JaBA to officially unveil NBA coach today
THE Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) will today officially unveil NBA coach Jim Cleamons as head coach of the national women’s team.
JaBA president Ajani Williams is expected to present Cleamons, 62, at 11:00 am at a media conference at the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort and Spa in Lucea, Hanover.
Cleamons, who arrived in the island on June 1, immediately took up duties, with former national player Simone Edwards as his assistant, as they prepare the team for the biennial Centrobasket Championship for Women.
The event is scheduled to run from June 12-16 in Morovis, Puerto Rico, with the top-three advancing to the FIBA Americas Championship — a qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games.
In 2010, Jamaica achieved a record feat by finishing as runners-up — to host nation Puerto Rico — under the guidance of US college coach Timothy Eatman who has vast experience coaching women’s team.
Eatman, however, and for reasons still unknown, left the national programme following Jamaica’s fantastic show at the Centrobasket.
The void created by Eatman’s departure had dire repercussions for the Women’s programme heading into the 2011 FIBA Americas in Columbia.
Crucially too, support for the programme was lacking significantly as the team held its first training on the eve of its first game.
Not surprisingly, the team — led by Edwards, who acted as player/coach then — finished eighth in the 10-team tournament with a solitary win.
But today inside the Hanover 2 Conference Room, details of Cleamons contract will be of interest, though the Jamaica Observer understands that the main aim is to have him remain in charge once the team continues to progress.
A former NBA player in the 1970s, Cleamons went into coaching after retiring. He previously served as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, and also assistant coach of the LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets.
While Cleamons’ credentials should suffice, his experience coaching women’s basketball remains unknown. However, since arriving in Jamaica, Cleamons was received positively by the 15-member squad assembled at the Grand Palladium, the Observer has learnt.
Jamaica are drawn in Group A, alongside Puerto Rico, Mexico and El Salvador.
