Heartbreak news, The head coach of John-Blair Bickerstaff has officially announced his retirement Due to comeback of David Blatt.
Heartbreak news, The head coach of John-Blair Bickerstaff has officially announced his retirement Due to comeback of David Blatt.
J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach after John Beilein steps down.
Writer: Ben Axelrod
Cleveland — Following John Beilein’s resignation, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Wednesday that J.B. Bickerstaff has been promoted to head coach.
In light of that, here are five things to know about Bickerstaff, who will make his eighth head coaching appearance for the Cavaliers in the previous eight seasons.
At forty years old, Bickerstaff is among the NBA’s younger head coaches, but he had plenty of experience before taking over in Cleveland. Bickerstaff has previously held head coaching positions with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. The Cavs are his third NBA team.
Similar to Cleveland, Bickerstaff assumed both of those roles during the season when the previous head coach was fired. The native of Denver led the Rockets to an interim 37-34 record after taking over for Kevin McHale in Houston during the 2015–16 season. However, after losing five games to the Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, he was fired.
After David Fizdale was fired as Memphis’ head coach in 2017, Bickerstaff was named the team’s interim coach. At the end of the season, he was named the Grizzlies’ permanent head coach despite his meager 15-48 record.
However, Bickerstaff’s stay in Memphis would only last a single year as he was let go following a 33-49 record in the 2018–19 campaign. Many were taken aback by the termination because it seemed like the Grizzlies were in the process of rebuilding.
Bickerstaff has an 85-131 record after three seasons as head coach. He will take on the role of full-time head coach with the Cavs instead of serving as an interim head coach.
In 1996, Bickerstaff enrolled at Oregon State for his undergraduate career after having an exceptional career at Denver’s East High School. However, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward transferred to Minnesota following his sophomore season, in which he averaged 8.6 points in 28 games.
During his rookie campaign (1999–2000), Bickerstaff averaged 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 20 games for the Golden Gophers. He led Minnesota to an 18-14 record as a senior, averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. He was also selected team captain.
About The Author
Post Comment