Jason Kidd got to throw from 60-feet, 6-inches last night.
The Nets’ newest head coach, and a future Hall of Famer, said part of the reason he attended Cal was because he thought he could be a two-sport start. His legendary high school career included a National Basketball Player of the Year honor his senior season, and he was a baseball standout, too, as a center fielder.
So two sports for the price of one scholarship. Almost.
“It was part of my recruiting to go to Cal because they knew I loved to play baseball. I don’t know if I was good enough to make the team, but I worked out with the guys, and it was a lot of fun,” said Kidd, who by all accounts was good enough to play. (Joe Nelson, a high school teammate and former major leaguer, said Kidd was the best athlete he ever saw, and MLB-worthy.) “But some of the other advisers were saying, ‘If you get hit, it’s not going to help.’ I took their advice.”
So Kidd, who with his son, Chance, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the second game of the Yankees-Dodgers doubleheader at Yankee Stadium (a perfect strike), stuck with basketball. Not a bad decision.
His 19-season career will bring him to the Hall of Fame, but it also has brought him to the hot seat in Brooklyn. As a first year — and first time — coach, Kidd is looking to fill his staff with experience. He has interviewed two guys, ex-Nets and Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank and Roy Rogers, who coached with Frank in New Jersey and Detroit. The two also were with Doc Rivers in Boston. There is nothing firm with either, Kidd said.
“I’ve always respected Coach Frank, [so] I kind of publicly recruited him because I really need him and want him,” Kidd said. “He brings a lot to the table. He’s had success here, understands the good and bad.”
Kidd shot down two reports — the more important being a court appearance stemming from his DUI arrest last July was scheduled for today on Long Island. Kidd declined comment on particulars of the case but said the hearing is next month. Numerous outlets reported a June 20 court date.
Kidd also denied longtime assistant Tim Grgurich is a candidate for his staff.
One point he did not deny is that coaching is a lot of work.
“We’re getting organized, that’s the biggest thing,” said Kidd, who threw out a first pitch at the old Yankee Stadium when he first joined the Nets. “As a player I can tell them they don’t want to rush to become a coach because there is a lot that goes on.
“This is all something new to me. You can talk to a lot of the coaches … and they can tell you. Until you go through it then you can understand what it’s all about.”