USA - Triano to replace D'Antoni for United States
COLORADO SPRINGS (FIBA World Championship) - The United States have been forced to make a change to their coaching staff ahead of the FIBA World Championship as a back injury will prevent assistant Mike D'Antoni from travelling to Turkey. Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano is to step in and replace D'Antoni, who will remain with Mike Krzyzewski's ...
COLORADO SPRINGS (FIBA World Championship) - The United States have been forced to make a change to their coaching staff ahead of the FIBA World Championship as a back injury will prevent assistant Mike D'Antoni from travelling to Turkey.
Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano is to step in and replace D'Antoni, who will remain with Mike Krzyzewski's squad during the US stage of their preparations in New York next week.
Triano will also be in New York, and will then join the team as they head to Spain and Greece for warm-up games before the tournament in Turkey.
“We’ll miss Mike on our trip, he’s been a big part of this program, but we know he’ll be with us in spirit. We all realize this is what is best for him and we hope that he’s feeling better soon,” said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.
“We’re fortunate to be able to add Jay (Triano) to our staff. He has been involved in our national team program since 2007 and he is someone we’re familiar with; he offers continuity and possesses a lot of excellent international coaching experience.”
D'Antoni will be a loss for the Americans as he has been part of the USA program since 2005 and the team has a 36-1 record during games he has been part of.
“My back has been something I have been periodically dealing with and after the July Las Vegas training camp I realized I need to get it better so I can be ready for the approaching NBA season. I regret not being able to be with the team through the World Championship, I wish them the best of luck and I look forward to continuing to work with USA Basketball,” said D’Antoni.
However, D'Antoni's loss is Triano's gain and the former Canada coach cannot wait to get started.
“This is a great opportunity to work with Coach K and his staff and continue what Mr. Colangelo has built that resulted in gold at the Beijing Olympics,” said Triano.
“I've had the chance to work with a lot of these players over the past few years coaching the USA Select Teams and I'm looking forward to taking the court with them and Coach K in Istanbul.”
FIBA
USA - Triano to replace D'Antoni for United States