HORNETS ANNOUNCE BASKETBALL OPERATIONSSTAFF ADDITIONS AND PROMOTIONS
October 29, 2012
The New Orleans Hornets announced today the hiring and promotion of several members of the basketball operations staff.
Jimmy Polk takes over the role of Executive Director of Basketball Administration after spending the last two seasons as the Director of Player Contracts and Basketball Administration. The Rice University alumnus joined the Hornets prior to the 2010-11 season as the Director of Player Contracts and Basketball Administration.
Shane Kupperman steps into the role of Director of Basketball Operations in his fourth season with the Hornets. Last season, Kupperman served as Basketball Operations Coordinator and Coordinator of Statistical Analysis for the Hornets. The New Orleans native joined the Hornets prior to the 2009-10 season as a basketball operations assistant.
After serving as a scout for the Hornets since for the past two seasons, David Booth has been elevated to the position of Director of Scouting. Booth came to the Hornets in 2010 from his alma mater, DePaul University, where he served as an assistant coach during the 2009-10 season. From 2005-2009, Booth served as a regional scout for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Carlos Daniel enters his third season with the Hornets, and will now take on the roles of Assistant Coach and Director of Athletic Performance. He has served as the Director of Athletic Development for the Hornets the past two seasons. The Boulder, Colorado native served on the strength and conditioning staff for the San Antonio Spurs for the 2009-10 season prior to joining the Hornets.
Also beginning his third season with the Hornets, Bryson Graham enters his first season as the Head Video Coordinator and Player Development Coach. Graham previously served as the team’s Player Development Director and Basketball Operations Associate last season and as a front office intern during the 2010-11 season.
Terrence “Doc” Martin moves into the role of Director of Player Programs after serving as a scout for the Hornets the past two seasons. Martin joined the Hornets prior to the 2010 season, after spending the three previous years in Portland as a collegiate scout for the Trail Blazers. A four-year basketball letter winner from the University of Alabama, Martin also has experience as an assistant coach on the NBA Summer League teams for Portland and San Antonio.
Patrick O’Keefe comes to the Hornets to take over the video scouting coordinator position. O’Keefe spent the past seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as the video coordinator. The Indiana University alumnus spent two years serving as the assistant video coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2003-2005.
Marc Chasanoff is promoted to pro scout after spending last season as the assistant video coordinator and basketball operations associate for the Hornets. The Flagler College alumnus joined the Hornets in 2010 after serving as a basketball operations intern with the Charlotte Bobcats during the 2009-10 season.
Former rehabilitation specialist Cullen Nigrini will now assume the role of assistant strength coach. Nigrini joined the Hornets in 2011 and also served as the team’s physical therapist last season. Nigrini has experience as a physical therapist and athletic trainer with the Dallas Cowboys, University of Texas and North Austin Sports Medicine of Austin, Texas.
Jared Ralsky joins the Hornets this season as basketball operations assistant after spending last season with the San Antonio Spurs as a video intern. Prior to last season, Ralsky served as the Director of Basketball Operations and International Scouting for Fabi Shoes First Division of the Italian League.
Jamelle McMillan joins the Hornets as a coaching intern, coming to New Orleans from Drake University where he served as the Director of Basketball Operations. McMillan, son of former Portland Trail Blazer head coach Nate McMillan, played for four years at Arizona State University and led the Pac-12 in assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior.
Zach Schreiber comes to the Hornets from Tulane University, where he previously served as a student manager for the men’s basketball team for the past three years. Schreiber takes over the position of basketball operations intern for the Hornets and has previous intern experience with the New Jersey Nets and the National Basketball Retired Players Association.