ATLANTA, August 28, 2012 -The
Atlanta Hawks announced today that Head Coach Larry Drew has added Kenny
Atkinson to his staff as Assistant Coach/Player Development, and Bob Weiss as
Assistant Coach/Consultant. They join Assistant Coaches Lester Conner and Bob
Bender, and Player Development Instructor Nick Van Exel on the Hawks’ bench. In
addition, Rick Sund has been named Senior Advisor, Basketball Operations, and
Jeff Watkinson as Atlanta’s Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Atkinson comes to Atlanta
after spending the last four years as an assistant with the New York Knicks
where he helped the team reach the playoffs each of the last two seasons. Prior
to joining the Knicks staff, he spent the 2007-08 campaign serving as the
Director of Player Development for the Houston Rockets.
“Kenny has proven to be very
successful in developing young players in this league, and his energy and
enthusiasm are contagious,” Drew said. “We’re excited to add another dedicated
and hard-working coach and teacher.”
Before starting his NBA
coaching career, Atkinson spent three years as Director of Player
Development/Assistant Coach for Paris Basket Racing Club in France (2004-06) and
the summer of 2006 as Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach for the
national team of the Republic of Georgia. He was also a Reebok EuroCamp Coach in
Treviso, Italy during the summers of 2005-through-2010.
A standout collegiate player
at the University of Richmond, Atkinson was an All-CAA First Team selection as a
junior and senior (1989-90) and helped the Spiders to a Sweet 16 appearance in
the NCAA Tournament in 1988. He went on to play professionally in France,
Germany and Spain from 1991-2004.
Weiss is a former head coach
for the Hawks (1990-93), San Antonio (1986-88), LA Clippers (1993-94) and
Seattle (2005-06), and also spent time as an assistant coach with the Buffalo
Braves, Dallas, San Antonio and Orlando. In 2008, Weiss coached Shanxi Zhongyu
in the Chinese Basketball Association.
“Bob has been involved with
the NBA game a long time, and brings a wealth of experience,” Drew said. “I’m
looking forward to the contributions he’ll make to our staff.”
The 22nd overall
pick in the 1965 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Weiss played 12 NBA
seasons for the Sixers, Seattle, Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo and Washington,
averaging 7.6 ppg in 783 regular season contests.
Sund has over 37 years of NBA
experience, including the last four years as Atlanta’s Executive Vice
President/GM. The Hawks posted
a record of 184-128 under his leadership, reaching the playoffs
in each of his four seasons, and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals
three times. He’s also spent time as an executive with Milwaukee, Dallas,
Detroit and Seattle.
He
was a two-sport athlete at Northwestern University, where in basketball (as a
6-4 guard) he earned CoSIDA Academic All-America (third team) honors in 1973,
and was twice named academic All-Big Ten, while also seeing action as a tight
end and wide receiver on the football team. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
political science from Northwestern.
Watkinson owned his own
business for the last two years, working with NBA players on their strength,
conditioning and basketball development. Formerly the strength and conditioning
coach at Indiana University from 2006-10, he has held similar positions at
Missouri, Clemson, Charlotte and College of Charleston.
The suburban
Chicago native began his college studies in 1989 at Kishwaukee College in
Illinois, earning an associate's degree in pre-medicine. He then earned a
baseball scholarship to North Carolina State, playing two years with the
baseball team and graduating with a pre-medicine degree in 1993. Watkinson
earned his master’s in exercise science from Indiana in 1996.
The Atlanta
Hawks, a member of the National Basketball Association since 1949, play in the
Southeast Division, along with the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic
and Washington Wizards. For Atlanta Hawks season ticket information please call
1-866-715-1500 or visit
www.hawksseasontickets.com.