Gregg Popovich
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Categories: 1949 births | Air Force Falcons men's basketball coaches | Air Force Falcons men's basketball players | Croatian-Americans | Living people | People from East Chicago, Indiana | People from San Antonio, Texas | Serbian-Americans | San Antonio Spurs coaches | United States Air Force Academy graduates
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Gregg Popovich (born January 28, 1949 in East Chicago, Indiana) is the head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. He is often referred to, by media and fans, as "Coach Pop." [1]
From Indiana to the Air Force AcademyPopovich, whose father was of Serbian descent and whose mother was of Croatian descent graduated in 1970 from the United States Air Force Academy. He played basketball for four seasons at the Academy, and in his senior year was the team captain and leading scorer. He graduated with his bachelors degree in Soviet Studies, and then served five years in the Air Force, during which he toured eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and played basketball with the U.S. Armed Forces Team. In 1972, he was named captain of the Armed Forces Team, which won the AAU championship; this earned him an invitation to the 1972 U.S. Olympic team training camp. He returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach in 1973 under Hank Egan, a position he held for six years. Egan would later become an assistant coach under Popovich for the San Antonio Spurs, and is currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers under Mike Brown. During his time at the Air Force, Popovich attended the University of Denver and obtained his Masters Degree in Physical Education and Sports Sciences. In 1979, he was named head coach of Pomona-Pitzer's men's basketball team. During his time as head coach at Pomona-Pitzer, Popovich became a disciple of and eventually close friends with University of Kansas head coach Larry Brown. Popovich would eventually decide to take off the 1985-1986 season at Pomona-Pitzer to become a volunteer assistant at the University of Kansas, where he could study directly under Brown. Popovich returned to Pomona-Pitzer and resumed his duties as head coach the next season. From D3 to the NBAFollowing the 1987-1988 season, Popovich joined Larry Brown as the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich was even the best man in Brown's wedding in 1990, and the two would later coach against each other in the 2005 NBA Finals, with Brown coaching the Detroit Pistons. Popovich and the Spurs prevailed. From 1988 to 1992, Popovich was the top assistant under Brown, before the entire staff [including R.C. Buford and Ed Manning] was fired by owner Red McCombs. Popovich moved to the Golden State Warriors for a brief stint in 1992, serving as an assistant under Don Nelson and bringing with him Avery Johnson, who had been cut by the Spurs. Back to San AntonioIn 1994, he returned to San Antonio as the General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations after a new ownership group had purchased the team. Popovich's first move was to sign Johnson to become the team's starting point guard. The two won an NBA title together in 1999, and Johnson, now the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks and had his San Antonio #6 Jersey Retired, credits Popovich as being his biggest coaching influence. Another one of Popovich's early moves in San Antonio was to trade Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls for Will Perdue. CriticismControversy surrounded Popovich during the 1996-97 NBA season, when he fired Spurs head coach Bob Hill in mid-season, naming himself as Hill's replacement. Popovich's record that year as an interim coach for the Spurs was 17-47. Popovich was highly criticized by Kevin O'Keefe, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, following his decision to fire Hill. O'Keefe resigned from the San Antonio Express-News in 1999, just months before the Spurs won their first NBA title, and has yet to work for another newspaper. Bob Hill also became a vocal critic of Popovich for the firing. Hill tried and failed to land several NBA coaching jobs before taking over at Fordham University from 1999-2002. The school fired him after suffering its worst season in 100 years. Hill joined the Seattle SuperSonics as an assistant coach in 2005 and replaced the fired Bob Weiss midway through that same season. He coached the Sonics in 2006-07 before being fired after compiling a 55-81 record. Building a dynastyFollowing the 1996-1997 NBA season, the Spurs won the first overall pick in the NBA Lottery and drafted Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University. The Spurs blossomed as Duncan replaced David Robinson as the new face of the franchise. Popovich would lead the Spurs to four NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007). In 2002, Popovich relenquished his position as General Manager to R.C. Buford, who had served as the team's Head Scout. Popovich and Buford both got their starts in the NBA in 1988 as assistants on Larry Brown's coaching staff with the Spurs. Popovich is known around the league for his expressive coaching style. "Pop" (as he is affectionately known to Spurs personnel and fans), is the most decorated coach in Spurs history, having led the team to their first championship in 1999, and to repeat performances in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Popovich received the honor of the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2003, after leading the Spurs into the playoffs, en route to another championship. He also earned his 500th career victory on March 2, 2006, becoming the fourth fastest coach in NBA history to reach that milestone. He led the team to a 63-19 season in 2006, which set a new franchise season record. Because of his success in San Antonio, Popovich is now considered to be a likely candidate for the NBA Hall of Fame. Popovich has also represented the USA in international play, serving on the coaching staff for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship (assisting George Karl) [2], the 2003 FIBA America Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 2004 Olympic Games. Popovich won his 600th game as coach of the Spurs on January 12,2007 with a win over Minneosta. Coaching Record
Off the courtPopovich is actively involved in several charities and programs in San Antonio, such as the Spurs/Pizza Hut Drug Free Youth Basketball League and the San Antonio Food Bank. He has also been recognized as a noted wine enthusiast. He and his wife of 29 years, Erin, have two children, Micky and Jill. Popovich is also a supporter of Vlade Divac's "You Can Too" campaign, designed to provide shelter to Serbian and African refugees. References
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