OKLAHOMA CITY, September 25, 2008 – The Oklahoma City Thunder added several members of the Basketball Operations staff for their NBA Development League affiliate the Tulsa 66ers, it was announced today by Thunder General Manager Sam Presti.
The club added Paul Woolpert as Head Coach, Greg Minor as Assistant Coach, Brandon Barnett as Manager of Minor League Operations and Anthony Aldridge as Athletic Trainer.
“We are pleased to welcome Paul, Greg, Brandon and Anthony to our organization,” said Presti. “The Thunder are a state-wide team and our staff in Tulsa will be responsible for carrying out our basketball vision with the 66ers. In doing so, Paul, Greg, Brandon and Anthony will work closely with our staff in Oklahoma City to ensure synergy within the teams.”
Woolpert joins the 66ers from the Continental Basketball Association where he won two consecutive Stan Novak CBA Coach of the Year Awards (2007 & 2008). During his eight-year stint as a head coach in the CBA, Woolpert led the Yakima Sun Kings to three CBA Championships. Woolpert’s 2007-08 Sun Kings team posted the best record in CBA history going 43-5 (.895), including a remarkable 31-1 to start the season.
Greg Minor joins the Tulsa from the Lawton-Fort Sills Cavalry in the CBA where he served as an assistant coach. The Cavalry, the 2007-08 CBA Champions, posted a 30-18 record en route to the CBA Finals. Minor, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Louisville, played five seasons for the Boston Celtics where he appeared in 277 regular season games.
Brandon Barnett will assume the role of Manager of Minor League Operations and will be involved in all of the day-to-day aspects of Tulsa’s basketball operations. Barnett, a Cleveland, Ohio native, previously worked in the NBA Development League office as the Sr. Coordinator of Basketball Operations.
Anthony Aldridge joins Tulsa from the Minnesota Timberwolves where he served as the assistant athletic trainer for two seasons. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Aldridge has served as the athletic trainer for the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League and the Senegal and Nigerian National teams.