(AP)-Greg Pubovic stepped as Antonio Spears coach on Friday, where he ended a three-decade race in the leadership of the team to five championships in the American Professional League.
“While my love and passion for the game, I decided that it was time to get away as a head coach,” Popovich said.
He will remain a team leader. Mitch Johnson, Assistant Spears, who worked for Popovic in a 77 -season match, became the team’s lead coach.
Bubovic, 76, missed all the five matches this season after he got a stroke in the team yard on November 2. He has not spoken publicly since then, although he addressed his team at least once and issued a statement in late March, saying that he hoped to return to training.
This will not happen.
“I am forever grateful to the great players, coaches, employees and fans who allowed me to serve them as a main coach in Tottenham and I am excited about the opportunity to continue supporting the organization, society and the city with meaning to me.”
Popovic’s profession ends with a record of 1,422-869, which includes 77-32 games and 45 losses-trained by Johnson this season. He also won 170 players with Spears, the most coach with any one team and a third more overall behind Phil Jackson’s 229 and Pat Riley 171 only.
“It was the best there was at all,” said Spears Mano Genopilli last year from Bubovic.
The American Professional League champion and the Olympic Championship
Popovich was three times coach, and led the United States to a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics and trained six halls of the family hall in San Antonio-Jepers, David Robinson, Tim Dunkan, Tony Parker, Dominic Wilkins and Bau Gasol. He climbed against 170 different coaches during his period in the American Professional League and there were 303 training changes in the league, including temporary moves, during the Popovich era.
“I got a video on my phone, for example,” said Chris Paul, who played a video on my phone, for example, is invaluable. ” “We were in Oklahoma City, before the shooting, and pop was doing things. All these years have always seen pop training in a suit, but I did not know how difficult it was when it was about training.”
Paul said that these work ethics continued this year after the commitment of a stroke and bubovic in the rehabilitation process.
“I was the first to reach the scene for the games, and I was walking next to the training room and the pop on the walking device will be,” Paul said. “I actually had an opportunity to get there while POP is rehabilitating or otherwise. Therefore, to see how difficult it is, this is what I am pleased to give me the opportunity.
He took over in 1996
In his role, as a general manager of Spoes, Popovich moved to fire coach Bob Hill and promoted himself in this position on December 10, 1996. Timing, at best, appeared embarrassing. Tottenham was 3-15 at that point, after playing all these 18 games without Robinson, who was about to return from injury. Bubovic took over the day when Robinson returned to the squad.
“Change the direction was necessary,” Popovic said on that day.
Tottenham has not changed the trend again since then.
Peter C. Holt, the administrative partner of Spears: “The impact of the unusual pop coach on our family, San Antonio, Spears and the basketball game is deep.” “His prizes and prizes do not do justice to the influence he has on many people. He is really one of one as a person, a leader and a coach. Our entire family, along with fans from all over the world, feel grateful for his 29 -year wonderful exercise as a main coach in San Antonio Spears.”
Wealth has changed – DUNCAN No. 1 was generally chosen in the 1997 draft – but the trend under Popovich has always been the same. The first championship came in 1999; Others followed in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. In its first 22 seasons as a main coach, Spears achieved 22 winning records, the first 20 of those chapters that won at least 60 % of the time.
His decision comes to move away now with Spears after he just completed the second year of rebuilding around the French star Victor Wimbanama, who reached that the next next Saint Antonio did nothing to indicate that he would not rise to the level of bills.
“The continuous success of Greg Pubovic as a main coach in San Antonio Spears is not matched … there are a few people in the popular and early basketball community like pop coach,” said Adam Silver, the American Professional League Commissioner.
How did you start
Popovic played at the American Air Force Academy, and was not chosen in an attempt to make the American Olympic team 1972-some still say that he deserves this team-and ended with a coach who may have been completely satisfied with the operation of Pomona Pitzer, the third-class league program in California, for his entire career. That school lost 88 games in a row in conferences when it arrived; It didn’t take a long time to Brupovic to present a conference championship.
In the end, the American Professional League called. In time, Popovic will be paired with Robinson, then the Patriarch of a dynasty fueled by Denkan, Parker and Genopilli. Among this, Bubovic has placed a profession like nothing else.
“Everyone knows the amazing job he performed and all the accomplishments,” said Larry Brown, who has long been coach in 2021.
He was angry at the famous, and I would like to collide with the correspondents, and rarely provided any details about the basketball or his private life other than what was necessary. At one time it was real and worked. Bubovic has more soft side – he quietly defended reasons such as San Antonio Food Bank for years and was not afraid of his political views. Those who are lucky enough to know him find it honey.
“He has an amazing feeling of humor,” said striker Boston Jason Tatom while playing with Bubovic during the Tokyo Olympics four years ago. “I think ordinary fans see the person who is doing these interviews after the game, but this is not the case of who is at all. I love completely spending time with him.”
A loss in the 2013 American Professional League Finals, crushed Bubovic, which Tottenham was in a position to close Miami Heat in six games, and the game lost 6 in additional time after the three Ray Allen index with 5.2 seconds staying in the organization, then maintained the hot body, then fell into the smile.
Spoelstra, who became the lead coach of The Heat in 2008, is now the longest league insurance in its current position.
“It has always been an incredible example of separation and dignity,” said Spoilstra about Popovic. “To be able to do this after winning or loss, I think it is useful that you can still get a category regardless of how the result appears during the game.”
When Spears won the heat to get the title in the return match in the 2014 finals, it was Spoilestra who felt the loss of the loss. Once again, it was Bubovic who sent our congratulations on a good job.
“No one is like pop,” said Golden State coach Steve Care.
For a while, almost nothing else
Bubovic was like another few. Popovic trained Spears for 29 seasons, which is almost unparalleled in the history of the main sport in the United States. Cony Mac managed to manage the 50 -year -old athletics, George Hallas trained Chicago Pirz for 40 years, and John McGaru managed to manage the New York giants for 31 years. This three-period-all of which concludes more than half a century-is the only one that exceeds the length of Bubovic training with Tottenham; His 29 -year -old era in San Antonio has been identical by Tom Landre in Dallas Copules and Lambo Green Bay Bakr.
“This means that I am old,” said Bubovic last year.
Popovic broke a gender barrier of some kind in the league when Becky Hamon rented the first full -time assistant coach. She will also become Hamoun, who is now a coach in the Las Vegas Aces team in WNBA, the first lead in the US Professional League and the first main coach of the prosecution when it replaced Bubovic in a game in 2020.
“Basketball is basketball,” South Carolina coach told women when asked about Popovic in 2017. I think he sees a person with a wonderful mind in basketball, this is not known.
Popovic talked about wine whenever he could and showed his views on the ongoing policy and events, but he rarely presented a lot of insight into training decisions or employee issues. It was almost a military -like secrecy, which was logical given that Bubovic was a graduate of the American Air Force Academy and was an expert, among other things, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.
His love for the country took over a small side job during his work in San Antonio – the American basketball training for the 2019 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics two years later. His team in the World Cup ranked seventh, which is the worst place for an American team with the American Professional League players. His Olympic team won gold.
“It is impossible to separate it if you are in the army,” Bubovic said when asked about the similarities between being at the Air Force Academy and training the country’s national team. “I had classmates who fought in wars – no longer – and some are no longer with us. You get an appreciation for the people who sacrificed. So, when you have the opportunity to do this for your country, it is impossible to say no. I would like to be part of it.”