Hawks hire Rod Higgins as College Scout and a bunch of others for front office

[capstone21]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/247345/Hawks-Hire-Rod-Higgins-As-College-Scout

Good hire ... he has a world of experience 

[benhillboy]

Seeing him sitting next to Jordan doesn't instill any confidence. 

[ATLSmith]

5 hours ago, benhillboy said:

Seeing him sitting next to Jordan doesn't instill any confidence. 

Yea, but who's to say if Jordan was actually listening.

[sturt]

Huge let down on the Assistant Coach addition.

Effectively, Kenny Atkinson's spot just got filled by our former video coordinator.

Schlenk and/or Bud may say, "Well, we like homegrown coaches as a rule." Don't get me wrong, I agree there is something to be said for hiring from within. But I feel like this is the kind of move you make if you're replacing one of the youngest coaches like Lee or Sullivan.

*sigh*

 

 

 

[sillent]

1 hour ago, sturt said:

Huge let down on the Assistant Coach addition.

Effectively, Kenny Atkinson's spot just got filled by our former video coordinator.

Schlenk and/or Bud may say, "Well, we like homegrown coaches as a rule." Don't get me wrong, I agree there is something to be said for hiring from within. But I feel like this is the kind of move you make if you're replacing one of the youngest coaches like Lee or Sullivan.

*sigh*

 

 

 

Wasn't Bud and possibly even Schlenk video coordinators at one time? I know Bud was...

[lethalweapon3]

Congrats to PSA, he's makin' that green!

Still, I'm in concurrence with @sturt. I'd rather have Higgins back on the sidelines than scouting schoolkids. But I'm just old-fashioned. It's what happens when former video coordinators and video scouts eventually get to run the big show. Gosh, I should have started my career at Blockbuster...

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

I understand this offseason has been Sausage's party. But I cannot wait for Coach Bud to finally have the duct tape removed from his mouth. Just a few more weeks until training camp!

~lw3

[Diesel]

Translation:  Bud is on the hotseat.

[Blunt91]

Ac

On 9/7/2017 at 10:09 PM, sturt said:

Huge let down on the Assistant Coach addition.

Effectively, Kenny Atkinson's spot just got filled by our former video coordinator.

Schlenk and/or Bud may say, "Well, we like homegrown coaches as a rule." Don't get me wrong, I agree there is something to be said for hiring from within. But I feel like this is the kind of move you make if you're replacing one of the youngest coaches like Lee or Sullivan.

*sigh*

 

 

 

Actually Darvin Ham filled Atkinson's spot.  Chris Jent will take over Neven Spahijia's spot, This new guy will just be another addition to the coaching staff.

[sturt]

Ham was hired in June 2013.

Atkinson accepted the Nets position in April 2016.

Not sure where the confusion lies.

 

 

[pimp]

On 9/9/2017 at 8:27 PM, sturt said:

Ham was hired in June 2013.

Atkinson accepted the Nets position in April 2016.

Not sure where the confusion lies.

 

 

I think Ham got a promotion when Atkinson left.

[KB21]

Ham was promoted to the role of top assistant when Kenny left just as Kenny was promoted to that role when Quinn left to become Utah's head coach.

[KB21]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/presents18986226/five-nba-coaching-prospects-watch

 

Quote

Darvin Ham, Atlanta Hawks assistant coach
There's an odd contradiction at work with former players who have head-coaching ambitions. On one hand, guys who played in the NBA frequently jump the line and score top jobs over career assistants who have broken down video, scouted opponents, designed top defenses and sat at the feet of coaching legends. Yet, at the same time, there's often a stigma that portrays them as lacking the work ethic of the schleps who have slept on a couch at the facility for 15 years.

Did you know the famed "hammer pass" is named for Ham? He enjoyed a nine-year career in the NBA, and colleagues say he has a coach's intuition. When Quin Snyder moved from the Lakers to Atlanta in 2012, he urged Ham, who also sat on Mike Brown's bench, to seize the opportunity to claim more responsibility in Atlanta. An assistant on Budenholzer's staff, which is quickly sprouting its own coaching tree, performs a full rotation of tasks, from cutting video to intensive individual work with players.

Ham plays an enormous role with the Hawks and does it without a lot of rah-rah battle cries. He understands the difference between pride and passion, ego and intelligence, and can tell a player -- be it a vet like Dwight Howard or a young guy like Dennis Schröder -- the truth even if it isn't what he wants to hear. He knows that you prepare a reliable vet if he's going to be the whipping boy in a film session, but that you probably don't do the same for a rookie, because you want to see how he's going to react.

Ham is the kind of guy -- not unlike his boss -- who could probably be happy for years as a top assistant. But one suspects that, like Budenholzer, he'd be cheating himself if he didn't throw his hat in the ring at some point for a head-coaching opportunity.

 

[sturt]

While some assistants have more seniority than others, I've never seen anything portraying any particular assistant as "top assistant." Did I miss something?

And the point remains, there was no new addition to the staff to replace Atkinson at the time.

From my perspective, when the staff was earning regard as "Hawks U," you always had at least 3 coaches on Bud's bench with some degree of NBA and/or coaching pedigree that, to some degree, had to command players' respect.

Today, we have Jent and Ham.

That's it.

Another disappointing aspect to this is that Spahija's exit leaves us with no Euro connection anymore.

Now, granted, we're all on the outside looking in, and maybe this new guy/kid reminds Bud of himself at that age. But maybe I'd be more willing to give the benefit of that doubt if there was some quote from Bud that pointed even vaguely in that direction.

I'll stop here. I'm making myself even more depressed.

[KB21]

What I'm wondering is, with the exception of that first year, when has Mike Budenholzer brought in experienced NBA assistants to replace his guys who have moved on to head coaching jobs?  Mike's initial staff in Atlanta was Quinn Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins, and Jim Thomas.  Quinn Snyder then becomes a head coach, and Mike's second year staff included Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins, Nevin Spahija, Ben Sullivan, and Charles Lee.  The final three were new additions.  Jim Thomas was replaced, and I'm not sure where he went after the 2013 season.  The next staff was exactly the same staff: Atkinson, Ham, Jenkins, Spahija, Sullivan, and Lee.  Kenny Atkinson gets a head coaching job after this season, and the new staff consists of: Ham, Jenkins, Spahija, Sullivan, and Lee.  So, yes.  I do see where they didn't "replace" Atkinson with another coach on the staff.  I'm not sure if this is what you are getting at or not.  

[sturt]

31 minutes ago, KB21 said:

What I'm wondering is, with the exception of that first year, when has Mike Budenholzer brought in experienced NBA assistants to replace his guys who have moved on to head coaching jobs?  Mike's initial staff in Atlanta was Quinn Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins, and Jim Thomas.  Quinn Snyder then becomes a head coach, and Mike's second year staff included Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins, Nevin Spahija, Ben Sullivan, and Charles Lee.  The final three were new additions.  Jim Thomas was replaced, and I'm not sure where he went after the 2013 season.  The next staff was exactly the same staff: Atkinson, Ham, Jenkins, Spahija, Sullivan, and Lee.  Kenny Atkinson gets a head coaching job after this season, and the new staff consists of: Ham, Jenkins, Spahija, Sullivan, and Lee.  So, yes.  I do see where they didn't "replace" Atkinson with another coach on the staff.  I'm not sure if this is what you are getting at or not.  

Well, of course, there's only been two who moved on to NBA HC gigs... Snyder and Atkinson.

Snyder's slot effectively was taken by a very experienced, well-regarded coach from across the pond, Spahija...

Atkinson wasn't replaced.

Spahija, of course, moved on this off-season, back across the pond, and Jent came aboard.

All I'm suggesting is what I've been suggesting all off-season... if Schlenk is serious about this youth movement, he and Bud had damn-sure better be re-establishing Hawks U as a "thing." Count me as unimpressed that the St. Andrews promotion moves that needle whatsoever.