Erik Spoelstra
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Erik Celino Spoelstra (born November 1, 1970 in Evanston, Illinois) is the head coach of the NBA's Miami Heat. He is the first Filipino-American head coach in the NBA. From 2001 to 2008, he served as Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting for the team.[1][2]
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[edit] Early life
Spoelstra is a "Dutch-Irish-Filipino"[3]who grew up in Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from Jesuit High School in 1988, and from the University of Portland, in 1992.[4] At Jesuit High School, Spoelstra is third all-time in assists (488), tied for third in three-pointers made (156) and sixth in both three-point percentage (.384) and free throw percentage (.824).[5]
Spoelstra was the starting point guard for Portland for three years and was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 1989. He is a member of Portland's 1,000-point club.
After graduation from college, he spent two years as a player/coach for TuS Herten (later the Herten Ruhr Devils), a German professional team.
His father, Jon Spoelstra Dennis (D-Fly) P., was an NBA executive for the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.[1] Spoelstra is one-quarter Dutch-Irish on his father's side, and his mother, Elisa Celino is Filipino, from San Pablo, Laguna.[6] He was cited by Sports Illustrated (May 30, 2005) for honing star guard Dwyane Wade’s "shooting balance and smoothing out his release after the Flash’s return from the Athens Olympics."[7]
[edit] Miami Heat
In April, 2008, Spoelstra (known to the players as "Coach Spo") was named successor to Pat Riley as head coach of the Miami Heat. Spoelstra joined the Heat staff in 1995 as the team's video coordinator. After two years, he was named Assistant Coach/Video Coordinator, then promoted to Assistant Coach/Advance Scout in 1999. He became the Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting in 2001. Spoelstra is the NBA's youngest current head coach; 69 days younger than the second youngest head coach, Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets.[1]
In naming Spoelstra as head coach, Riley said: "This game is now about younger coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative and bring fresh new ideas. That's what we feel we are getting with Erik Spoelstra. He's a man that was born to coach."[8] Pat Riley plans to change his approach from when Stan Van Gundy was the coach. Riley predicted: "A lot of players want the discipline; they will play [hard] for Spoelstra, because 'they respect him.'"[9]
[edit] Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | PCT | Finish | Result | ||
| MIA | 2008-09 | ||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Riley Steps Down, Spoelstra Named Head Coach (HTML). NBA.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
- ^ Abs-Cbn Interactive, TV Patrol: First ever Filipino head coach in the NBA
- ^ Meet new Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
- ^ Arnold, Geoffrey C. "Spoelstra in, Riley out", The Oregonian, 2008-04-29. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ Ex-Pilot, Crusader Erik Spoelstra named Miami Heat coach
- ^ Nick Vicera. "Erik Spoelstra: He puts the Heat on", Filipinas Magazine & GMA News.TV. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ Inquirer.net, Spoelstra first Filipino NBA head coach
- ^ Ex-Pilot, Crusader Erik Spoelstra named Miami Heat coach
- ^ miamiherald.com, Riley to change course with coach
| Preceded by Pat Riley |
Miami Heat Head Coach 2008 –present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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