duncan228
12-10-2008, 12:05 AM
Edit: Headline has been changed, same link.
Popovich not aiming for 20-year mark
Pop thinks retirement — by 2016 (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Pop_thinks_retirement__by_2016.html)
By Jeff McDonald
DALLAS — In Minneapolis on Tuesday night, Jerry Sloan celebrated his 20th anniversary as coach of the Utah Jazz, marking the day in 1988 that he took over the team's reins from Frank Layden.
A thousand miles to the south on Interstate-35, the NBA's second-longest tenured coach said he has no plans of sticking around long enough to match Sloan's milestone.
“I have no doubt that Jerry has been remarkable in his longevity,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before Tuesday's game at Dallas. “I also have no doubt there's no way I'll get to 20 as a coach.”
Popovich, who took over on the Spurs' bench 18 games into the 1996-97 campaign, has spent each of his 13 seasons as a head coach with the team. He is under contract through the end of the 2011-12 season, not coincidentally expiring at the same time of Tim Duncan's latest deal.
After that, who knows? Just don't expect to see Popovich around to pick up his 20-year service pin in 2016.
“You have to really love it to want to do it for that long,” Popovich said. “For me, that's too long. I have other things that I might want to do.”
No passport required: It's a good thing rookie George Hill improved dramatically on his disastrous July summer-league performance.
Otherwise, Popovich says, he might have ended up being banished to Siberia.
Or close to it.
“If he was playing now like he did in the summer league, he'd maybe be playing in South Ossetia or something like that,” Popovich said.
Hill went 2 of 25 from the field in his first three games in Las Vegas, leading to doubts that the gamble the Spurs took on him with the 26th pick in the June draft would pay off.
Nineteen games into the season, those fears have been assuaged somewhat, as Hill has developed into the Spurs' No. 2 point guard behind Tony Parker.
“We actually had some doubts after the summer league, wondering what direction to go as far as his progression was concerned,” Popovich said. “Once the lights went on and the real games came, he showed he could play.”
Robo-Tim: Dallas coach Rick Carlisle says he's gained an even greater respect for Duncan since joining the Western Conference.
“He's one of those great players that's got a computer up here,” Carlisle said, pointing to his head. “When he's on the floor, he's just great at reading situations. Like with all great players, he simplifies the game for the role players around him, and when the game is simple for those guys, they can make it simple for him.”
Howard sits again: Josh Howard, Dallas' second-leading scorer, missed his ninth consecutive game Tuesday and appears poised to miss many more.
Carlisle said Howard, out since Nov. 18 with a sprained left ankle, will be fitted for a protective boot and shut down for the foreseeable future. There is no timetable for Howard's return, Carlisle said.
“Rather than get into a speculative amount of time, we're just going to say it's going to be for a while,” Carlisle said.
Popovich not aiming for 20-year mark
Pop thinks retirement — by 2016 (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Pop_thinks_retirement__by_2016.html)
By Jeff McDonald
DALLAS — In Minneapolis on Tuesday night, Jerry Sloan celebrated his 20th anniversary as coach of the Utah Jazz, marking the day in 1988 that he took over the team's reins from Frank Layden.
A thousand miles to the south on Interstate-35, the NBA's second-longest tenured coach said he has no plans of sticking around long enough to match Sloan's milestone.
“I have no doubt that Jerry has been remarkable in his longevity,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before Tuesday's game at Dallas. “I also have no doubt there's no way I'll get to 20 as a coach.”
Popovich, who took over on the Spurs' bench 18 games into the 1996-97 campaign, has spent each of his 13 seasons as a head coach with the team. He is under contract through the end of the 2011-12 season, not coincidentally expiring at the same time of Tim Duncan's latest deal.
After that, who knows? Just don't expect to see Popovich around to pick up his 20-year service pin in 2016.
“You have to really love it to want to do it for that long,” Popovich said. “For me, that's too long. I have other things that I might want to do.”
No passport required: It's a good thing rookie George Hill improved dramatically on his disastrous July summer-league performance.
Otherwise, Popovich says, he might have ended up being banished to Siberia.
Or close to it.
“If he was playing now like he did in the summer league, he'd maybe be playing in South Ossetia or something like that,” Popovich said.
Hill went 2 of 25 from the field in his first three games in Las Vegas, leading to doubts that the gamble the Spurs took on him with the 26th pick in the June draft would pay off.
Nineteen games into the season, those fears have been assuaged somewhat, as Hill has developed into the Spurs' No. 2 point guard behind Tony Parker.
“We actually had some doubts after the summer league, wondering what direction to go as far as his progression was concerned,” Popovich said. “Once the lights went on and the real games came, he showed he could play.”
Robo-Tim: Dallas coach Rick Carlisle says he's gained an even greater respect for Duncan since joining the Western Conference.
“He's one of those great players that's got a computer up here,” Carlisle said, pointing to his head. “When he's on the floor, he's just great at reading situations. Like with all great players, he simplifies the game for the role players around him, and when the game is simple for those guys, they can make it simple for him.”
Howard sits again: Josh Howard, Dallas' second-leading scorer, missed his ninth consecutive game Tuesday and appears poised to miss many more.
Carlisle said Howard, out since Nov. 18 with a sprained left ankle, will be fitted for a protective boot and shut down for the foreseeable future. There is no timetable for Howard's return, Carlisle said.
“Rather than get into a speculative amount of time, we're just going to say it's going to be for a while,” Carlisle said.