ploto
05-11-2009, 12:24 PM
Jay Triano is staying on as head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
The NBA club signed the Canadian to a three-year contract Monday, ending Triano's stint as interim head coach.
Triano, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., has been leading the Raptors since Dec. 3 when he was promoted from assistant following Sam Mitchell's dismissal.
"Despite some difficult circumstances this past season, Jay Triano never stopped coaching, teaching and leading this team which resulted in a very strong finish," Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a release. "After undertaking a thorough evaluation process, it is clear that Jay is the right coach to guide this team in the future."
Triano finished the season with a 25-40 record, guiding the club to a 9-4 mark in its final 13 games. But the club finished well out of the playoffs, closing the season 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 33-49 record.
Triano, 50, became the first Canadian-born and Canadian-trained coach in the NBA when he was hired in 2002 as an assistant to Lenny Wilkens.
But he'd already compiled a lengthy basketball career before arriving in Toronto. He spent 11 distinguished seasons playing for Canada and then six more as the team's head coach, leading the group that went 5-2 at the 2000 Olympics and finished seventh.
Triano played his college ball at Simon Fraser University from 1977 to '81, where he set 11 records, including the career scoring mark of 2,616 points (which has since been passed). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981 but never played a game with the team, and was also drafted by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.
He played in the 1984 and '88 Olympics, and was part of the team that won gold at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, beating the United States in a mammoth upset.
He was inducted into Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g8xk_d4MZrf00RK1ncWkHxiParFA
The thought is that Marc Iavaroni will be his lead assistant.
The NBA club signed the Canadian to a three-year contract Monday, ending Triano's stint as interim head coach.
Triano, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., has been leading the Raptors since Dec. 3 when he was promoted from assistant following Sam Mitchell's dismissal.
"Despite some difficult circumstances this past season, Jay Triano never stopped coaching, teaching and leading this team which resulted in a very strong finish," Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a release. "After undertaking a thorough evaluation process, it is clear that Jay is the right coach to guide this team in the future."
Triano finished the season with a 25-40 record, guiding the club to a 9-4 mark in its final 13 games. But the club finished well out of the playoffs, closing the season 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 33-49 record.
Triano, 50, became the first Canadian-born and Canadian-trained coach in the NBA when he was hired in 2002 as an assistant to Lenny Wilkens.
But he'd already compiled a lengthy basketball career before arriving in Toronto. He spent 11 distinguished seasons playing for Canada and then six more as the team's head coach, leading the group that went 5-2 at the 2000 Olympics and finished seventh.
Triano played his college ball at Simon Fraser University from 1977 to '81, where he set 11 records, including the career scoring mark of 2,616 points (which has since been passed). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981 but never played a game with the team, and was also drafted by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.
He played in the 1984 and '88 Olympics, and was part of the team that won gold at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, beating the United States in a mammoth upset.
He was inducted into Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g8xk_d4MZrf00RK1ncWkHxiParFA
The thought is that Marc Iavaroni will be his lead assistant.