RobinsontoDuncan
04-23-2008, 09:48 AM
http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/toros_spurs_080421.html
by Brian Martin, D-League.com
AUSTIN, April 21, 2008 -- When the San Antonio Spurs purchased the Austin Toros prior to the 2007-08 season, a number of changes were made to match the D-League team to its NBA partner. There was a new logo as well as new team colors and new uniforms to make them look more like the Spurs.
Ian Mahinmi scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in Game 1 of the D-League Finals.
Chris Covatta/NBAE/Getty Images
However, the Spurs’ influence on the Toros reaches far beyond the basic aesthetics of changing the team colors from blue and gold to black and silver. The Spurs also gave the Toros a new coach, a new philosophy and sole affiliation with one of the NBA’s elite organizations.
Perhaps the most important Spurs trait that has found its way to the Toros is San Antonio's championship culture. After finishing last season with a 21-29 record and missing the playoffs by eight games, this year the Toros went 30-20 in the regular season to win the Southwest Division and after Monday night’s win over the Idaho Stampede in Game 1 of the D-League Finals, they sit just one victory away from winning their first D-League Championship.
“I would hope we would stand under the gutter and let it all trickle down,” Toros head coach Quin Synder said about the Spurs influence on his team. “They’re the best organization in professional sports.
“For me as a coach it’s unbelievable, it’s a great learning experience. We can’t do all of things that they can do, but to see them do it, it gives us a chance to not just to measure ourselves, but it gives us an example to look towards.”
R.C. Buford, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Spurs, said his expectations for this relationship have already been exceeded.
“If you would talked to me about the opportunity to keep Ian (Mahinmi) on the floor for 30-35 minutes per game for 45-50 games, plus increasing out awareness of the Development League players, and now we’re in championship series, that would have been pretty ambitious,” he said. “To have all of that happen, outside of the staff that we’re getting a chance to evaluation develop and the players that we’ve been able to call up to our team, it’s a big win.”
Mahinmi, a 6-11 center from France, was San Antonio’s first round pick (28th overall) in the 2005 NBA Draft and his development is at the core of what the Spurs are looking to get from their affiliation with Austin.
“Ian Mahinmi is so much farther along right now than I thought he would be at this stage,” said Mo McHone, Director of Basketball Development for the Toros. “The Spurs made a commitment, RC Buford said we’re putting him in the D-League and emphasized that this is not an assignment down, this is something for him to use to grow and they left him here all year and in return he has improved enormously.
“I think he’s got a chance, if he continues to grow the way he’s growing, he’s going to give the Spurs minutes. And if he does that, then everything that’s happened this year is worth it.”
For Snyder, Mahinmi’s development was the first of three major goals he looked to achieve this season.
“We wanted to see Ian get better and have his experience be one that was hard and fun and learning and anything that can help him grow and we’ve done that,” he said. “We wanted to see other guys on our team develop and succeed both at this level and have opportunities in the NBA, getting called up, or opportunities in Europe or wherever the case may be and that’s happened. We’ve led the league in call-ups. And the third thing was to win a little bit and we’ve done that too.”
One benefit that helps both the players and coaches of the Toros is their sole affiliation with the Spurs. Only Austin and Los Angeles have sole affiliation with NBA teams since they are both owned by NBA franchises.
This allows the Toros to implement the same offensive sets, terminology and defensive philosophy that the Spurs use, which not only shortens the learning curve for the players when they are called up, but benefits the coaches of both organizations.
“It’s given (the Toros coaches) a chance to be in a different system that they’ve never been in before,” Buford said. “And it gives (the Spurs) a chance to experiment and grow our system and see where all of that goes.”
Playing in the Spurs system for this entire season makes Mahinmi confident that he’ll be able to step in and contribute quickly in San Antonio.
“I really have gotten everything I was looking for out this,” Mahinmi said about his experience in Austin this season. “You come down here and you get the opportunity to play a lot. We use the Spurs system and on defense we use the same philosophy. It’s great that the organization runs exactly like the Spurs. We’re like the mini Spurs. It will help me a lot for next season when I go to San Antonio. I think I’ll be more ready to really help them.”
Before Mahinmi can shift his sights toward San Antonio, there is still some unfinished business for him to handle with the Toros as they head to Boise for Game 2 of the D-League Finals on Thursday.
As the Spurs pursue their fifth title in 10 years, the Toros are looking for their first title in its third season in the D-League and a chance to start its own championship tradition.
“More than anything, it’s the culture, that’s a unique, unique thing,” Snyder said of the Spurs. “At our level, that’s a virtual impossibility. We’ve had more change in our team than I think any other team in the league.
“To build a culture here is about Squeaky Johnson, Kevin Paulino, Ian Mahinmi and Justin Bowen. Those are the guys that deserve some credit if we’re playing the right way and we’re playing hard. That’s basically what it comes down to. If we’re doing those two things, then I think the people that we’re working for in San Antonio feel pretty good about what we’re doing.”
by Brian Martin, D-League.com
AUSTIN, April 21, 2008 -- When the San Antonio Spurs purchased the Austin Toros prior to the 2007-08 season, a number of changes were made to match the D-League team to its NBA partner. There was a new logo as well as new team colors and new uniforms to make them look more like the Spurs.
Ian Mahinmi scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in Game 1 of the D-League Finals.
Chris Covatta/NBAE/Getty Images
However, the Spurs’ influence on the Toros reaches far beyond the basic aesthetics of changing the team colors from blue and gold to black and silver. The Spurs also gave the Toros a new coach, a new philosophy and sole affiliation with one of the NBA’s elite organizations.
Perhaps the most important Spurs trait that has found its way to the Toros is San Antonio's championship culture. After finishing last season with a 21-29 record and missing the playoffs by eight games, this year the Toros went 30-20 in the regular season to win the Southwest Division and after Monday night’s win over the Idaho Stampede in Game 1 of the D-League Finals, they sit just one victory away from winning their first D-League Championship.
“I would hope we would stand under the gutter and let it all trickle down,” Toros head coach Quin Synder said about the Spurs influence on his team. “They’re the best organization in professional sports.
“For me as a coach it’s unbelievable, it’s a great learning experience. We can’t do all of things that they can do, but to see them do it, it gives us a chance to not just to measure ourselves, but it gives us an example to look towards.”
R.C. Buford, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Spurs, said his expectations for this relationship have already been exceeded.
“If you would talked to me about the opportunity to keep Ian (Mahinmi) on the floor for 30-35 minutes per game for 45-50 games, plus increasing out awareness of the Development League players, and now we’re in championship series, that would have been pretty ambitious,” he said. “To have all of that happen, outside of the staff that we’re getting a chance to evaluation develop and the players that we’ve been able to call up to our team, it’s a big win.”
Mahinmi, a 6-11 center from France, was San Antonio’s first round pick (28th overall) in the 2005 NBA Draft and his development is at the core of what the Spurs are looking to get from their affiliation with Austin.
“Ian Mahinmi is so much farther along right now than I thought he would be at this stage,” said Mo McHone, Director of Basketball Development for the Toros. “The Spurs made a commitment, RC Buford said we’re putting him in the D-League and emphasized that this is not an assignment down, this is something for him to use to grow and they left him here all year and in return he has improved enormously.
“I think he’s got a chance, if he continues to grow the way he’s growing, he’s going to give the Spurs minutes. And if he does that, then everything that’s happened this year is worth it.”
For Snyder, Mahinmi’s development was the first of three major goals he looked to achieve this season.
“We wanted to see Ian get better and have his experience be one that was hard and fun and learning and anything that can help him grow and we’ve done that,” he said. “We wanted to see other guys on our team develop and succeed both at this level and have opportunities in the NBA, getting called up, or opportunities in Europe or wherever the case may be and that’s happened. We’ve led the league in call-ups. And the third thing was to win a little bit and we’ve done that too.”
One benefit that helps both the players and coaches of the Toros is their sole affiliation with the Spurs. Only Austin and Los Angeles have sole affiliation with NBA teams since they are both owned by NBA franchises.
This allows the Toros to implement the same offensive sets, terminology and defensive philosophy that the Spurs use, which not only shortens the learning curve for the players when they are called up, but benefits the coaches of both organizations.
“It’s given (the Toros coaches) a chance to be in a different system that they’ve never been in before,” Buford said. “And it gives (the Spurs) a chance to experiment and grow our system and see where all of that goes.”
Playing in the Spurs system for this entire season makes Mahinmi confident that he’ll be able to step in and contribute quickly in San Antonio.
“I really have gotten everything I was looking for out this,” Mahinmi said about his experience in Austin this season. “You come down here and you get the opportunity to play a lot. We use the Spurs system and on defense we use the same philosophy. It’s great that the organization runs exactly like the Spurs. We’re like the mini Spurs. It will help me a lot for next season when I go to San Antonio. I think I’ll be more ready to really help them.”
Before Mahinmi can shift his sights toward San Antonio, there is still some unfinished business for him to handle with the Toros as they head to Boise for Game 2 of the D-League Finals on Thursday.
As the Spurs pursue their fifth title in 10 years, the Toros are looking for their first title in its third season in the D-League and a chance to start its own championship tradition.
“More than anything, it’s the culture, that’s a unique, unique thing,” Snyder said of the Spurs. “At our level, that’s a virtual impossibility. We’ve had more change in our team than I think any other team in the league.
“To build a culture here is about Squeaky Johnson, Kevin Paulino, Ian Mahinmi and Justin Bowen. Those are the guys that deserve some credit if we’re playing the right way and we’re playing hard. That’s basically what it comes down to. If we’re doing those two things, then I think the people that we’re working for in San Antonio feel pretty good about what we’re doing.”