Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt and former Kansas Jayhawks player Evan Manning have joined the Arizona Wildcats. While neither will serve as head coach or assistant coach, they will both serve as advisors. Blatt has extensive coaching experience, having led the LeBron James-led Cavs to the 2015 NBA Finals in his first year as head coach.
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Evan Manning, on the other hand, led the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight before becoming an assistant coach at Wake Forest. Manning worked as an assistant at Army during the 2022-23 season. His father, former NBA player Danny Manning, still coaches the Demon Deacons.
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Blatt will be working for Arizona as a professional consultant. He is presently a consultant with the Canadian National team, which is competing in the FIBA World Cup. He is also a member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv management committee, an Israeli professional club.
Tommy Lloyd, who has coached the Wildcats for the previous two seasons, will be joined by David Blatt. In his first year as head coach, the Wildcats advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, followed by another tournament berth.
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Leading a team to the Finals in the first year is an incredible accomplishment. Given that the Cavs' leader, King James, was back, Blatt was instrumental in cementing the chemistry between a youthful Kyrie Irving and James. The Cavs faced the Warriors in the Finals, who were led by Steve Kerr and also made the Finals in his first season as head coach.
Though they did not win it all, Blatt's accomplishment was well lauded for someone who came from coaching in the EuroLeague and was named EuroLeague Coach of the Year. His first NBA season also saw him win the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month title.
Later in the 2015-16 season, the Cavaliers fired David Blatt, claiming a dispute with James as the reason. He returned to Europe for three years before retiring. Blatt was engaged as a consultant by the Knicks in 2019. Blatt has been in a similar job for a few years and would fit in nicely with the UA's staff.
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Manning was a member of four Big 12 championship teams during his time at KU. He was named Academic All-Big 12 in 2015-16 and scored 26 points in his career. Seven of his nine career field goals were three-pointers. During his four seasons, the Jayhawks won two Big 12 tournament championships and appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2016.
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He served as an administrative intern for the athletic department for one season. Manning graduated from KU in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in sport management and a minor in business. In 2021, he graduated from Gonzaga with a master's degree in organizational leadership.
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Following his first 33-4 season in 2021-22, the Wildcats had three starters taken in the top 35 of the 2022 NBA Draft. Lloyd is now dealing with another huge talent exodus, this time including star forward Azuolas Tubelis, after reloading and finishing with a 28-7 record in Year 2.
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