Former Players, Coaches Praise Blatt Hire

True, Blatt has no NBA experience. He is a Framingham, Massachusetts native, a product of Pete Carril’s Princeton system, who left soon after graduation to play in Israel, began his coaching career a decade later in that same country, and has spent the last 20 years coaching internationally.

“To me it’s almost comical we’re making a big deal about the adjustment for Dave,” said Anthony Parker, the former Cavaliers player and current Orlando scout who played for Blatt in Israel. “There’s not as big a deal made about Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher adjusting. This is a guy who has coached for 20 years. He’s been a head coach. He’s been in games in the Olympics and pressure situations. Maccabi is a high-pressure job to take on. It’s not the NBA, but it’s not nothing in terms of the pressure to win. I think that’s not going to be an issue.”

As a former captain at Princeton, Blatt was a student of the game who soaked up all that Carril taught. In retrospect, his move to coaching was inevitable, said Craig Robinson, the former Oregon State coach who was his Princeton teammate.

via Jodie Valade of The Cleveland Plain Dealer