Van Breda Kolff Hired As Assistant Coach
New Orleans (June 23, 2003) – The New Orleans Hornets announced that Jan van Breda Kolff will join Tim Floyd’s staff as an assistant coach for the 2003-04 season. The former college head coach and NBA/ABA player is the second assistant to be named to the Hornets bench after the team named Jeff Bower as an assistant last week.
“Jan will be a great addition to the staff,” said Floyd. “He played nine years as a professional and has an outstanding knowledge of the game. He also has a great offensive mind and will bring a lot of fresh ideas to the staff.”
Van Breda Kolff has spent the last 12 years as a college head coach at four different schools, compiling a record of 204-155 (.568) and leading his teams to two NCAA Tournament and five NIT bids. His most recent coaching stop was at St. Bonaventure, where he led the Bonnies to a 17-13 record and an NIT appearance in his first season and finished with an overall record of 24-35. Prior to his time at St. Bonaventure, van Breda Kolff enjoyed the most successful two years of his coaching career at Pepperdine, as he led the team to a 47-18 (.734) record, back-to-back 20 win seasons and consecutive postseason appearances. In 1999-00, van Breda Kolff was chosen the WCC Coach of the Year after the Waves went 25-9, tied the school record for victories, won the West Coast Conference regular season championship with a 12-2 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Van Breda Kolff (whose father, Butch, coached the New Orleans Jazz over parts of three seasons from 1974-77) has also served as the head coach for his alma mater of Vanderbilt, where he led his teams to a record of 104-81 (.562) over six seasons. He led Vanderbilt to two 20-win seasons, an NCAA berth in 1997 and NIT trips in 1994 (when they advanced to the NIT championship game), 1996 and 1998. Van Breda Kolff’s first head coaching job was at Cornell, where he revitalized the basketball program and led the Big Red to a 16-10 record (including 10-4 in Ivy League play) in 1992-93. In addition to his head coaching experience, van Breda Kolff served as an assistant under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton from 1987-1991. His first foray into coaching was as a player-coach in Italy from 1983-85.
Before establishing his name in coaching circles, van Breda Kolff spent nine years as a player in the ABA and NBA. He averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 598 games between the two leagues, including the 1976-77 season with the New York Nets, when he averaged 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 72 games. Van Breda Kolff also enjoyed an outstanding career as a collegiate player at Vanderbilt, as he was named SEC Player of the Year as a senior in 1974 and led the Commodores to the second round of the NCAA Tournament that season.
“Jan will be a great addition to the staff,” said Floyd. “He played nine years as a professional and has an outstanding knowledge of the game. He also has a great offensive mind and will bring a lot of fresh ideas to the staff.”
Van Breda Kolff has spent the last 12 years as a college head coach at four different schools, compiling a record of 204-155 (.568) and leading his teams to two NCAA Tournament and five NIT bids. His most recent coaching stop was at St. Bonaventure, where he led the Bonnies to a 17-13 record and an NIT appearance in his first season and finished with an overall record of 24-35. Prior to his time at St. Bonaventure, van Breda Kolff enjoyed the most successful two years of his coaching career at Pepperdine, as he led the team to a 47-18 (.734) record, back-to-back 20 win seasons and consecutive postseason appearances. In 1999-00, van Breda Kolff was chosen the WCC Coach of the Year after the Waves went 25-9, tied the school record for victories, won the West Coast Conference regular season championship with a 12-2 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Van Breda Kolff (whose father, Butch, coached the New Orleans Jazz over parts of three seasons from 1974-77) has also served as the head coach for his alma mater of Vanderbilt, where he led his teams to a record of 104-81 (.562) over six seasons. He led Vanderbilt to two 20-win seasons, an NCAA berth in 1997 and NIT trips in 1994 (when they advanced to the NIT championship game), 1996 and 1998. Van Breda Kolff’s first head coaching job was at Cornell, where he revitalized the basketball program and led the Big Red to a 16-10 record (including 10-4 in Ivy League play) in 1992-93. In addition to his head coaching experience, van Breda Kolff served as an assistant under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton from 1987-1991. His first foray into coaching was as a player-coach in Italy from 1983-85.
Before establishing his name in coaching circles, van Breda Kolff spent nine years as a player in the ABA and NBA. He averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 598 games between the two leagues, including the 1976-77 season with the New York Nets, when he averaged 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 72 games. Van Breda Kolff also enjoyed an outstanding career as a collegiate player at Vanderbilt, as he was named SEC Player of the Year as a senior in 1974 and led the Commodores to the second round of the NCAA Tournament that season.
