CLEVELAND: After he was fired as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks late in the 2006-07 season, Terry Stotts was unsure of his future. It was the second time he had been fired, and it wasn’t certain he’d get another chance.
The college game was one option and Europe was another, so one of Stotts’ first calls was to David Blatt. Stotts flew to Istanbul to meet with Blatt (he also met with European coaches Ettore Messina and Zeljko Obradovic on the trip) to learn the European game and gauge whether it was a fit for him.
“At that time, I didn’t know if coaching in Europe was in my future or not and I was really intrigued by the whole idea of going over there,” Stotts said. “David was very open with his time. I was at his practices, his coaches meetings, his team meetings and saw a couple games. For me, it was just a great experience to just see a different style.”
Stotts never had to make the move. He returned to the NBA as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks after a year away and worked his way back to coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, guiding the franchise to consecutive 50-win seasons.
Stotts remains thankful to Blatt for being so open, and Blatt seemed flattered by the call.
“That was a little unusual that NBA coaches would come spend significant time with a European team or coach,” Blatt said. “It really impressed me that Terry was so hungry to learn about European basketball and how we were doing things over there. It spoke volumes about the guy and his desire to broaden his horizon and to learn different concepts and maybe a different way to play.”
The pride of GlenOak
It took Blazers guard C.J. McCollum just 22 games to score more points this season than any in his career. McCollum, a GlenOak graduate, entered Tuesday with 425 points already this season and a 16.1-point scoring average.
Of course, McCollum was a reserve who fought injuries his first two years in the league, making this his first real shot following the free-agent departure of Wes Matthews. McCollum is certainly making the most of it.
Stotts said McCollum has gotten physically stronger and improved his ball-handling, but most importantly is just the opportunity to finally play.
“He’s not looking over his shoulder,” Stotts said. “You’re seeing the culmination of a lot of work and the fruition of that work.”
McCollum conceded it was frustrating watching guys taken after him in his draft class enjoying more success in previous years, but all of that is changing now that he is showing up more on opponent’s scouting tape.
“Obviously, I knew the opportunity would be here once we started clearing out the roster,” McCollum said. “There would be ample minutes up for grabs and I wanted to make sure I put myself in position to succeed. People don’t always succeed when they have the opportunity, but if you’re prepared, usually you’ll set yourself up for success.”
Dribbles
LeBron James said he had no issue wearing the tight T-shirt jerseys the Cavs wore for the second time Tuesday. James ripped the sleeves out the last (and only) time the Cavs wore them this season. … Tristan Thompson began the night 11 rebounds away from passing Tyrone Hill (2,785) for 10th place in team history. … J.R. Smith began the night six 3-pointers from passing Mike Bibby (1,517) for 23rd place in NBA history.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.