Nick Nurse To Coach RGV Vipers Next Season

HMMMHMM · Sep 19, 2011

Not sure how there's not a thread on this yet, considering the news is 18 hours old. Step your game up Clutchfans.

Anyway.

Nick Nurse was expected to transition from his role as head coach of the NBA Development League champion Iowa Energy into an assistant coach on an NBA team's bench this summer. The NBA lockout put a bit of a burden on those plans, however, so Nurse made a different move up the coaching ladder.

Nurse will be named the new head coach the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at a press conference on Monday, according to multiple sources close to the situation, succeeding Chris Finch in the role with the D-League team ran by the Houston Rockets. The transition should be fairly seamless, too, as the reigning D-League Coach of the Year serves as an assistant under Finch with the Great Britain National Team.

The move is interesting considering Nurse is coming off of a D-League title with the Energy, but the chance to coach with an NBA-affiliated team probably was the reason he decided to leave Iowa. It also probably doesn't hurt that he'll be close to Finch -- promoted to the Rockets' bench earlier this offseason -- and likely in line for a similar promotion down the road.

Star-divide

Nurse's move is excellent news for fans of the RGV (and the Rockets) as it not only promotes extra synergy between the NBA and D-League team, but it does put the Energy in an interesting situation. Nurse took a brief sabbatical last season from the Energy when he signed with the Iowa State Cyclones for about a week before some drama happened that allowed the veteran head coach to return to the state's D-League team.
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http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2011/9/18/2434168/nick-nurse-coach-rgv-vipers-rockets

Deckard · Sep 19, 2011

Nice find! The first I've heard of it. So the Vipers are going to be "nursed" to another championship? ;-D-

RudyTBag · Sep 19, 2011

Deckard said: ↑

So the Vipers are going to be "nursed" to another championship? ;-D-
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iconoclastic · Sep 19, 2011

Sounds like an effeminate superhero name.

HMMMHMM · Sep 19, 2011

Did a quick google search for some additional Nick Nurse facts.

He's 44 and spent 11 seasons coaching in Europe, mostly in Britian, during which time he won 9 championships. Before that he was an assistant at South Dakota from 93-95. He has also been an assistant for the Bucks, Suns & Bulls summer league teams.
Grew up in Carroll, Iowa. Apparently was a great shooter back in the day, as he still holds a bunch of three-point records at Northern Iowa.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2ZE9yNqjyEk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

thadeus · Sep 19, 2011

Oh god, please end the lockout.

BimaThug · Sep 21, 2011

Great find, HMMMHMM. Good to know that the Rockets' front office is not just twiddling their thumbs during this lockout. Nurse sounds like a great hire and one who will further facilitate the preparation of RVG players for use in the Rockets' system.

thadeus, I'm with you; but this news is worthy of a thread regardless of whether there were a lockout or not.

Carl Herrera · Sep 21, 2011

Another British coach? He'll no!

00rocketgirl · Sep 22, 2011

I saw this a day or two ago, but thought I'd share.

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2011/9/20/2437110/nick-nurse-rgv-vipers

Nick Nurse Explained Decision To Move To RGV Vipers As 'Chance To Grow'
by Scott Schroeder on Sep 20, 2011 10:00 AM EDT in D-League Coaching News

No idea if coach Nurse is indicating how much he wanted to grow in this picture, but I've been wanting to use it for awhile.
Nick Nurse's decision to take the Rio Grande Valley Vipers head coaching job after leading the Iowa Energy to the D-League championship last season was a bit perplexing at first glance. The only coach in the history of the Iowa franchise explained his decision to the local newspaper on Monday, however, making a lot of sense in the process.

"It was a chance to grow. I did about as much as I could do (in Iowa)," Nurse told the Des Moines Register. "I don't devalue the 50 or 60 games a year that I coached there. That's great experience. But a lot of times (NBA executives) will hire people they know a little better."

This is something I mentioned in the original story on Sunday and it's why the jobs with direct NBA affiliations are premium in the D-League coaching circles. It's likely part of the reason Eric Musselman made a similar move from the Reno Bighorns to the Los Angeles D-Fenders as well as the reason Bob MacKinnon's new job as head coach of the Springfield Armor, a team that has won just 20 of their 100 games in franchise history, was one of the most coveted positions available this summer.

Like Chris Finch before him, Nurse saw the opportunity to coach the Houston Rockets ran Vipers as a step closer to an NBA bench.

"I was really impressed with the Rockets organization and how they have a proven track record with Finch, of putting him in here and bringing him up," Nurse told the Register. My goal every year is to grow as a coach, and I thought this was a great place to do that."

And, y'know, the chance to work closer with an NBA franchise was probably a decent perk as well.
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coachbadlee · Sep 22, 2011

Is Morey somehow trying to get this guy and Finch back together again?

heypartner · Nov 23, 2011

Not sure the date of this, but nice interview.

Nice interview
http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/coach_nurse_q_and_a_110919.html

After a start in college and international basketball, Nurse found a niche in the D-League, taking a title with the Energy in his fourth year at the helm -- not to mention defeating former RGV coach Chris Finch, Nurse's boss with the British National Team, while he was at it.

On the day that he was named the new head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers -- the NBADL affiliate of the Houston Rockets, and one of three D-League teams to use the hybrid model of ownership -- Nick Nurse sat down with D-League.com's Kevin Scheitrum to talk about what lured him to the team that he defeated in the D-League Finals last year, and what makes the Vipers and Rockets such a unique partnership.

D-League.com: You’ve been the only coach in Iowa history, with your four years capped off with a D-League title – what made you leave?

Nick Nurse: Well, it was a combination of a lot of things. First of all, I’m from Iowa and absolutely loved coaching the Iowa Energy, but with the Houston Rockets people and the Rio Grande people, I just felt a good connection with them. I thought my future would be good for me down here, so I’m looking forward to learning from the Rockets, and kind of taking a small step forward in my coaching career.

D-League.com: With the success you had in Iowa, how tough was it saying goodbye to everybody up there?

Nick Nurse: It was very difficult. Winning that championship last year was really special. Every championship’s special, but the way it unfolded with our community and our fans – the crowd sizes, the electricity in the arena – that’s something I’ll never forget.

The way it unfolded with our community and our fans – the crowd sizes, the electricity in the arena – that’s something I’ll never forget.
Nick Nurse
I’m gonna miss a lot of people in the state of Iowa, in the organization. We had tremendous owners. I’m gonna miss players who are gonna come back and play for the Iowa Energy, but again the opportunity to get close and work with the Rockets was great. To hopefully see a path up to the NBA at some point is big.

D-League.com: Last week, when coach MacKinnon was hired in Springfield, he talked about how ‘attractive’ the hybrid model is. RGV uses that model. What, to you, makes that appealing?

Nick Nurse: First of all, the Rockets have had a really good track record of hiring good coaches and developing those coaches. You get more involved with training camps, summer leagues, Playoff runs, all those things that a hybrid model can provide for a D-League coach, and in the second part of that there’s a little more help personnel-wise, picking players, getting guys into training camp, helping with Draft selection, having players assigned to you, et cetera, there are some advantages that Bob [MacKinnon] talked about.

D-League.com: Is there anything, specifically, that you like about the way the Rockets do business?

Nurse: I think they have a unique way of looking at the way basketball is played and can be played. They use their D-League team as a training ground for not only coaching and playing, but ideas in general, and I like that. I like the creative nature of the thought process behind the scenes.

D-League.com: You’ll still be working with [former RGV coach and British National Team coach] Chris Finch – how big of a role did he play?

The Rockets use their D-League team as a training ground for not only coaching and playing, but ideas in general, and I like that.
Nick Nurse
Nick Nurse: Obviously a very big role. We worked together for a lot of years. Throw [his input] into the list of reasons why I’m here. He had nothing but great things to say about the Vipers, the Rockets, living in the Valley and all the things I’d really enjoy. I took a lot of counsel with him on the decision, and I should get to see a lot of him in Houston.

D-League.com: You beat him in the Finals last year. That got you bragging rights for exactly how long?

Nick Nurse: [Laughs] I don’t know. We’ve gone back and forth about 10 or 12 times this year, it’s almost like another season of basketball, competing in the Finals. It was a great series, and our home court and our crowd probably propelled us through there, so it’s not that big of a deal, but it’s certainly nice, certainly for the organization.

D-League.com: You’ve now seen a team in Iowa grow from the ground up, going from a town that was a little skeptical to a place with fans that you say ‘propelled’ you to a Finals win. Talk about that evolution.

Nick Nurse: That was unbelievable in a way. Obviously, we started as an expansion franchise, and we did OK, people were interested, but to have it virtually explode the way it did with the 14,000-person crowd and the 10,000 crowd, it just changed the whole landscape in how everybody saw us in the city. People were just excited. They were thrilled. They were proud. I won’t forget that, man. I won’t forget it. It was really a fun moment in my coaching career.

[The championship] it just changed the whole landscape in how everybody saw us in the city.
Nick Nurse
D-League.com: Last time you made a coaching change, there were some discrepancies [Nurse left Iowa briefly in early 2010 for an associate head coach job at Iowa State, but went back to the Energy after Cyclones head coach Greg McDermott took the head job at Creighton]. Any loose ends right now?

Nick Nurse: Nah, I think we’re ready to go. You’d better call me in four days, though. I think last time I lasted three days last time. On second thought, you’d better give it a week. [Laughs]

D-League.com: For you, what are your big priorities as a D-League coach?

Nick Nurse: I just like watching players and coaches grow. Like my assistants – I like watching them reach their potential. I like trying to squeeze everything I can out of them, to help them along in their career and their personal lives and make them the best players and people they can be.

D-League.com: How do you strike the balance between winning and losing guys to the next level?

Nick Nurse: We’ve been able to do that for three years, and we don’t really see it as two separate things. We’re there to develop players every day, and also to win – it’s not a juggling act, it’s the job.

D-League.com: You talked about how great the Iowa fan base was. What about RGV?

Nick Nurse: It’s one of the places in the D-League you come when you’re on the road, and everywhere you go in town they’re telling you ‘The Vipers are gonna get you tonight and you don’t have a chance.’ Obviously the numbers show how well they’re supported, and how they have some of the most passionate fans. They’re used to winning and care about it. They’re obviously one of the better franchises.
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