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CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that Steve Hetzel has been named the new head coach of their exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League affiliate, the Canton Charge.
"Steve has excelled every step along the way during his eight years in the NBA and we are thrilled to have someone with his player development and coaching expertise leading the Charge going forward,” said Cavaliers Director Development League Operations Mike Gansey.
Hetzel, 33, spent the last four seasons with the Detroit Pistons as their Player Development Coach, where he was responsible for identifying individual player strengths and weaknesses, creating a specific progression plan and monitoring players’ growth throughout the season. Hetzel also compiled specific opponent game preparation plans in which he would instruct the Pistons’ players and coaching staff on before games. During his time in Detroit, three Pistons players received All-Rookie honors from the NBA, including Jonas Jerebko (2010 Second Team), Greg Monroe (2011 Second Team) and Brandon Knight (2012 First Team).
“The Cavaliers and Charge have quickly built a strong culture of personal development and an environment in Canton that translates into success," said Hetzel. “That is something I wanted to be a part of and I am thankful to the Cavaliers for giving me this special leadership opportunity. I am extremely excited to get started and we will dedicate ourselves to playing in a way that our Canton fans can be proud of.”
Prior to joining the Pistons, Hetzel was the Video Coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers under Head Coach Mike Brown (2006-09). He was responsible for film breakdown, creating video playbooks of each team’s offensive and defensive sets as well as tracking team statistical trends. Hetzel got his start in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and served as their Assistant Video Coordinator under Head Coach Gregg Popovich (2005-06).
A native of Michigan, Hetzel attended Michigan State where he received his bachelor of arts in kinesiology with a specialization in coaching. He also served as the Spartans’ student manager under Head Coach Tom Izzo (2003-05). He and his wife, Anne, have a four-year old son, Aden, and will reside in North Canton.
Coach Hetzel will be introduced to Charge fans at a FREE fan fest on Saturday, September 14th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Memorial Civic Center. Fans will be able to play on the Charge court, get a locker room tour, play with games and inflatables, meet Cavs Legends and more!
Single game tickets go on sale Monday, September 16th at 10:00 a.m.! For a look at the complete 2013-14 Canton Charge schedule visit www.CantonCharge.com/schedule. To acquire a Charge Nation Membership for the season or for all general ticket information, fans can call 1-866-444-1944 or visit www.CantonCharge.com/tickets. Fans can sign-up to be a Charge Insider for breaking news and exclusive offers at www.CantonCharge.com/insider.
The Canton Charge are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Majority Owner and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League, both of which play their games at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.
Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team at: @CantonCharge on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CantonCharge and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CantonCharge.