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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Pistons Name John Kuester as Head Coach
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the team has named John Kuester as head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to name John Kuester as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons,” said Dumars. “John brings a wealth of NBA knowledge as a long-time assistant coach, including championship experience as an assistant coach with our club in 2004. He is a coach that our veteran players know well, and I feel he has the teaching ability to allow our younger players to grow and develop.”
Kuester, 54, has spent over 13 years in the NBA as an assistant coach with six different franchises (Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey, Orlando and Cleveland). During his tenure as an assistant coach, Kuester has helped guide two teams to the NBA Finals [Philadelphia (2001); Detroit (2004)] and played a major role in helping Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference Finals this past season.
For seven seasons (1990-1997), the Richmond, Virginia native was a member of the Boston Celtics organization, serving as assistant coach his final two years. He joined Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown in 1997 and helped guide the Philadelphia 76ers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the club, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2001. The North Carolina graduate followed Brown to Detroit where the organization won its third NBA Championship, and then joined the New Jersey Nets staff in 2004-05. Kuester returned to Philadelphia for the 2005-06 season, landed in Orlando in 2006-07 and has helped mold the offensive philosophies for the Cleveland Cavaliers since August of 2007.
Prior to joining the NBA ranks, Kuester served five seasons as head coach at George Washington University from 1985-1990. He became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball in 1983 when he succeeded Rick Pitino at Boston University. He was an assistant coach for the Terriers for two seasons prior to his head coaching appointment.
As a collegiate player for four seasons at North Carolina (1973-77) under legendary coach Dean Smith, he helped the Tar Hells win two ACC Championships, make three NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT berth. As a senior, he was voted as the team’s best defensive player for the second straight season and was named Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regionals. That 1977 squad went on to the NCAA Final Four and an appearance in the championship game.
Kuester was selected in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played three seasons in the NBA, one each with Kansas City, Denver and Indiana.
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From NBA.com:
Cavs assistant Kuester takes coaching reins in Detroit
Posted Jul 9 2009 4:21PM
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- In his decade running the Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars hasn't been known for showing patience with head coaches. He insists that is about to change.
Moments after introducing Cavaliers assistant John Kuester as Detroit's sixth coach in 10 years, Dumars said Thursday that Kuester "might have the most job security of anyone in the NBA."
"Bless you, Joe," said Kuester with a laugh.
Kuester replaces Michael Curry, who was fired on June 30 after going 39-43 in his first season and being swept by Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. Detroit had reached the Eastern Conference finals in the previous six seasons under Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders.
Detroit has almost completely turned over that roster, with only Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince remaining from the 2003-04 championship team. They added Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon in the first hours of free agency.
"For the last seven years, the criteria for success here has been making The Finals," said Dumars, the team's president of basketball operations. "That's not the gun that will be held to John's head. Right now, we're looking to move this franchise back in the right direction."
When Dumars fired Curry, he said he wanted a coach with more experience and there was speculation that veterans like Doug Collins or Avery Johnson would take the reins. Neither situation came together, though Dumars did talk with Johnson about the job.
Kuester has 19 years of NBA experience, including 13 as an assistant with five teams, but hasn't been a pro head coach. He replaced Rick Pitino at Boston University in 1983 and later spent five seasons coaching George Washington.
"I told (Curry) that it wasn't fair to put an inexperienced coach in this position," Dumars said. "I still think that's the case -- John has seen a lot more things in his 19 years in the NBA than Michael has had a chance to see."
Kuester was Brown's assistant when the Pistons upset the Lakers in the 2004 finals, and said that experience helped him decide to tackle the rebuilding job in Detroit.
"You never know when an opportunity will come up, but when I was thinking about this, I kept finding signs -- a Pistons shirt in my closet and a Pistons name tag in the next room," he said. "I'm coming to a place where there are a lot of people that I know and trust."
Kuester brushed aside any concerns he might have had about being Dumars' obvious third choice.
"My wife told me that I was her sixth choice, and we've been married for 32 years," he joked. "So Joe and I have a real chance."
The Pistons have been known as a defensive team under Dumars, dating back to his days on Chuck Daly's title-winning "Bad Boys" of 1989 and 1990. Kuester said that isn't going to change, despite his stint as Cleveland's offensive coordinator and the addition of two score-first players in Gordon and Villanueva.
"The past year was actually the first time I've ever been entirely focused on offense, and I still understand that defense is what wins championships," he said. "We're going to be a team that grinds it out for 48 minutes, and defense is going to be a huge part of that."
