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Chris Jent update (coaching AI)

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by JoeBarelyCares, Sep 20, 2003.

  1. JoeBarelyCares

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    Interesting article on former Rocket Chris Jent:

    http://www.dailyrecord.com/sports/pro/sports3-092003jent.htm

    09/20/03 - Posted 12:25:02 AM from the Daily Record newsroom
    Sparta's Jent eager to coach NBA's Sixers

    By Mark Kitchin, Daily Record

    Is there anything that Chris Jent could possibly teach Allen Iverson about basketball?

    The Sparta native believes he can, if the NBA superstar is eager to listen. Jent, who was named a Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach in July, will eventually have plenty of opportunities to work with him.

    Since the well-traveled athlete has bounced a basketball in places ranging from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Bilbao, Spain to Melbourne, Australia, he’s no doubt learned a trick or two that could benefit plenty of young players and even some experienced ones.

    “I think it’s helped,” Jent said. “Because now you can play some zone. I played with a lot of zones on offense and defense. It’s helped in that respect. I played with a number of different coaches. Doing that builds your basketball IQ.”

    Whether he can help improve a superstar like Iverson is another story.

    “That’s up to him,” Jent said. “He’s such a natural talent. He’s the kind of guy that can play a perfect game. It’s a player’s duty to reach that place and he just gets better and better.

    “He’s not just a shooter. He gets steals, he gets aggressive, and he works hard fighting through picks. He sure does shoot. He has the attitude that I’m the best player, I should shoot a lot.”

    There was a time when Jent knew how he felt. In the late 80s, he was the leading scorer at Sparta High School. If you combine both Morris and Sussex County schools, he still holds the top spot in career scoring with 2,287 points on the varsity level.

    The 6-foot-7 athlete went on to be a valuable sixth man at Ohio State. He was a 1,000-point scorer for the Buckeyes and a valuable contributor on teams that earned three NCAA bids. It was there that the got to know current Philadelphia head coach Randy Ayers.

    “He’s an open coach,” Jent said. “You can talk to him and not have to deal with any egos. Everything he does is in trying to develop the best possible team. He recruited me. He was an assistant when Gary Williams was the coach. When he left to go to Maryland, coach got the job.”

    It’s also a bit ironic that Jent will be coaching on the first NBA team that cut him as a player. It was about 11 years ago when Philadelphia let him go, an act that gave him the type of bitterness that only time and experience has melted away.

    “There was no chance for me,” Jent said. “There were 16 guaranteed contracts there for players already on the team. It was a lose-lose. It was a bad decision (to try out). I don’t know what my agent was thinking.”

    The rejection began his basketball odyssey. He spent years in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. He logged five years in Italy, and also spent seasons in Spain and Australia.

    However, the only time he played in the NBA resulted in a championship ring. In 1994, he was a late addition to the Houston Rockets during their playoff run. His late-season contributions helped the Rockets through the playoffs, and he even saw some court time in the championship series against the New York Knicks.

    He later had a brief fling with the Knicks, playing three games at the start of the 1996-97 season before being released. Jent then returned to Italy. Last year, he decided to end his playing days and return to the United States for good. He came back to his home in Connecticut and considered coaching.

    “I applied to a lot of different jobs,” Jent said. “I could have went to some college programs and helped out. I talked to Randy and my high school coach, Dennis Tobin, and Jeff Van Gundy. They talked to me about getting some experience in coaching.”

    At least a taste was necessary. He got it coaching the Westhill High School team in Stamford, Conn., where he lives. It was a surprisingly eye-opening experiencing since Jent has been around the sport all his life.

    “I learned an awful lot,” Jent said. “It’s tough because you don’t have three or four assistants to help you. You learn about time management. You do all the scouting. You do all the practices. It’s a great experience.”

    He helped a team that won only four games the previous year double its win total and make the Connecticut state tournament. The experience was exhilarating and frustrating all in one.

    “I knew what they had to do once they got onto the court,” Jent said. “In adding the coaching part of it, you realize the kids can’t do what you could do as a player. You can’t play the games for them.”

    When Ayers offered him the assistant coaches job, Jent jumped at the chance. He has spent much of his time since then taking a crash course in learning the league in depth with a concentration on personnel and styles of play.

    “Right now I have to get to know the personnel,” Jent said. “Get to know the teams I have to scout. There’s just a whole heck of a lot going on. I’ll watch a lot of basketball and get a lot of knowledge on what we have to prepare to do.”
     
  2. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    The only thing I remember about Jent,
    was that he was put into a game during the 94 play-offs (Knicks I think) and he was elbowed in the face by Mason or Charles Smith.

    Jent had to come out of the game to get stitched.
     
  3. speedball

    speedball Member

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    you beat me to it. that is one of my favorite things to watch in that game (and it was game 7 of the finals). i keep my eye on him the whole time he is on the floor. it's like a scene from the notre dame movie "rudy". you know that chris was giving 120% instead of the required 110% everybody else in the game at that time was just coasting 'til halftime.
     
  4. FranchiseBlade

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    Yes it was practically in the first thirty seconds of play. The bench warmer gets a chance at some playing time and is immediately hit in the face and comes out of the game.
     
  5. Doctor Robert

    Doctor Robert Member

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    I don't even remember him from that time, but to the poor guy's credit, he played in only 3 games averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds.

    Chris Jent Stats
     
  6. dsnow23

    dsnow23 Member

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    Jent was awesome. He came to the Rockets at the end of the regular season. I don't recall who was injured to allow this to happen. But, he played great defense immediately and contributed a big spark off the bench in the playoffs. The media loved him and the fans loved him for his hustle. He played in 11 playoff games that year. His playing time dwindled in the finals though.
     
  7. RikQuik

    RikQuik Member

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    those were the days when RT and CD could literally pluck allstars from the CBA. Half of that team was from the CBA.

    Sometimes, i miss that......particularly the last 4 years.....
     
  8. haven

    haven Member

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    But that strength ultimately led to their downfall.

    Rudy's success in finding low-pick gems like Cassell and Mobley... and CBA players... led him to believe that he could rely on this gift.

    Trading a 1st rounder for a 2nd rounder is an obvious example. Or trading 2 second-round choices to acquire Langhi. Overconvidence in a strength can make it a liability.
     
  9. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    Very true.

    There is a reason that those players are CBA players in the first place.

    That's why Cassell and Mobley a really diamonds in the rough (low NBA picks). Rudy thought that a low pick NBA player was the same as a high CBA player...not true. Again, there's a reason those players are CBA'ers.

    After a while, we started to look like a CBA team in the NBA. Too much riffraff.

    In my opionion, after some success, Rudy went overboard in thinking that he could improve the team cheaply instead of pushing the scouts to find some real talent.

    P.S. I know for a fact that the one thing that Rudy liked about the CBA'ers was the fact that they worked hard. He just went too far with it.
     
    #9 DavidS, Sep 23, 2003
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2003
  10. harumph

    harumph Member

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    Jent came over to Australia just after his time with the Rox & played on the North Melb Giants (my team). He was an excellent player, really lit up the league. took the team to the finals (i think in conseccutive years), but we lost:( We wanted him to return after his time in Europe...

    He was all hussle on D & money on offense. Philly got a good man.
     
  11. JoeBarelyCares

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    Interesting the Jent put a call in to Van Gundy about an assistant position, and Van Gundy apparently must have said thanks, but no thanks.
     
  12. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Anybody could play on the Rockets then...they had the best player on the planet, and he was worth 3 good players.

    DD
     
  13. egn

    egn Member

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    I hope this is a joke!

    You really can't be serious! Can you?
     

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