By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
James Gist is heading to the sixth generation of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board Coaches Academy to continue learning en route to becoming a professional head coach.
“I am looking forward to joining the Euroleague Basketball Coaches Academy. I think it is going to be a great opportunity to pick some of the greatest minds to ever coach the game, obviously, on the international level,” he mentioned on an EHCB video on Friday.
“Since I retired, my transition has been to get into coaching. So, that is my goal, one day to be a head coach. Hopefully, raising a trophy and teaching my team and my players how to win, as I did as a player,” he added.
Coming out of Maryland in 2008 and after being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA, Gist spent his entire career overseas, including 297 appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague between 2010 and 2022, establishing himself among the most dominating presences in the paint across European basketball.
“I appreciate the Coaches Academy giving me an opportunity, because I want to learn the other side of the game. Being a player is one thing, but seeing it from the other side is a whole different world. And I am enjoying it right now as a high-school basketball coach, but my goal is to be a professional coach at the highest level I can get to and win one day,” he said on his next step.
Visit the official portal of the EHCB Coaches Academy to discover more about the sixth generation and apply.