Ajani Williams

Former National Basketball Association player Sam Vincent will take charge of the national basketball team as they prepare for the Caribbean Basketball Championships, starting this coming June.

In addition to his seven years of experience playing in the NBA, Vincent, who won a championship ring as a reserve with the Boston Celtics in 1986, brings with him a wealth of coaching experience. He was, for a year, head coach of the expansion team Charlotte Bobcats and last year coached the Fort Worth Flyers in the NBA Developmental League, the NBDL.

Vincent will assume control of the national team, just about a week before the start of the Caribbean championships, said Ajani Williams, president of the Jamaica Amateur Basketball Association (JABA).

It was Vincent's relationship with Williams, himself a former NBA player that got Vincent to agree to take charge of the national programme.

"Ajani and I worked together in early 2000 when I was coach and he was playing and I really had a great relationship with Ajani as a player/coach relationship." he said. "I received a call from him asking if I would consider this position and that really is what has created the interest, the excitement on my part to get involved."

Vincent arrived in the island on the weekend to meet with Williams and the board of the JABA to "understand what their goals and objectives are" but contends that growth in the sport requires a plan geared towards developing basketball for the long term.

nature of tenure

The nature of his tenure - whether he would be here in Jamaica full time or only take charge when the national team is competing internationally - is among issues that will be discussed with the JABA, but his current focus is getting the team ready for the Caribbean tournament.

Vincent was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1985 draft and won a title the following year. He moved to the Seattle Supersonics and was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls where he played with the legendary Michael Jordan. In 1989, he was selected in the NBA expansion draft by the Orlando Magic, where he ended his career in 1992.

Coaching tenures in South Africa, Greece, The Netherlands, Nigeria and in the NBA have helped Vincent develop a solid reputation as a coach. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he coached the Nigerian women's team to a 68-64 upset win over South Korea. It was the first time that an African nation had won a women's game at the Olympic level.

Vincent worked as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks before being appointed head coach of the Bobcats in 2007.

But in addition to the wealth of experience Vincent also brings intangible qualities to the Jamaican programme that he believes will take local basketball to the very pinnacle. "I think the things that helped us be successful in Nigeria were the planning, the organisation and the winning experience that I brought to the team, and those are the same things I think will be beneficial to Jamaica's basketball," he said.

"The planning, preparation and the organisation and the winning experience I had with the Boston Celtics, with the Chicago Bulls, will help these guys understand how to get to where we're trying to go. We want to be a team that is powerful in basketball and can compete at the Olympic level," Vincent added.