The Memphis Grizzlies are set to hire former Arizona interim basketball coach Kevin O'Neill as an assistant to coach Marc Iavaroni, The Commercial Appeal has learned.
O'Neill, who also has NBA coaching experience, will join the Grizzlies' staff as a defensive guru to help one of the league's worst teams on defense the past two seasons.
The 51-year-old former University of Tennessee men's basketball coach took over as interim coach when coach Lute Olson took a personal leave of absence last season. After Olson returned in March, he announced that O'Neill would no longer be a part of his staff.
During his tenure as interim head coach, O'Neill led Arizona to a 19-15 record and the school's 24th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the nation's longest active streak.
After tenures at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern, O'Neill became an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy with the New York Knicks. In 2001, he joined the Detroit Pistons under head coach Rick Carlisle.
O'Neill became head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 2003.
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Comments » 18
Lofton4Three writes:
I bet the Canadian fans will love to hear that language eh? They'll be asking each other what he is screaming and cussing aboot.
madisonvillevol writes:
who gives a rip!
andy112382#209793 writes:
Awesome, maybe the Griz can get those young guys playing a little better 'D' now.
budrhon writes:
And the offense will lead the league in lowest points per game. He is a program killer. Any coach that bounces around like him should raise a red flag among folk. Bad move on the Grizz part, but then looking at the luck they have had I'm not surprised.
ut_volfan#205651 writes:
I think there's some confusion...Lofton4Three, he's not coaching in Canada. He was a coach for the Raptors a few years back, but not anymore. Also, Budrhon, I don't think an assistant coach who is brought in to coach defense will have much impact on offense.....
budrhon writes:
ut_vol I believe it will because they will be more defensive oriented than before. Lack of focus on the offensive end will show up in the stats. It always does. We'll just have to wait and see.
CoverOrange writes:
His effect will be to totally demoralize the entire team, offensively and defensively.
Bigger_Al writes:
I like KO and appreciate what he did in rebuilding our basketball team. I think he is a really funny guy.
But (you knew that was coming, eh?), I've never seen an uglier offensive game. Remember the time we fell behind Arkansas 26 - 0?
I'm betting the Grizzlies do not let him in the gym unless they are only practicing defense...
Lofton4Three writes:
My fault on the last post...shows how much I care about the city of Memphis. I was thinking Raptors for some reason. I do want to clarify though that I am now feeling sorry for O'Neill. Hope he wears the Flak Jacket when he goes out on the town in that cess pool.
tigervol9802 writes:
I've never seen one man live one big win so long for the rest of his career......Marquette/UK in 1994. I really can't tell you one spectacular thing he has done outside of that.
Smallmike4pres writes:
Great, who doesn't love a good 45-40 NBA game.
BigOrangeVol writes:
Mempho is as much a sports graveyard as any place on Earth. Just ask the Mad Dogs, Showboats, Rogues, Americans, Chicks, Samurais, Blast, Maniax, Houn'Dawgs, Blues, Blues twice, Fire, Hot Shots, Pros, Rockers, Tams, Southmen, Pharaohs, Xplorers and I'm sure that I missed some... nothing more than professional sports red-headed step child!
They've been turned down, used, stood up and burned more times than Rosie O'Donnell at a High School Prom.
Andrew Jackson and John Overton are considered the "founers" of Memphis in 1819 and even THEY couldn't wait to get out of that trash heap!
Good luck to O'Neil. If not for David Stern the Grizz would have been playing somewhere else this year. Kevin your next job may be sitting beside Jerry and Brian Lawler at Midsouth Coliseum broadcasting the only "pro" sport in Memphis that has ever survived.
THE_VOL writes:
BigOrange...why waste so much space talking of Mempiss' semi-pro hoops team? EVERYBODY knows that their PRO team is the Tigers! I mean really, the Tigers have a higher salary cap than the Griz, they have a higher conviction rate than the Griz, and their coach is a bigger a-hole than the Griz. And like all those other failures you list, the Tigers play in a BS league and can't win the big ones!
BigOrangeVol writes:
That list includes failed baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams. It's called making a point with factual information.
TommyJack writes:
It's not possible to have a better city/coach match-up. Maybe he can take Calizoni's place when he bolts.
Smokey91 writes:
proves why the Grizzilies are one of the worst NBA franchises in league history. The Memphis Tigers are the only professional team in that city.
doctorvol#211700 writes:
if o'neill cusses out someone(everyone) in Memphis, do we still hear it in Knoxville or Chattanooga? If not, who cares!
BigOrangeVol writes:
He was blasting one of the kids in practice one day at TBA and asked him if his parents had any children that WEREN'T retards or if his parents were retarded. I forget now who it was but he quickly transfered to TSU.
Class guy!!!
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