CAN - Toronto's Mitchell named Coach of the Year

NEW YORK (NBA) - Sam Mitchell has been named NBA Coach of the Year after guiding the Toronto Raptors to their first division title.

Mitchell saw off Jerry Sloan, of the Utah Jazz, to become the first coach in franchise history to win the Red Auerbach Trophy.

In the last season of his three-year contract with the Raptors, Mitchell received 389 points, including 49 first-place votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters.

Despite a difficult start where he came under pressure, the Raptors won their first Atlantic Division crown with a 47-35 record, a 20-game improvement from the previous season.

General manager Bryan Colangelo was responsible for bringing in players such as TJ Ford to employ an up-tempo offense but the biggest change with the
Raptors has been the addition of European players like number one overall draft pick Andrea Bargnani from Italy, Spain veteran Jorge Garbajosa and former EuroLeague MVP Anthony Parker.

Colangelo also hired Benetton Treviso's much-respected general manager Maurizio Gherardini to become his assistant GM.

Mitchell was under pressure early but he made it come together quickly as the Raptors went 30-7 in games when they scored 100 or more points.

The NBA Coach of the Year last season, Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks settled for third place after his team finished with a league-best 67-15 record, matching the fourth-best mark in NBA history.

Since the inception of the award in 1963, which is named after the late Red Auerbach, who guided the Boston Celtics to nine NBA titles, no coach has won in consecutive years.

FIBA