Position Head coach Name Steve Clifford League NBA Role Basketball Coach | Nationality American Career end 1983 Coaching career 1983–present Team Charlotte Hornets | |
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Born September 17, 1961 (age 62)
Island Falls, Maine ( 1961-09-17 ) High school North Country Union (Newport, Vermont) College Maine–Farmington (1979–1983) Education University of Maine at Farmington Team coached Charlotte Hornets (Head coach, since 2013) Similar People Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd‑Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Jeremy Lamb | ||
Hornets head coach steve clifford
Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Contents
- Hornets head coach steve clifford
- Charlotte hornets coach steve clifford and al jefferson verbal exchange
- Early life
- Coaching career
- Charlotte BobcatsHornets
- References
Charlotte hornets coach steve clifford and al jefferson verbal exchange
Early life
Born in Island Falls, Maine, Clifford grew up in Mattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved to Vermont. He played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont.
Clifford matriculated the University of Maine at Farmington, where he played college basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, he was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He graduated with a degree in special education.
Coaching career
After graduating from college, Clifford became a teacher at Woodland High School in Maine. He also gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as their head coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments. He then served as an assistant coach at St. Anselm’s College, Fairfield University, Boston University and Siena College. In 1995, he assumed the head coaching duties at Adelphi University and coached for four seasons under Keith Dickson, leading their team to four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, an 86–36 (.705) record and four consecutive 20-win seasons; he was the first coach in the school's history with back-to-back 20-plus win seasons.
Clifford became an NBA assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets under Jeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. He then was an assistant for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic. He considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors. He reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the NBA Finals in 2009.
Clifford then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012–13 as an assistant.
Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to be their head coach.
Clifford implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning the Charlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the NBA in that category. He led the Bobcats to the 2014 NBA Playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43–39 record. The two years prior to him joining the Charlotte Bobcats only had a combined total of 28 wins. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7–1 record leading to the playoffs. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting in his first year.