Report: Villanova great Pinckney eyed by Sixers
The former Wildcats star, currently a Bulls assistant, is said to be a candidate to coach the Sixers.
THREE YEARS ago, the 76ers decided to bring back a beloved basketball figure to coach their basketball team in Doug Collins. Could they be going a similar route in hiring Collins' successor?
A report yesterday by ESPN's Chris Broussard said that the Sixers were going to interview former Villanova great Ed Pinckney for their head-coaching position. Pinckney, of course, was the leader of the Villanova team that won the national championship in 1985. He is an assistant with the Chicago Bulls.
Pinckney was an assistant coach at Villanova and the Minnesota Timberwolves before being the color analyst for Sixers games on Comcast SportsNet for the 2009-10 season.
He joined the Bulls coaching staff in 2010. Pinckney played 12 years in the NBA after that magical Villanova run, which resulted in his being drafted 10th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1985.
He played in 793 games for seven teams. He played in 27 games for the Sixers in 1995-96. For his career, he averaged 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds.
It has been 90 days since Collins announced he would no longer coach the team, and in that time, there has been a new general manager named, a major draft-night trade involving All-Star guard Jrue Holiday and highly touted prospect Nerlens Noel, and various names linked to the Sixers' coaching vacancy.
Pinckney joins a healthy list that includes Collins' associate head coach, Michael Curry, who is still under contract, has been overseeing the oncourt workings of the organization, and coached the team's entry into the Orlando Pro Summer League last week.
Other names include San Antonio assistant Brett Brown, Houston Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and Chris Finch, Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin and Denver assistant Melvin Hunt.
Since the end of last season, 12 teams have hired new coaches, the most recent being the Boston Celtics with their shocking selection of former Butler head man Brad Stevens on July 3.
"I'm not sure what the Sixers are doing," an NBA executive said. "I understand taking your time to get the right guy, but a lot of 'right guys' got hired by other teams in the meantime. I know Sam Hinkie is doing a lot of work behind the scenes."
Hinkie is in Las Vegas for those Summer League games, in which the Sixers are not participating. Because of that, it will be next week before the organization introduces Noel, taken with the sixth pick in this year's draft by New Orleans before being traded to the Sixers.
Could a new coach be sharing the spotlight with the rookie center? We'll see.
The Sixers made a couple of minor moves yesterday, claiming swingman James Anderson and center Tim Ohlbrecht off waivers after the two were released by the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Hinkie is familiar with both players, as he was the assistant GM in Houston last season.
The 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, the 6-6, 215-pound Anderson has appeared in 116 NBA games, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.1 minutes.
This past season, after being waived by the Atlanta Hawks after the preseason, Anderson, 24, played briefly with the Rio Grande Vipers in the NBA Development League before signing with the Spurs. He appeared in 10 games before being waived. He returned to the Vipers briefly before being signed for the rest of the season by the Rockets on Jan. 2. He was a junior in 2009-10, when he was named the Big 12 player of the year at Oklahoma State, averaging 22.3 points.
Ohlbrecht is a Germany native and spent the past season with Rio Grande, averaging 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.6 minutes. He also shot 60.5 percent from the floor and 81.1 percent from the foul line. He was chosen to play for the NBA-DL All-Star Game, posting 12 points and 12 rebounds. Also 24, Ohlbrecht appeared in three games with the Rockets last season.
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