A popular NBA veteran player and assistant coach, Roth took over the reigns in Bakersfield in February, making immediate roster moves and implementing this philosophical premise for the Jam players: “Every, single game is an audition to keep your job.”
Since the finish of the 2007-08 season, Roth has traveled more than a touring rock band, covering basketball camps and coaching hoops from Vegas to Atlanta, New Orleans to Phoenix, Orlando to the Dominican Republic. Enveloped in all of the travel is the undeniable quest of piecing together a winning roster for Bakersfield. As Roth was in transit from the Big Easy to the Magic Kingdom recently, he discussed the numerous objectives during the ‘summer of change.’
“Obviously, with this being my first full season with Bakersfield and having the entire off season to cultivate my own roster concepts, I wanted to make sure that we don’t skip a beat, with regards to having all of our homework done on player possibilities.” When asked about the 111 D League players signed into NBA camps, Roth confirmed, “We’re now in the stage where the D League guys are pushing the envelope of talent at pre-season camps, which is creating some pretty intense workouts. The bigger picture here is that these NBA players are starting to realize that there are some very capable guys waiting for their shot, and that is a very powerful motivator.”
Open tryouts for the Bakersfield Jam will be held October 11-12, and Roth is interested in evaluating the players. “Having scoured this region for talent over the last, six months, if there’s a player out there I don’t know about then I want them in Bakersfield next weekend.” Roth will have Jam assistant coach Dean Martin, along with NBA veterans, Sean Rooks and Tracy Murray to help facilitate the tryouts. Rooks and Murray also serve as analysts for the Jam’s TV broadcasts.
The bigger date on the calendar is November 7th, as the NBADL draft takes place. Roth looks for the Jam to have considerably more success than in its first two drafts. “The talent pool this year is deep, and we’re looking forward to this fun night with our fans and sponsors as they become part of this season’s story.”
As Roth was stepping on his plane, the discussion moved to his recent immersion into the podcasting world. “I’ll be doing podcasts all season long, and I’ve already started. I’ve always felt that the D-League is the perfect stage for giving fans an insight to the journey these players and coaches have embarked on. They’ll be fun, consistent and people from all over the world can follow the Jam and the D-League.” When asked if having a teen daughter has helped his tech skills, Roth shot back, “I’m very tech savvy. My friends call me Scott ‘Gates’ Roth.”
To follow Coach Roth on his podcasts, go to http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=scott+roth+podcast
The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league and features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams. The league has produced 15 percent of the players on 2007-08 end-of-season NBA rosters and continues to develop current NBA coaches and referees. In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote youth basketball, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs. The NBA D-League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout this season fans can watch all NBA D-League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast.
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