Assistant Coach

Kyle Ramos

Kings head coach Dave Joerger has assembled his staff, which includes coaches with various levels of championship experience, like Bryan Gates.

Gates most recently served as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2015-16 season, but first got his start in the NBA as an assistant with the Kings in 2008.

Prior to his time in the NBA, Gates spent several years coaching in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association), USBL (United States Basketball League), NBA Development League.

During his time in the D-League, Gates found great success working with the Idaho Stampede, receiving the Dennis Johnson D-League Coach of the Year award on two occasions (2006-07, 2007-08) and also leading his team to the championship in the 2007-08 season.

Gates would go on to work in Sacramento and then New Orleans for five seasons before joining the Timberwolves last year.

He joins Elston Turner as one of two former Kings assistant coaches to make their return to Sacramento as part of Coach Joerger’s staff.

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Get to Know: Kings Assistant Coach Bryan Gates

After helping the Memphis Grizzlies reach the Playoffs in three consecutive seasons, Kings head coach Dave Joerger has retained several assistant coaches who helped them get there.

One of those coaches is Duane Ticknor, who served as an assistant alongside Joerger with the Grizzlies and is now a part of his staff in Sacramento.

Following stints in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association), IBA (International Basketball Association) and the NBA D-League, Ticknor was hired by Memphis when Coach Joerger took over before the 2013-14 season.

Ticknor has seen a notable amount of success while accumulating a vast amount of coaching experience dating back to 1989. One of his recent accomplishments was serving as the head coach and leading the NBA D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants to the first ever playoff appearance in franchise history during the 2012-13 season.

Along with lead assistant coach Elston Turner, Ticknor will continue to work with Coach Joerger in Sacramento after their time together in Memphis.

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Get to Know: Kings Assistant Coach Duane Ticknor

Alex Kramers

From holding her own against NBA players as far back as 1980 and becoming the first woman to play in a men’s professional basketball league to serving as the inaugural female head coach in the D-League, Nancy Lieberman has broken countless barriers in spearheading the women’s basketball movement throughout an esteemed career that spans five decades.

With the Sacramento Kings, the 1996 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has added a new milestone to her already illustrious résumé, owning the distinction of being only the second full-time female assistant coach in the NBA, joining Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs.

Nicknamed “Lady Magic” for her revolutionary passing prowess and flashy playmaking, the revered trailblazer carries a lengthy, decorated list of on-court accomplishments and basketball firsts. The initial two-time recipient of the prestigious Wade Trophy that recognizes the nation’s best women’s college basketball star, the three-time All-American became the youngest player – male or female – in Olympic annals to win a medal, bringing home the silver at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal at age 18.

On the heels of guiding the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs to back-to-back championships in 1979-80 and 1980-81 and nearly averaging a triple-double en route to leading the Dallas Diamonds to a title in the Women's American Basketball Association, the 5-foot-10 guard not only suited up for the L.A. Lakers Summer League squad, but commenced a pioneering, two-year stint in an all-men’s pro league – the United States Basketball League – where she was coached by Henry Bibby, the father of Kings legend and Sacramento-era assist leader Mike, in 1986.

The Brooklyn, N.Y. native continued to help shape the future landscape of female sports over the proceeding years, making history as the first woman to tour with the Washington Generals – the storied opponent of the Harlem Globetrotters – in 1988.

Coming out of retirement nearly a decade later, Lieberman averaged 8.3 points, 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals per 36 minutes in 25 contests with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in 1997, making the then-39-year-old the oldest woman to play in the league. After a three-year tenure as general manager and head coach of the Detroit Shock – during which she compiled the highest winning percentage of any expansion team in professional sports (.569) in 1998 – Lieberman broke her own record by staging an unprecedented comeback at age 50, dishing out two assists in nine minutes of action on July 24, 2008.

The following season, the groundbreaking legend returned to the sidelines as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Development League affiliate – marking the first time a woman held the position on a men’s professional basketball team. Lieberman – who simultaneously competed in the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game in 2009 and 2010 – guided the Texas Legends to a 24-26 record and a Playoff berth, prior to earning a promotion to the front office as an assistant general manager.

Widely respected and admired in basketball circles, the former ESPN-ABC basketball broadcaster and FOX Sports Oklahoma analyst on Thunder pre- and postgame shows emerged as a Kings assistant candidate and received an invite to accompany the team’s Summer League coaching staff.

Based on her extraordinary history in all facets of the game, remarkable wealth of knowledge and indicative testament of former NBA players during her D-League experience, the 57-year-old is indisputably qualified and perfectly suited for the position’s primary responsibilities, ranging from discussing strategy and game plans to preparing scouting reports to providing astute advice.

Having already spent considerable time with and making a strong impression on numerous Kings standouts – including No. 6 overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein in Las Vegas (video courtesy of News10.com), as well as veterans DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi – Lieberman will also serve a key role in fostering player development as a valuable motivator and teacher for younger players on the nuances of the game – all while continuing to pave the way for women’s progress in professional sports.

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Get to Know: Nancy Lieberman

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SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento Kings today hired Vance Walberg as an assistant coach, according to General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.   

A veteran of the coaching ranks with more than three decades of experience at the prep, collegiate and professional levels, Walberg joins George Karl’s staff after spending the last two seasons in a similar capacity with the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to his tenure with the 76ers, he was an assistant for Karl on Denver’s bench.

Walberg is known for his innovative offensive ideas and credited with developing the dribble drive motion offense—implemented by John Calipari at the University of Memphis and later Kentucky. His coaching resume includes three seasons at UMass as an assistant coach (2008-2011) after serving two seasons as the head coach at Pepperdine University (2006-2008). 

Prior to joining Karl in Denver for the 2011-12 campaign, Walberg led Fresno City College to a 133-11 (.924) record in his four seasons at the helm, including a perfect 34-0 mark culminating in a California state community college championship in 2005. His extensive head coaching background at the prep level includes stints at Clovis West, Newark Memorial, Los Altos and Mountain View High Schools. In 13 years at Clovis West (Fresno), Walberg guided his teams to a 343-68 record with nine league titles, 10 CIF Central Section Championship appearances, and three trips to the Southern State Championship Game.     

An alumnus of Cal State Bakersfield, the College of Belmont and Saint Mary’s College, Walberg and his wife, Rose have four children: Jason, Heather, Jaimie-Rose and Ian.

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Kings Name Vance Walberg Assistant Coach

Kings Rocket Department

Kings Assistant Coach Dee Brown dishes on Ben McLemore’s Dunk Contest appearance, team goals and his iconic shoes.

What are your thoughts on Ben’s Dunk Contest appearance at All-Star Weekend?

“It’s a great experience because you get the chance to be around a lot of other great players and legends, like Dominique Wilkins and Dr. J. I thought he did a really good job. I don’t think (the format) benefitted Ben because it didn’t give him a chance to showcase all the dunks he can do. I thought he represented himself and the Kings well. I wish he had been able to do more dunks, because there were a couple more we worked on that he wished he could have done. All-Star Weekend is all about the fans and interacting with them, and I think he did a great job. Hopefully it’s one of many, not just the Dunk Contest, instances of him being an All-Star – maybe the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge next year because I know he likes the environment. He knows how it feels now and I’m sure he wants to be there again.”

What are you most excited about for the final stretch of the season?

“I think the biggest thing with the second half of the season is not getting complacent and saying, “Hey, maybe we’re a little far behind on the playoff race, so now we have to shut it down.” We’re not about that. I think Coach Malone has set the tone and the things I’m most excited about are us improving every day, maybe seeing a little more Ben and Ray and just seeing what these guys can do. I think that’s the biggest thing: to build our talent base, our roster and see how it goes, and go into summer on a high note.”

What are your goals for the team during the final months of the season?

“I think we’re still trying to develop our culture and trying to be the kind of team we want to be. We want to be a defense-first team, we want to be a team that plays together and shares the basketball, and that’s not going to change. I think Coach Malone has set the tone of what we’re going to be no matter where we are in the standings, or who we’re playing… If it’s one of the better teams in the league or if it’s a lottery team, we just want to keep those things going, improve our younger players and build our team chemistry as the season goes on.”

Coach Malone has talked about it being time for other players to start stepping up. As an assistant coach, how important is it to focus on building the confidence of those players?

“It’s very important! If you’re trying to build a foundation of players here who you want to keep in the long run – obviously DeMarcus (Cousins) and Isaiah (Thomas) and guys like Rudy Gay are key players on our team – you have to have some supporting players who are ready to step up. If a guy gets hurt or has an off game, our job as assistant coaches is to keep those guys prepared… on the court, watching video. So our job never stops as assistant coaches of preparing those guys because you never know when those opportunities are going to come. When they do, you’re going to need to be prepared. Our job every day is going to be the same no matter if you’re at 15 games or 500, our job is to make sure these guys are prepared when Coach puts them in the game.”

Reebok has re-released the Omni Pumps several times, what does it mean to you to have the shoes you wore years ago be such a fan favorite today?

“I’m actually wearing a pair right now! They re-release them, come out with new versions, bring out the ones I wore in the dunk contest, and they bring out signature ones from 15 years ago. It’s cool. There’s not a lot of people who can identify with a shoe directly, like Michael Jordan has Jordan’s. When you think of a Reebok Pump, the first thing that comes up is me. It’s really kind of funny people still talk about it, and ask me about it everywhere I go! It really makes you feel good to establish something that left a mark on young fans who are now older fans and parents who say to their kids, “Hey, you don’t remember this guy but…” It feels really good that people still talk about it and when the shoe comes out, people get excited about it.”

What do you like most about Northern California?

“The weather! I love the weather, and it’s close to everything. Again, I’m an East Coast person so I’ve never spent any time on the West Coast, so to be here has been great. You have like a week of cold. I was with the Pistons the last couple years and it’s cold all the time there. I’m a Florida boy, so I’m enjoying this nice weather. I enjoy being close to San Francisco, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe… I haven’t had a chance to experience any of those places yet, but when I’m here in the offseason, I’ll get a chance to do those things and have my family out, because they’re still on the East Coast. Being in Sacramento, fans love their team and they have been great so far. With the new arena coming, there are big things coming in the next few years here.”

Ray McCallum | Rudy Gay | Aaron Gray | Quincy Acy

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Kings Q&A: Dee Brown

Get to know new Kings Assistant Coach Micah Nori, plus gain insight into the team’s scouting and game-preparation practices.

After spending 15 years with the Toronto Raptors – overseeing scouting operations and managing opponent preparation, as well as serving as assistant coach over the last four seasons – Kings Assistant Coach Micah Nori joined Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff in July.

“Things could not have worked out better,” says Nori. “I couldn’t have drawn up a better scenario if I was going to leave (Toronto) and come to a situation where you have every opportunity to be successful.”

In a recent interview with Kings.com, the former collegiate baseball standout at Indiana University dishes on his unique path to the NBA, breaks down essential scouting and preparation components and more.

What intrigued you most about the opportunity to coach in Sacramento?

“I’ve been very fortunate to be in one place for 15 years and worked for a lot of great people and a lot of great coaches in that time. If I was going to jump from Toronto for another opportunity, Coach Malone is one of the few people I’d take that chance with because he’s a great person, he’s a great coach and his ideals and philosophies are in line with mine. I’m just happy he welcomed me and asked me to be a part of what he’s doing here.

“As far as the staff, I didn’t get to work with his father, (Brendan Malone), in Toronto, but everybody knows him from his days in Detroit, Indiana and Orlando, so he’s been great to get to know on a personal level and to pick his brain. Chris Jent, (I admire) his work ethic and what he’s all about. Dee Brown was actually on the first two teams in Toronto I was a part of 15 years ago, so I’ve known him for a long time. I don’t know Ryan Bowen personally, but he’s one of those people (whom) everybody you speak to just raves about. Corliss (Williamson) was with us in Toronto for sixth months (while) I was on the staff, and he’s a great person.

“Also, I’m excited (about being in) the Sacramento market. I know there’s AAA baseball, but the Kings are the main attraction and the main focus of all the fans… I look forward to hopefully helping bring back the good old days, so to speak, as far as the atmosphere in (the arena).”

What excites you about the current Kings roster?

“What excites me is the youth and that we have players who want to work. They’re hungry to win and to prove they can get better. It’s what we noticed, even with the (veteran) guys coming in – Isaiah (Thomas), Jimmer (Fredette), Marcus (Thornton) and Jason (Thompson) were down at Summer League and DeMarcus (Cousins) came in, as well. Obviously, with Ben (McLemore) and Ray (McCallum), they’re young and working hard. So you have a bunch of guys who I really think are tired of not winning. We have the chance to build something the organization and fans can be proud of.”

Being around the game for so long, how would you characterize the best practices to prepare for opponents?

“I think the schedule dictates the type of prep you do, and the less time you have to get ready, the more the focus shifts on your execution defensively, your principles offensively and then energy – just making sure guys are rested and have fresh legs in there. The more time you have you can spend prepping for a particular opponent.

“With back-to-backs, you have to narrow it down and really pick out the top-10 percent of what the opponent is doing because you just don’t have the time. You’re trying to help players as much as you can during the game and leading up to it if they have any questions as far as the prep – which way guys are going to go, what they’re running, how they correlate to us defensively.

“When you have a day in between, you want to talk to them about the game you just played, and then start focusing on the next opponent. So you can start implementing some things – go over a couple of sets, what they’re going to do defensively and how we’re going to combat it. Now, instead of that 10 percent, you can get up to 40 percent.

“Then, when you have a stretch where you have two days in between, you can give them almost every bit of it. You can actually play against your opponent’s sets in practice and you can play it live rather than just in walkthrough situations.”

How much time do you devote to watching game film of each opponent?

“I would say, if you can, you’d like to watch a minimum of the last four or five games of the opponent before we play them. Your advanced (scout) is going to have at least two games within that window where he has been there physically and can get you the times and calls. Within those games, you get a really good feel of what they’re trying to do.

“You also try to find teams which are defending the same way as us. If we’re downing pick-and-rolls and they’re showing, or if we’re not a zone team and we’re more man-to-man, it makes no sense to break down that game.

“Elvis (Valcarcel), our video (coordinator), makes sure we have our film broken down, and he does a great job of getting it to us. Our job as assistant coaches is to take the plethora of information, filter it down and make sure we give the nuts and bolts of what they’re trying to do to Coach Malone.

“Coach Malone probably watches more film than even we do, but you don’t want to waste his time with things that aren’t important. So (we focus on) what they’re going to do in (a particular) situation (or) what they’re going to do late-game, and then he can decipher how he wants to attack them come game-time.”

Which other tools do you find beneficial in pregame preparation?

“There’s a program called ‘FastScout’ – the best way to describe it is it’s just like an organizer for all of your scouting reports. It’s set up a lot like your iTunes library, so you can have a playlist, you can search by team, search by year, sort by coaches – however you want. That’s what we use to build our templates and save everything.

“‘FastDraw’ is another one, where you draw up all the opponent’s plays. It’s the same type of (set-up) – you can have the full playbook, you can sort it by the top-10 plays they run the most, pick-and-rolls, post-ups, late-game (situations) or again by coach.

“The video format we use is ‘SportsCode.’ It’s how you can really break things down offensively and defensively. You can break it down to as much as who took the shot – you can look at their makes, misses and all types of (ways).

“The other thing we have is ‘Synergy,’ and it’s more of a statistical analysis, as well as video. It will break down which way guys go – such as Kobe (Bryant) goes left 53 percent of the time, and when he does, he’s at 1.2 points per possession. So you can see tendencies and tell guys what players are going to do in situations.

“(We also have) just a simple Word document that you can use to build tables for bench reports, meaning kind of like your cheat sheet.”

When did you first realize you were interested in coaching?

“My dad was a high school football, baseball and basketball coach, and I’ve always loved competition. I knew I wanted to coach in any sport (after college), but (mainly) basketball or baseball. When the opportunity came to work in the NBA, which is probably the greatest League in the world, if you ask me, (I took it).”

Coming from a baseball background, how did you first get your foot in the door in the NBA?

“Like most people, I played basketball and football growing up, but I was a better baseball player coming out of high school. I got a scholarship to play baseball at Indiana, and then once I graduated, I went to Miami (Ohio) for one year as a grad assistant for baseball.

“Then, I came back home, and Butch Carter, who was the head coach in Toronto, asked me if I wanted to come up and intern with the Raptors. He’s from my hometown of Middleton, Ohio. I told him I played baseball for the last four years and I’d been out of the basketball loop. He said, ‘It’s about relationships, hard work and getting guys to play hard. I can teach you the nuances of the NBA. I’m not going to ask you to teach Vince Carter how to shoot jumpshots.’ I lived with him for two years in Toronto and I just took notes, listened and learned.

“I’ve been very fortunate and appreciative of all the people who’ve helped me along the way. I’ve been fortunate to get good advice and I’ve been able to get some breaks here and there and been able to prove my work ethic and my abilities. The whole path I’ve taken, I look back and everyone always jokes, ‘Oh, you’re a baseball guy!’ I love baseball, as well, but now I’m almost 40 years old and this will be my 16th year. I’ve been doing this more so than I even played baseball!”

In addition to your father, who’ve been some of your coaching role models?

“Butch Carter was very good as far as Xs and Os and preparation … he was a great basketball mind. I’m fortunate I worked with Lenny Wilkens, who’s one of the winningest coaches of all time and a great person who gave me a lot of freedom to learn, expand and pick his mind. Kevin O’Neill is probably one of the best defensive coaches in basketball – he learned under (Jeff) Van Gundy – so I was lucky to work with him. Sam Mitchell played a lot of years in the NBA, so I learned from a player’s perspective how to deal with players. Jay Triano is a guy a lot like myself, who never played in the NBA, but got his break through hard work and is a great offensive-minded coach. And then I (worked with) Dwayne Casey, who’s been at every level in basketball, won a championship in Dallas and is a defensive-minded coach, as well.

“The one constant is I’ve been able to work with people who cared about me, who were willing to help me, were willing to share and were willing to answer questions. I would say I’ve taken something from all of them.”

How would you describe yourself off the court?

“I’m a lot more low-key – I like to have fun, I like to joke around, I’m probably more sarcastic than I should be. I try to be a father and a husband, which sounds crazy, but you’re working 14 to 16 hours a day, and especially during the season, you’re in basketball mode. I just enjoy watching my kids grow up.

“I have three brothers and sisters, my mother and father and my in-laws are all healthy, so family is a big part of what I do. When I do have time, I try to spend it with family rather than friends, because my time is so consumed with basketball.”

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Kings Q&A: Micah Nori

SACRAMENTO ---- The Sacramento Kings announced today the organization has added Ryan Bowen as an assistant coach and assistant director of player development, joining Brendan Malone, Corliss Williamson, Chris Jent, Micah Nori and Dee Brown on Head Coach Michael Malone's staff.

Bowen joins the Kings after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets. In his new role with Sacramento, he will support Dee Brown in all areas of on-court player development.

A 10-year NBA veteran, he appeared in 507 career games with the Nuggets (1999-2000 - 2003-04), Houston Rockets (2004-05 - 2005-06), New Orleans Hornets (2007-08 and 2008-09) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2009-10). His professional experience includes time playing overseas for Oyak Renault (Turkey) and Ironi Nahariya (Israel).

As a collegian, Bowen enjoyed a four-year career at the University of Iowa, posting 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest during his senior year in 1997-98.

Following retirement from professional basketball in 2009, Bowen returned to his alma mater as video coordinator for the Hawkeyes, working in that capacity for one season before departing Iowa City for a spot on Denver's bench serving under then Head Coach George Karl.

In addition to his coaching duties, Bowen remains an active contributor in the communities where he works, recently establishing the Ryan Bowen Family Foundation aimed at helping sponsor youth athletics and college scholarships for children.

Bowen and his wife, Wendy, have two sons, Benjamin and Zachary, and a daughter, Isabel.

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Kings Name Ryan Bowen Assistant Coach/Assistant Director of Player Development

--One of the most respected players in franchise history to join Michael Malone's staff--

SACRAMENTO ---- The Sacramento Kings announced today the organization has named Corliss Williamson as an assistant coach, joining Brendan Malone, Dee Brown, Chris Jent, and Micah Nori on Head Coach Michael Malone's staff.

Williamson, a 12-year NBA veteran, joins the Kings coaching staff after spending the last three seasons as the men's basketball coach at the University of Central Arkansas. His coaching career includes three years at Arkansas Baptist College, two as an assistant before serving as head coach during the 2009-10 season.

Known as "Big Nasty," Williamson played two stints with the Kings (1995-96 – 1999-00 and 2004-05 – 2006-07), averaging 10.8 points (.492 FG%, .683 FT%), 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 22.9 minutes per game in 466 career games in Sacramento. Renowned by teammates, coaches and fans for his gritty style of play, leadership abilities and consummate professionalism, Williamson also remains among the team's most charitable players in franchise history and the only two-time recipient of the annual Oscar Robertson Triple Double Award bestowed on the Kings player who best exemplifies excellence on and off the court.

Considered one of the greatest players in Arkansas state history, he enjoyed a storied collegiate career at the University of Arkansas, helping guide the Razorbacks to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1993 and an NCAA Championship a year later—earning Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament honors after leading the school to a 76-72 win over Duke. His stellar play again fueled the Razorbacks to a repeat appearance in the NCAA final in 1995. The following June, Sacramento tabbed Williamson with the 13th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

After playing his first five NBA seasons in Sacramento, Williamson was traded by the Kings to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Doug Christie on Sept. 29, 2000. He spent half the season with the Raptors before being dealt to Detroit, where he would ultimately earn a Sixth Man of the Year award (2001-02) and an NBA championship (2004). En route to helping lead the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title, Williamson joined an elite list of players to win both an NCAA title and an NBA championship.

Williamson would eventually play two more seasons in a second tenure with the Kings after being traded to Sacramento in 2005. He retired in September of 2007 among the all-time leaders in Sacramento era annals, ranking fourth in games played (466), seventh in field goals made (1,995), eighth in field goals attempted (4,057), ninth in free throws attempted (1,513), and 10th in points (5,026) and minutes (10,671).