Ime Udoka’s return gives Stoudamire time to reflect
Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka returned to TD Garden on Saturday with the Rockets, a first since being suspended and subsequently dismissed for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate team employee.
Udoka has guided Houston, which went 22-60 last season, to a surprising 18-18 start. But his longtime friend and former Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire said that as pleased as Udoka is about this new chance, there are understandable thoughts about failing to capitalize on such a golden one.
“Not speaking for him, but I would say the regret is what could have been, because we had something special going,” Stoudamire, who now coaches Georgia Tech, said by phone. “More than anything, it’s basketball related. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears were put into that [2021-22] season. We went to the Finals and had a team coming back where we tweaked it just a little bit and we looked every bit the part. So that would be the regret. Anybody would feel that, not being able to see that situation through. “It was such a good opportunity. You’ve got young stars, great role players who could be stars on other teams. Looking back on it, that has to go through his mind a lot.” After long serving as a Spurs assistant under Gregg Popovich and one-year stints as an assistant with the 76ers and Nets, Udoka became a head coach for the first time when he was hired in 2022 to replace Brad Stevens.
“He didn’t just get a first chance. His first chance was the Boston Celtics, man,” Stoudamire said. “I don’t think many of us had been in Boston before then, but is there a more prestigious job you can get than the Boston Celtics the first time out, never coaching before? Man, that’s a hell of a job. So I think, no, I know he wore that with a badge of honor.” Udoka guided the Celtics to the Finals, where they took a 2-1 lead over the dynastic Warriors before falling in six games. But then his tenure crashed to a sudden end when his suspension was announced just before training camp last season. Celtics players were openly frustrated by the lack of explanation given for Udoka’s dismissal. Joe Mazzulla, a behind-the-bench assistant who had never been a head coach above the Division 2 level, was named interim coach.
“The challenge initially was getting over the shock [about Udoka],” Stoudamire said. “That was the first thing. Then the second thing is with it being so late with everything happening, with Joe being thrust at that time, he didn’t have an opportunity to put his stamp on the team. There might have been other things he wanted to do, but we kept everything the same because it was so late in the game. You tweak a couple things here and there, but that was a challenge.
“And ultimately, at that time, there was a lot of people that wanted answers and there were a lot of things left unsaid, and I get it big-picture from a legal standpoint. There were just a lot of things going on and I think maybe people wanted answers and didn’t get some.”