hard to achieve it. “Kerr continued.
More | The report with the best of week 9 of the NBA: five on the rise, five on the decline and Power Rankings
Kerr’s arrival goes hand in hand with Grant Hill’s as USA Basketball manager, a position in which he replaces the historic Jerry Colangelo, the person in charge of the “reconstruction” of the program of the team that won the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
“I am delighted to announce the team’s coaching staff for the 2022-2024 process, with Steve Kerr as head coach and Mark Few, Erik Spoelstra and Monty Williams as assistant coaches. I have no doubt that this is an extremely experienced and talented coaching staff. “said Hill. “Steve now joins a roster of legendary coaches who have led the United States men’s national teams to a remarkable legacy.”
“As a college and NBA player (Kerr) enjoyed remarkable success, helping his teams achieve great success. As a coach, he has cultivated outstanding chemistry and provided invaluable leadership that has led Golden State to success. enviable, including three NBA championships.In his role as assistant coach to Coach Popovich and the United States national teams from 2017 to 2021, gained valuable knowledge and experience both with the United States national team and in FIBA competitions. In my opinion, basketball people will agree that he was the ideal candidate to lead the national team for the next three years“Hill added.
As a player Kerr was part of the United States team, champion of the World Cup in Spain 1986 averaging 9.2 points per game and was then shortlisted for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Kerr’s debut will take place in the training camps held by the national team since 2022 and, in the event that the team qualifies with another coach (Jim Boylen is in charge of that process with most of the G League players), will make its competitive debut at the World Cup that will take place between August and September 2023 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. Two of his assistants, Spoelstra (Miami Heat) and Williams (Phoenix Suns) currently work in the NBA as head coaches while Few serves as the head coach of Gonzaga University in the NCAA, where he has worked since 1989.
Spoelstra came to the USA Basketball program in 2021 as coach of the USA Select Team while Williams was already an assistant to Mike Krzyzewski in the process that was from 2012 to 2016.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA or its organizations.
We would love to thank the writer of this post for this awesome content
Steve Kerr took over as coach of the US National Team: “I am excited for the challenge” | NBA.com Spain | The Official Site of the NBA