Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Celtics announce finalized coaching staff for Ime Udoka


The Celtics revamped coaching staff has officially been finalized, the team announced on Tuesday, following the hiring of new head coach Ime Udoka.

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens and Udoka have quietly put together a young diverse group of vibrant coaches throughout the summer to help govern a new era in Celtics history, and just in time before the start of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Here's the full list of the C's coaching staff, according to the team's press release:

Head coach: Ime Udoka (Portland State)

Assistant coaches: Will Hardy (Williams College), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona), Ben Sullivan (Portland), Joe Mazzulla (West Virginia), Aaron Miles (Kansas), Tony Dobbins (Richmond)

Player enhancement staff: Evan Bradds (Belmont), Garrett Jackson (Saint Mary's), DJ MacLeay (Bucknell), Steve Tchiengang (Vanderbilt)

Special assistant to head coach: Matt Reynolds (Syracuse)

While terms of deals were not disclosed, per team policy, the major overhaul of the Celtics coaching staff brings fourth experience of players and coaches such as Udoka and Stoudamire. Will Hardy comes to Boston after serving the last 10 years under Gregg Poppovich with the San Antonio Spurs and also joined Team USA Basketball's coaching staff at this past summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Ben Sullivan, who is known as a shooting specialist, joins Udoka's staff after spending last season with the champion Milwaukee Bucks. Sullivan also has ties to Poppovich and the Spurs before becoming an assistant coach, according to the Celtics press release.
"Prior to his time in Milwaukee and Atlanta, Sullivan served as an assistant video coordinator with San Antonio while also working in its basketball development department."
Joe Mazulla, the only assistant coach from the previous Stevens' regime, returns for his third year on the Celtics coaching staff after leading the C's summer league roster to a 4-1 record in Las Vegas last month.

The Celtics are set to begin training camp next week (September 28th), before their preseason opener against the Orlando Magic (October 4th). They will also face the Toronto Raptors (October 9th), the Magic once again (October 13th) and finally the Miami Heat (October 15th). 
 


Joel Pavón




Photo used courtesy of Getty Images

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