J.B. Bickerstaff is described as a ‘natural leader’ as he takes over with the interim label.
He says first job is to get team’s confidence back
Others looked at J.B. Bickerstaff and saw the best player in the state of Colorado, a coach’s son who played that way and who nearly always won.
Rudy Carey, the legendary coach of Denver East High School, saw that and something else, too.
He saw the makings of a head coach. He saw qualities the Rockets now hope will lead to a turnaround from a stunningly staggering start to the NBA season that cost Kevin McHale his job to the sort of success they expected when championship hopes were so high. Early signs
“J.B. was always a natural leader,” said Carey, the head coach at Bickerstaff ’s high school for 38 years. “He was always very intelligent. He always had a great feel for the game and a great vision for the game.
“With all he learned over the years from different coaches and then puts his stuff in, he’s going to be a very, very good head coach. The thing about J.B., he doesn’t filter his conversation to appease anybody. He’s a natural, genuine person. He understand the game, but more importantly, he has the respect of his peers and players.” Not a seat warmer
Bickerstaff, 36, was hired as an interim coach, but he is not keeping the seat warm while the Rockets consider long-term replacements. Brought in with McHale as an assistant, he became the lead assistant when Kelvin Sampson took over at the University of Houston.
“I was shocked,” Bickerstaff said. “We thought we had an opportunity to turn it around.
“It’s tough. The only reason I’m here is because of Mac. Mac is the guy that brought me here. He trusted me to help him out. He’s done so much for me personally and for my family. I’m so thankful to Mac. I’m hurt. I’m hurt I won’t get to see him every day.
Long a respected assistant around the NBA considered a strong head coaching prospect after stints in Charlotte and Minnesota before coming with McHale to Houston, Bickerstaff had interviewed for positions with the Pistons, Suns and Bucks.
“This team needs a confidence boost,” Bickerstaff said. “They’ve been through some tough losses. Games haven’t gone our way. We got to do it together. One of my strengths is building relationships with people. I can find what buttons to push. Everybody’s button’s different. In time, I’ll have everybody’s button.”
Bickerstaff, however, takes on a very difficult challenge, having to command a room that tuned out a coach with the title “Hall of Fame” while he carries the title “interim.” Bickerstaff said he appreciates getting the season to prove himself. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey believed he can command respect. Leading attributes
“I think he’s a great leader,” Morey said. “I think he’s been ready for this opportunity his whole life. I think the team responds to him. I think he has a good plan to lead us out of where we are. I’m very confident in him. I’ve talked to him about his plan about what he thinks will turn this around. And I believe in the plan.
“In addition with J.B. we have a forward-thinking head coach who’s prepared for this, who while he is forward-thinking is very grounded with many years as an assistant in the league with great mentors.”
Bickerstaff’s greatest mentor — along with Carey, McHale and former University of Minnesota coach Don Monson — is his father, Bernie Bickerstaff, a long-time NBA coach and assistant coach now working as a Cavaliers scout.
Bernie Bickerstaff has been in the position as an interim coach his son now holds. Though he said he did not want to take any attention from his son, he thought the quality that J.B. Bickerstaff will bring to the job is particularly well-suited for the circumstances of his first head coaching position in the NBA. A father’s respect
“He has the balance of relationships and Xs and Os ability,” Bernie Bickerstaff said. “He’s always had good relationships and they were not subservient. They were all straight up.”
Asked what he would tell his son, Bickerstaff said, “Be yourself. Be yourself. Players read you. You always have to stay in character.”
There is little chance J.B. Bickerstaff will change. He described his “plan” as to get the Rockets’ defense back to last season’s standards. It has fallen from sixth to 29th in points allowed per possession. But beyond that, he takes a job for which he has long prepared. Dream fulfilled
“That’s been my dream my whole life,” Bickerstaff said. “For this to actually come to fruition, regardless of the circumstance, it is something you think about all the time, sitting there going to practice with your dad with you little wire notebook. It’s been in my mind since then. I look forward to it. I look forward to being successful.”
The coaches that taught him are certain he will succeed.
“J.B. is going to be a great head coach because he has all the ingredients,” Carey said. “His dad was a great coach. The NBA is tough. J.B. is a natural leader. The Rockets are very lucky to have that young man.”