Tom Abatemarco, otherwise known around town as "Coach T," is leaving the Kings organization and joining Jeff Bzdelik's coaching staff at Colorado. Except for a two-year hiatus as Rick Majerus' lead assistant at the University of Utah, Abatemarco has been a basketball fixture around Sac for the past 12 years. A former men's coach at Sacramento, he also was a radio analyst during Kings pregame and postgame shows, an assistant on John Whisenant's Monarchs team that won the WNBA title in 2005, and when the franchise folded in December, joined the Kings basketball operations as a scout. (This, despite his friendship with Whisenant, who remains on cool terms with Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie. You can be sure that Kings co-owner Joe Maloof had something to do with that). Anyway, best of luck to Coach T, a quirky personality with a terrific basketball mind and extensive contacts in college basketball. I am still mystified as to why the Kings' front office types failed to take advantage of Coach T's sourcing and strong college background, but then again, I'm not so surprised. Though the Kings' business side has been a revolving door for years, Petrie runs a closed, tightly-knit basketball shop. He relies on a handful of trusted advisers, including his son, Mike, all of whom have been with him for more than a decade.
News, observations and reader questions about the Sacramento Kings and the NBA.
March 19, 2010
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