Bob Ociepka, a Wolves' assistant for the past two years, will join Vinny Del Negro's Chicago Bulls staff for the 2008-09 NBA season. Also heading to Chicago is Bernie Bickerstaff, father of Minnesota's J.B. Bickerstaff.
Minnesota's coaching staff and players won't be the only ones in town to miss Ociepka, who was a regular and colorful contributor to timberwolves.com. Never turning down an interview, Ociepka frequently hooked us up with scouting reports like these:
(Bucks and
Warriors) and filled us with information based on his over 30 years of coaching experience.
Ociepka has been an assistant coach in the NBA for 19 years, including stops with Indiana (1989-90 & 1992-93), the L.A. Clippers (1993-94 & 1995-96), Philadelphia (1996-97), Cleveland (1999-2001), Detroit Pistons (1998-99 & 2001-03), Milwaukee (2003-04 & 2005-06) and Minnesota (2006-2008). He also served as an advance scout for the Orlando Magic in 1997-98.
Playing his college ball at Quincy (Ill.) College, Ociepka began his NBA career with Detroit in the 1980s as a part-time volunteer scout while coaching high school basketball. In the early 1980s, Ociepka was one of the Chicago area's most repsected prep coaches at Gordon Tech and York High Schools. His coaching efforts there were recognized on May 4, 2000 when he was inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame. The Chicago native, now able to head home thanks to the Bulls, has authored two basketball books: "Basketball Playbook: Plays from the Pros." and "Basketball Playbook 2: More Plays from the Pros," which were published in 1995 and 2001, respectively.
Bernie Bickerstaff, who served as head coach and general manager of the Charlotte Bobcats in their first three years before becoming the team's vice president of basketball operations last season, spent 13-plus seasons as a head coach in the league with Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte. He will go against his son, J.B., when the Bulls play Minnesota twice next season.
Perhaps Ociepka will have to turn timberwolves.com down for the first time when we ask him for a scouting report of the Bulls...
