UVA Basketball alum Dawn Staley talked with the New York Knicks about their head coach job, though it appears the organization will look to recycle one of a number of males who used to be NBA head coaches before they got themselves fired, because that’s the way the business works.
Staley, a 1992 UVA alum, has led South Carolina to three national championships and seven Final Fours, and is 647-190 in 25 seasons as a college coach, including her stints at USC and at Temple.
She’s never been a head coach of a team of guys, but she wouldn’t be the first woman to try.
Another UVA alum, Jenny Boucek, looks to be in line for an NBA head coach job, possibly in Indiana, where she has been the top assistant for UVA hoops alum Rick Carlisle, and then there’s Becky Hammon, who was an assistant under the legendary Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for seven seasons, before taking the head coach job with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, which she led to league championships in 2022 and 2023.
The obvious advantage for Boucek and Hammon is their familiarity with the NBA game.
Staley herself interviewed for the Portland Trailblazers job in 2021, and looking back, probably should’ve gotten it – instead, Portland hired Chauncey Billups, who has coached the team to a 117-211 record in his four seasons at the helm.
The Knicks are coming off a run to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years under Tom Thibodeau, who for some reason was fired after the playoffs.
The franchise has had trouble getting permission to talk to its top targets, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, so it’s come down to guys like Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins, who are on the market because they were fired from their last head coach jobs, and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori.
Brown, the former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, looks to be the favorite.
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Chris Graham
