Breaking news.... Bobcats head coach to be...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats have chosen Dallas assistant Sam Vincent as their new coach, a person familiar with the search said Wednesday.


The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made, told The Associated Press that Vincent would be introduced at a news conference Friday.

Vincent will be reunited with Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan, who has the final say on all basketball decisions. Jordan and Vincent played together for two seasons with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1980s.

The 44-year-old Vincent will replace Bernie Bickerstaff, who also served as general manager in the expansion team's first three seasons. Bickerstaff is staying with the Bobcats in a front office role and has been heavily involved in the coaching search with Jordan.

Vincent, a former first-round pick of the Boston Celtics in 1985, has limited NBA coaching experience -- one season as an assistant under Avery Johnson with the Mavericks. But Jordan said earlier this year he was looking for a young coach in the mold of Johnson.

Vincent spent the 2005-06 season as coach of the Fort Worth Flyers in the NBA's developmental league. Before that, Vincent put together a diverse coaching resume. He coached in South Africa, Greece and the Netherlands before leading the Nigerian women's team to its first Olympic victory in 2004.

Vincent was one of 10 candidates to interview for the Charlotte job. The list included former NBA coaches Paul Silas, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Fratello; NBA assistants Lionel Hollins and Herb Williams; former assistant Mario Elie; and New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus.

Bobcats assistants Jeff Capel and Bickerstaff's son, John-Blair Bickerstaff, also interviewed.

Bernie Bickerstaff said he contacted Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo for permission to speak to Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, but Colangelo declined. On Tuesday Mitchell signed a new four-year deal with the Raptors, opening the door for Vincent.

Vincent would face pressure in his first season. Charlotte steadily improved under Bickerstaff, going from 18 wins in their inaugural season to 26 in 2005-06 and 33 this season.

The Bobcats will likely have playoff aspirations next season, if they re-sign potential free-agent and leading scorer Gerald Wallace. The Bobcats also have two first-round picks in next month's draft -- eighth and 22nd overall.

Bobcats executives have said it's important to quickly become a playoff team to win over Charlotte fans still stewing over the Hornets' move to New Orleans in 2002. The Bobcats ranked 27th out of 30 teams in attendance this season.

A Lansing, Michigan native, Vincent played at Michigan State. Boston selected the point guard with the 20th pick in the 1985 draft and he won an NBA title with the Celtics as a reserve in his rookie year in 1986.

Vincent later spent two seasons with the Bulls, where he played with Jordan. Vincent retired in 1992 after two years with Orlando, finishing with a career average of 7.8 points and 3.9 assists per game in seven seasons.

Hiring a coach will be one of a series of key moves this summer for Jordan, who bought into the team last June. It's Jordan's second chance at running a team after he was fired as president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards in 2003.


Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
What do you all think??

 

on one hand its sad that Bernie Bickerstaff is a bigger name than Vincent. this hire smells of cheapness covered up with "want the next Avery Johnson". on the other hand look at the Nets coach Frank. never played in the NBA , no experience and hes done well. Avery was a first time coach, Silas practically was. not to mention they didnt get an expensive re-tread choach ala Fratello. I hope he turns out well. say what you want about Bernies x's and o's, the Bobcats played hard for him and he didnt take any shit. I hope they do the same for Vincent.

 

how about that breaking news for you on TBR!!!! i am an espn insider so I thought I had to share with my family!

 

its been on the observer website for about 5 hours now....thats how big Sam Vincent is

 

doh tried to give you all a scoop

 

big worry for me about a young, untested coach is that he doesn't have the connections and networking to pull in solid assistants, critical for anyone but especially for a young coach.

Plus, without any head coaching experience, who knows whether he has anything more than potential.

 

I was worried about him until I heard the quote "at some point every NBA coach had no previous experience". He'll be ok, I think.

 

the failures and the successes, sure. That doesn't guarantee anything.
Of course, it doesn't matter. None of the talk does.

 

michael jordan was an amazing basketball player, but he's got a dismal track record as an executive. the next avery johnson? avery johnson inherited a winning franchise and got to spend a couple years with don nelson's training wheels in place. just sayin.

 

In the front office Michael Jordan sucks. No NBA franchise will prosper with him at the reigns. Say what you want about basketball talent but that shit doesn't matter when it comes to the front office. I think anyone is better than Bickerstaff. I hate Bickerstaff. I think the Bobcats if they had a good coach could compete for the playoffs next year. That's not asking to much