According to Woj, the Rockets are negotiating with him to become the new head coach of the Vipers. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--r...ch-of-their-d-league-affiliate-171125845.html Here's his bio with Villanova: http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lange_billy00.html
Lol seriously the Vipers head coaching job seems its a good stepping stone for Coaches to make the leap to the NBA. We must be doing something right in order to get that much interest on the Rockets Staff, including our executives.
More on it. Sixers after Lange too. =================== http://www.themonitor.com/sports/article_db4f9ebe-1cbc-11e3-af02-001a4bcf6878.html Report: Villanova's Lange weighing offer to become next Vipers coach Posted: Friday, September 13, 2013 4:38 pm Dennis Silva II | The Monitor According to a Yahoo! Sports report released early Friday afternoon, the Rockets are in talks with Villanova associate head coach Billy Lange to become head coach of the Vipers. The article, reported by Adrian Wojnarowski, cited league sources that revealed the information. According to the report, Lange has been deliberating over an offer and has discussed details of a deal for several days. “I know he’s a candidate they (the Rockets) do like, but as far as being a finalist I’m not sure,” Vipers president Bert Garcia said. Garcia said he knows little of Lange, other than his seven years as head coach of the Naval Academy, where Lange was the 2008 Patriot League Coach of the Year. ESPN later reported Friday that Lange, a New Jersey native, is also weighing an offer to join the Philadelphia Sixers’ staff, and is leaning that way. The ESPN report said the Vipers gig could end up going to Iona assistant Jared Grasso, who also recently interviewed with the Rockets. The Sixers’ general manager is Sam Hinkie, a former executive under Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. It was while with the academy that Lange became familiar with the Rio Grande Valley, recruiting former McAllen High star J.J. Avila. Avila was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year for the 2010-11 season, Lange’s last at the academy before he accepted the job at Villanova, his second stint with the program after spending 2001-2003 with the Wildcats. “He’s a real good coach,” said Avila, now playing basketball at Colorado State University. “He demands a lot out of you, for sure. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. He loves coaching and he loves winning.” Avila said Lange personally visited him in McAllen a couple of times while recruiting the forward. Avila said Lange’s open style of play helped him develop into a more versatile offensive player. That style is also similar to what the Rockets run under coach Kevin McHale. “His style is run-and-gun as long as you play defense,” Avila said. “We focused mainly on defense, but you can do what you want within the principles of the offense. I learned a lot from him.” If the Yahoo! report is true, Lange will become the fifth coach of the Vipers in their six-year history. The previous two head coaches, Chris Finch (2009-2011) and Nick Nurse (2011-2013), each won championships with the Vipers before departing for assistant coaching jobs in the NBA, Finch with the Rockets and Nurse most recently with the Toronto Raptors. dsilva@themonitor.com
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Coach turns down <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Vipers&src=hash">#Vipers</a> gig RT <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNDanaOneil">@ESPNDanaOneil</a>: Villanova's Lange says no to DLeague job <a href="http://t.co/gdoCAPvr9k">http://t.co/gdoCAPvr9k</a></p>— Dennis Silva II (@densilva2) <a href="https://twitter.com/densilva2/statuses/379689577336012800">September 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>With Billy Lange out of picture as coach for <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Vipers&src=hash">#Vipers</a>,keep an eye on Iona assistant Jared Grasso. who has also interviewed with <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Rockets&src=hash">#Rockets</a>.</p>— Dennis Silva II (@densilva2) <a href="https://twitter.com/densilva2/statuses/379697727233216512">September 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
