ORLANDO — Tom Thibodeau, a longtime admirer and friend of Bill Belichick, called him “the all-time greatest coach” while lauding the move to UNC and name-dropping a former ESPN insider.
“I think (going to the NCAA) is more appealing now, probably more than ever,” Thibodeau said. “Colleges now are hiring GMs. Like the great Adrian Wojnarowski. St. Bonaventure. Shout out to my father.”
Thibodeau’s father, Thomas Sr., attended St. Bonaventure and became a dedicated supporter of the Bonnies basketball team. Wojnarowski recently shocked the basketball world by leaving his pre-eminent newsbreaker position at ESPN to become the basketball GM of St. Bonaventure, his alma mater.
Thibodeau, meanwhile, has never considered a career change.
“I never really planned on anything other than I knew I wanted to be a coach,” he said. “And so every stop I’ve had I’ve loved the job that I’ve had whether I was an assistant, a college coach, an NBA assistant, an NBA head coach. They’re all great jobs. If you love teaching and leadership and being part of a team, being part of an organization. I saw where Bill said that. It really isn’t. If you love what you do, it’s not work. And we’re fortunate to be doing stuff that we love.”
Belichick might’ve joined the same market as Thibodeau as he expressed interest in the Jets coaching vacancy before getting hired by UNC.
Mikal Bridges’ adjustment has hardly been seamless. He’s shown glimpses but the results have been mixed with his efficiency and his effectiveness as the main defender at the point of attack.
“It’s a huge change for him. On both sides of the ball,” Josh Hart said. “He was the number one guy for the last year-and-a-half (offensively in Brooklyn), getting 20, 25, 30 play calls for you. Now he’s the third or fourth option and getting no play calls. It takes an adjustment process. Not just physically being in a new place but also mentally. That’s something that takes a little bit of time, finding his rhythm offensively. And we have to continue to find him when he’s open and let him playmaker.
“Defensively, we give him sometimes what seems like an impossible task…..He’s not shying away from it. So, it’s something that we have to help him on both sides of the ball because he’s doing what we’re asking him to do. Sometimes myself can kind of help him a little bit defensively and be that point-of-attack defender and guard the ball and kind of get him offball and let him roam and let him play in the passing lanes and block shots and do those kinds of things. He’s adjusting. It takes a second. On both sides of the ball, he’s being asked to sacrifice a lot and do a lot.”
