USA - Vincent to coach Bobcats
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http://www.charlotte.com
Dallas Mavericks assistant Sam Vincent has accepted the Charlotte Bobcats' coaching job. Barring a last-minute breakdown in contract details, he'll be introduced by Friday.
Two NBA sources confirmed that Wednesday, and Bobcats general manager Bernie Bickerstaff did little late in the day to dispute the notion.
"We're making progress," Bickerstaff said of negotiations with Vincent, "and we should have a little more certainty in the morning."
Vincent could not be reached for comment.
Vincent, 44, will succeed Bickerstaff, who coached the Bobcats' for their first three seasons. Vincent has never been a head coach on the NBA level and isn't the lead assistant with the Mavericks.
But he does fit what managing partner Michael Jordan envisioned when he spoke in March of finding the "next Avery Johnson" -- a former NBA player who could be a rising star in the coaching profession. Johnson, the Mavericks head coach, took over one of the NBA's premier franchises with no previous head coach experience.
Vincent, a former point guard, played seven NBA seasons, including nearly two as a teammate of Jordan's with the Chicago Bulls. He also played for Bickerstaff, with the Seattle Supersonics, and Bickerstaff and Johnson are close from their days together in Denver.
What attracted the Bobcats to Vincent?
"Anyone we talked to said his people skills are very, very good,'' Bickerstaff said. "That's important, particularly on the pro level.''
Bickerstaff believes his team's harmony was its greatest strength in the Bobcats' first three seasons, and he didn't want his successor disrupting that. But that isn't the only thing he liked about Vincent's background.
"They were very, very organized in Dallas as far as all the things they do with computers,'' Bickerstaff said. "His forte is defense when you watched the way he coached'' in other leagues.
Vincent has been an NBA assistant for one season. He came to the Mavericks from the NBA's developmental league, where he coached the Fort Worth franchise to the D-league's championship round.
Most of Vincent's experience is international. If he has a signature victory, it was probably as coach of the Nigerian national men's team, upsetting world power Serbia & Montenegro 82-75 at the 2006 FIBA World Championships.
Vincent got his start in coaching in South Africa, overseeing a pro team in Cape Town. He's also coached pro teams in Greece and the Netherlands.
Vincent gets the nod over nine other candidates the Bobcats interviewed for the job. At least three of those were established NBA head coaches: Paul Silas, Mike Fratello and Stan Van Gundy.
Others considered were Mario Elie, Herb Williams, Lionel Hollins, Reggie Theus and Bobcats assistants Jeff Capel and John-Blair Bickerstaff.