Gregg Popovich (born January 28, 1949 in East Chicago, Indiana) is the head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, opposite Chicago, Illinois. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. He is often referred to, by players, media, and fans, as "Coach Pop" or simply "Pop. "[1] [2]
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From Indiana to the Air Force Academy
Popovich, whose father was of Serbian descent, graduated in 1970 from the United States Air Force Academy. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Air Force Academy ( USAFA or Air Force) is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officers for the United States Air He played basketball for four seasons at the Academy, and in his senior year was the team captain and leading scorer. Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m He graduated with his bachelors degree in Soviet Studies, and he underwent espionage training. A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 He even considered a career with the Central Intelligence Agency. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all [3]
He then served five years in the Air Force, during which he toured eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and played basketball with the U. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 S. Armed Forces Team. In 1972, he was named captain of the Armed Forces Team, which won the AAU championship; this earned him an invitation to the 1972 U. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Official NameAmateur Athletic Union of the United States Incorporated (AAU S.
He returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach in 1973 under Hank Egan, a position he held for six years. Hank Egan is a Professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. Egan would later become an assistant coach under Popovich for the San Antonio Spurs, and is currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers under Mike Brown. The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the Cavs) are a professional Basketball team based in Cleveland Ohio. Mike Brown (born March 5, 1970 in Columbus Ohio) is an American Basketball coach
During his time at the Air Force Academy, Popovich attended the University of Denver and obtained his Masters Degree in Physical Education and Sports Sciences. The United States Air Force Academy ( USAFA or Air Force) is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officers for the United States Air The University of Denver ( DU) founded in 1864 is the oldest private University in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. In 1979, he was named head coach of Pomona-Pitzer's men's basketball team. The Claremont Colleges are a consortium of five undergraduate and two graduate schools of higher education located in Claremont, California.
During his time as head coach at Pomona-Pitzer, Popovich became a disciple of and eventually close friends with University of Kansas head coach Larry Brown. The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City Lawrence Harvey Brown (born September 14 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is the head coach of the National Basketball Association Popovich would eventually decide to take off the 1985-1986 season at Pomona-Pitzer to become a volunteer assistant at the University of Kansas, where he could study directly under Brown. The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City Popovich returned to Pomona-Pitzer and resumed his duties as head coach the next season.
On April 04, 2008, Popovich returned to the Academy. He was bestowed the Academy's award of Distinguished Graduate. Popovich said that the award possibly was the most meaningful he has received, which includes 4 NBA titles. [4]
From D3 to the NBA
Following the 1987-1988 season, Popovich joined Larry Brown as the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Lawrence Harvey Brown (born September 14 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is the head coach of the National Basketball Association The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. Popovich was even the best man in Brown's wedding in 1990, and the two would later coach against each other in the 2005 NBA Finals, with Brown coaching the Detroit Pistons. The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2004-05 National Basketball Association season. The Detroit Pistons are a team in the National Basketball Association based in the Detroit metropolitan area Popovich and the Spurs prevailed.
From 1988 to 1992, Popovich was the top assistant under Brown, before the entire staff [including R.C. Buford and Ed Manning] was fired by owner Red McCombs. R C Buford is the general manager of the San Antonio Spurs NBA Basketball team Edward (Ed R Manning (born January 2 1943, in Summit Mississippi) is a retired American professional Basketball player and college and Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (born 1927 is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the Popovich moved to the Golden State Warriors for a brief stint in 1992, serving as an assistant under Don Nelson and bringing with him Avery Johnson, who had been cut by the Spurs. The Golden State Warriors are an American professional Basketball team based in Oakland, California. Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15 1940 in Muskegon Michigan) is a former NBA player and currently is a National Basketball Association Head Avery Johnson (born March 25 1965 in New Orleans Louisiana, United States is a retired American professional Basketball player and former Head coach
Back to San Antonio
In 1994, he returned to San Antonio as the General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations after a new ownership group had purchased the team. Popovich's first move was to sign Johnson to become the team's starting point guard. Point guard ( PG) also called the one or " the ball-handler " is one of the standard positions in a regulation Basketball game The two won an NBA title together in 1999, and Johnson, the former head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, credits Popovich as being his biggest coaching influence. The Dallas Mavericks (also known as the Mavs) are the professional Basketball team of the National Basketball Association based in Dallas Texas
Another one of Popovich's early moves in San Antonio was to trade Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls for Will Perdue. Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13 1961 is a retired American professional Basketball National Basketball Association (NBA player of the Detroit Pistons The Chicago Bulls are an American professional Basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern William Edward Perdue (born August 29 1965 in Melbourne Florida) is a former professional Basketball player in the NBA.
Criticism
Controversy surrounded Popovich during the 1996-97 NBA season, when he fired Spurs head coach Bob Hill in mid-season, naming himself as Hill's replacement. Robert G Hill (born November 24, 1948 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) is an American Basketball coach Popovich's record that year as an interim coach for the Spurs was 17-47.
Popovich was highly criticized by Kevin O'Keefe, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, following his decision to fire Hill. The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio Texas. The Spurs won 122 games in Hill's first two years as head coach of the Spurs. Hill's 3-16 start in 1996 had more to do with injuries to David Robinson, Sean Elliott, Chuck Person, and Vinnie Del Negro. O'Keefe resigned from the San Antonio Express-News in 1999, just months before the Spurs won their first NBA title.
Bob Hill also became a vocal critic of Popovich for the firing. Hill tried and failed to land several NBA coaching jobs before taking over at Fordham University from 1999-2002. Fordham University is a private University in the United States, with three campuses located in and around New York City. The school fired him after suffering its worst season in 7 years. Hill joined the Seattle SuperSonics as an assistant coach in 2005 and replaced the fired Bob Weiss midway through that same season. The Seattle SuperSonics (also called the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional Basketball team based in Seattle Washington that played Robert William Weiss (born May 7, 1942 in Easton, Pennsylvania) is an American former professional Basketball player and He coached the Sonics in 2006-07 before being fired after compiling a 55-81 record. Popovich over the years has gained a reputation as a surly interviewee and a testy dealer with the media. In a 2007 interview with Craig Sager of TNT, Popovich ignored a question by Sager regarding a current game and outwardly questioned Sager's professionalism. In various in-game interviews, Popovich has been known for giving extremely short and sarcastic answers, as well as over-simplistic responses to reporters' questions. Popovich has also stated that he plans to stop coaching only when Tim Duncan retires. His contract with the Spurs expires in 2012. That happens to be the same year Tim Duncan becomes a free agent.
Building a dynasty
Following the 1996-1997 NBA season, the Spurs won the first overall pick in the NBA Lottery and drafted Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University. The NBA Draft Lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA to determine the order of the NBA Draft for that year WikipediaPersondata --> Timothy "Tim" Theodore Duncan (born April 25 1976 in Christiansted, St Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational University in North Carolina, founded in 1834
The Spurs blossomed as Duncan replaced David Robinson as the new face of the franchise. David Maurice Robinson (born) is a retired American NBA Basketball player who is often considered one of the greatest centers to ever Popovich would lead the Spurs to four NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007).
In 2002, Popovich relinquished his position as General Manager to R.C. Buford, who had served as the team's Head Scout. R C Buford is the general manager of the San Antonio Spurs NBA Basketball team Popovich and Buford both got their starts in the NBA in 1988 as assistants on Larry Brown's coaching staff with the Spurs.
Popovich is known around the league for his expressive coaching style. "Pop" (as he is affectionately known to Spurs personnel and fans), is the most decorated coach in Spurs history, having led the team to their first championship in 1999, and to repeat performances in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998-99 NBA season. The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002-03 NBA season. The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each June
Popovich received the honor of the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2003, after leading the Spurs into the playoffs, en route to another championship. The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The NBA Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament between sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference (called Divisions He also earned his 500th career victory on March 2, 2006, becoming the fourth fastest coach in NBA history to reach that milestone. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. He led the team to a 63-19 season in 2006, which set a new franchise season record. Because of his success in San Antonio, Popovich is now considered to be a likely candidate for the NBA Hall of Fame.
Popovich has also represented the USA in international play, serving on the coaching staff for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship (assisting George Karl) [5], the 2003 FIBA America Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 2004 Olympic Games. The United States men's national basketball team is the representative for the United States of America in international men's Basketball. The 2002 FIBA World Championship was an international Basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in George Matthew Karl (born May 12 1951) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA and American Basketball Association The International Basketball Federation ( French: Fédération Internationale de Basketball) more commonly known by the French acronym FIBA The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was an International Multi-sport event which was celebrated
Popovich won his 600th game as coach of the Spurs on January 12, 2007 with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional Basketball team based in Minneapolis Minnesota, United States.
Popovich won his 100th playoff game on May 19th 2008 on the New Orleans Hornets home court. The New Orleans Hornets are a professional Basketball team based in New Orleans Louisiana, United States. The win tied him for 3rd all time with his friend and mentor, Larry Brown. Larry Brown may refer to Larry Brown (basketball (born 1940 NCAA ABA and NBA coach Larry Brown (baseball (born 1940
Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | PCT | Finish | Result | ||
| SAS | 1996-97 | 64 | 17 | 47 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association. 266 | 6th in Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
| SAS | 1997-98 | 82 | 56 | 26 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. 683 | 2nd in Midwest | Lost in Second Round |
| SAS | 1998-99 | 50 | 37 | 13 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association. 740 | 1st in Midwest | Won NBA Championship |
| SAS | 1999-00 | 82 | 53 | 29 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. 646 | 2nd in Midwest | Lost in First Round |
| SAS | 2000-01 | 82 | 58 | 24 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. 707 | 1st in Midwest | Lost in Western Conference Finals |
| SAS | 2001-02 | 82 | 58 | 24 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. 707 | 1st in Midwest | Lost in Second Round |
| SAS | 2002-03 | 82 | 60 | 22 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association. 732 | 1st in Midwest | Won NBA Championship |
| SAS | 2003-04 | 82 | 57 | 25 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. 695 | 2nd in Midwest | Lost in Second Round |
| SAS | 2004-05 | 82 | 59 | 23 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA 720 | 1st in Southwest | Won NBA Championship |
| SAS | 2005-06 | 82 | 63 | 19 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. 768 | 1st in Southwest | Lost in Second Round |
| SAS | 2006-07 | 82 | 58 | 24 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. 707 | 2nd in Southwest | Won NBA Championship |
| SAS | 2007-08 | 82 | 56 | 26 | . The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional Basketball team based in San Antonio Texas. The 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association. 683 | 2nd in Southwest | Lost in Western Conference Finals |
| Career | 934 | 632 | 302 | . 677 | |||
Off the court
Popovich is actively involved in several charities and programs in San Antonio, such as the Spurs/Pizza Hut Drug Free Youth Basketball League and the San Antonio Food Bank. A food bank is a non-profit organization which distributes non-perishable goods and perishable food items to non-profit agencies involved in local emergency food programs He has also been recognized as a noted wine enthusiast. He and his wife of 29 years, Erin, have two children, Micky and Jill.
Popovich is also a supporter of Vlade Divac's "You Can Too" campaign, designed to provide shelter to Serbian and African refugees. Vlade Divac ( Serbian Cyrillic: Владе Дивац, ˈvlaːdɛ ˈdiːvaʦ (born February 3 1968, in Prijepolje,
References
- ^ Wetzel, Dan (2007-06-14). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the French connection. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
- ^ Devin Brown And Coach Pop Spread Message To Local Youth. NBA.com (2004-02-01). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Retrieved on 2008-03-05. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a
- ^ Popovich is a man of mystery. National Post, June 15, 2007. http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=67824e36-aaf6-4445-86a7-41440589441b&k=32409
- ^ Gregg Popovich honored at Air Force Academy. 04 Apr. 2008. KOAA. http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_sports_news/x9317948
- ^ 2002 USA Basketball
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