Basketball news: Jason Terry set to take over G League team, leave Arizona
The next stop on the path to the NBA for Arizona assistant coach Jason Terry is going to be Grand Rapids, Michigan. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that the UA alum and current assistant coach will be leaving the program to take over as head coach of the Grand Rapids Gold franchise, which is an affiliate of the NBA's Denver Nuggets.
Terry has been with the Wildcats for one year after joining previous head coach Sean Miller's staff ahead of the 2020-21 season. The move was Terry's first foray into college coaching after his NBA career came to an end after 19 seasons. He had previously served as a program director and coach for a girls club basketball team while also serving a role in the front office of the Dallas Mavericks G League affiliate.
The former UA star guard, who won a national championship in 1997 with the Wildcats, has been open about his desire to join an NBA coaching staff in the future. He was rumored to be involved in a potential opening on the Dallas Mavericks staff earlier in the summer.
Losing Terry would leave new UA head coach Tommy Lloyd with two open positions on his bench as he has yet to officially name the third full-time assistant on his staff. Phoenix Suns player development coach Riccardo Fois has been linked to the opening on Lloyd's staff, however.
Lloyd opted to retain Terry and associate head coach Jack Murphy to help create a link between his staff and the past at Arizona. The new UA head coach noted at his introductory press conference that he planned to have an "Arizona flavor" to his staff.
The Wildcats recently brought in former UA standout guard Jason Gardner as a director of player relations creating another link to the Lute Olson era for Lloyd.
Terry shined as a player for the Wildcats as part of the team to bring the only championship to the program back in 1997. He eventually played 129 games at Arizona and won Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior before embarking on an NBA career that lasted nearly two decades.
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