lefty
09-27-2010, 11:20 AM
Basketball: Two former NBA players among those being considered to lead Saint John franchise
Randy O'Donnell
Telegraph-Journal
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SAINT JOHN - Three candidates with a wealth of National Basketball Association experience are among those in the running for the Saint John Mill Rats head coaching position.
Enlarge Photo (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1228975,587282)
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/images/icon_enlarge.gif (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1228975,587282)
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Associated Press
Jaren Jackson, seen during his playing days with San Antonio, is among the prospective coaches of the Saint John Mill Rats.
JJ owns Shaq :D
Former NBA guard Jaren Jackson, who played for the 1999 world champion San Antonio Spurs, and Cliff Levingston, who won rings with the Chicago Bulls in 1991 and 1992, are among those being considered for the position.
Ron Ekker, who has assistant coaching experience with the Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, is also in the running.
The Premier Basketball League club has conducted phone interviews with the three coaching prospects, Mill Rats general manager Ian McCarthy said Tuesday. Jackson and possibly other candidates are expected to meet with Mill Rats staff this weekend at the New Hampshire Pro Exposure Basketball Combine in Derry, N.H.
"In Jaren's case, he's doing his due diligence to see if this position is the right fit for him as well," said McCarthy, who expects to have a coach in place by mid-October, at the latest.
Jackson has coaching experience as an assistant with his alma mater Georgetown University, where he was an assistant in 2003-04, and as a head coach with the NBA Development League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants as well as the Continental Basketball Association's Pittsburgh Xplosion and Gary Steelheads, where he won CBA coach of the year honours in 2006.
He also coached the Philadelphia Fusion of the American Basketball Association in 2004-05.
Since retiring from the NBA in 1995, Levingston has coached the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA, served as an assistant and head coach with the Dodge City Legend of the United States Basketball League, coached the CBA's Gary Steelheads and the St. Louis Flight of the ABA as well as the Oklahoma Cavalry in the CBA.
Levingston was named USBL coach of the year in 2002.
Ekker has more than 30 years college and pro basketball coaching experience, including 10 seasons with Dallas, five with the West Texas A&M and four years at the University of Saint Louis.
The Mill Rats, who moved to Saint John this year from Manchester, N.H., begin, exhibition play in December, with the 20-game Premier Basketball League regular season beginning in January.
Randy O'Donnell
Telegraph-Journal
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/images/empty.gif
SAINT JOHN - Three candidates with a wealth of National Basketball Association experience are among those in the running for the Saint John Mill Rats head coaching position.
Enlarge Photo (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1228975,587282)
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/sports/article/images/icon_enlarge.gif (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1228975,587282)
http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=587282&size=265x0 (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1228975,587282)
Associated Press
Jaren Jackson, seen during his playing days with San Antonio, is among the prospective coaches of the Saint John Mill Rats.
JJ owns Shaq :D
Former NBA guard Jaren Jackson, who played for the 1999 world champion San Antonio Spurs, and Cliff Levingston, who won rings with the Chicago Bulls in 1991 and 1992, are among those being considered for the position.
Ron Ekker, who has assistant coaching experience with the Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, is also in the running.
The Premier Basketball League club has conducted phone interviews with the three coaching prospects, Mill Rats general manager Ian McCarthy said Tuesday. Jackson and possibly other candidates are expected to meet with Mill Rats staff this weekend at the New Hampshire Pro Exposure Basketball Combine in Derry, N.H.
"In Jaren's case, he's doing his due diligence to see if this position is the right fit for him as well," said McCarthy, who expects to have a coach in place by mid-October, at the latest.
Jackson has coaching experience as an assistant with his alma mater Georgetown University, where he was an assistant in 2003-04, and as a head coach with the NBA Development League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants as well as the Continental Basketball Association's Pittsburgh Xplosion and Gary Steelheads, where he won CBA coach of the year honours in 2006.
He also coached the Philadelphia Fusion of the American Basketball Association in 2004-05.
Since retiring from the NBA in 1995, Levingston has coached the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA, served as an assistant and head coach with the Dodge City Legend of the United States Basketball League, coached the CBA's Gary Steelheads and the St. Louis Flight of the ABA as well as the Oklahoma Cavalry in the CBA.
Levingston was named USBL coach of the year in 2002.
Ekker has more than 30 years college and pro basketball coaching experience, including 10 seasons with Dallas, five with the West Texas A&M and four years at the University of Saint Louis.
The Mill Rats, who moved to Saint John this year from Manchester, N.H., begin, exhibition play in December, with the 20-game Premier Basketball League regular season beginning in January.