SHOOTING COACH

Bob Thate is entering his third full season as the Nets shooting coach, a position he held on a part-time basis during the 2004-05 campaign.

Thate is a graduate of Occidental College, where he set the school's single season record for scoring average (27.2) and points scored (598) in 1969-70, which earned him All-American recognition. Following a four-year professional career in France (where he once scored 74 points in a game), Thate embarked on a college coaching career that included stops at Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, University of California-Irvine and Long Beach State.

Thate and his two daughters, Taylor and Ali, reside in Bergen County, New Jersey.