Florida Names New Head Coach
November 7, 2009 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release
Lake County, FL. The ABA Florida Thundercats announced the hiring of Head Coach Larry Lesset for their inaugural season that begins in December. "We are very pleased to have Coach Lessett as he comes with NBA, ABA and Division 1 coaching experience," stated team owner Kevin Simmons. "We believe this decision shows the commitment our organization has to bring high quality basketball to our community."
Coach Lessett has amassed almost 30 years of coaching experience, from AAU and the high school level through the professional ranks. He most recently was the head coach of the Potros Itson professional team in Mexico and have previous ABA experience in the ABA.He was the global scout for Magic Johnson
International Basketball, a Division 1 head coach with stops as head basketball coach at the University of Maryland/Eastern Shore, head coach and athletic director at Hiwassee College in Madisonville NN, and an assistant coach at Mercer University, DeAnza College, Georgia Southwestern, Georgia College, Santa Barbara College, Western New Mexico University, Loyola Marymount University and Cal State Northridge.
Of particular note are some of the people that Coach Lessett has coached:
Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
Tracy Murray, Toronto Raptors
Greg Graham, Seattle Supersonics
Forrest McKenzie, San Antonio Spurs
Keith Smith, Milwaukee Bucks
Eldon Campbell, Charlotte Hornets
Jarvis Basnight, New York Knicks
Cory Gaines, Seattle Supersonics
Trevor Wilson, Sacramento Kings
Ronnie Anderson, Philadelphia 76ers
"I can't tell you how pleased I am to be a part of the great effort that Kevin and his people are making in Lake County," stated Coach Lessett. "This is truly a first class organization that understands its obligation to the fans and the community. They given me an assignment to bring a championship caliber team here and that is exactly what I intend to do. During my last coaching stint in the ABA, we put together a team that was 32-12 over two season; I have no doubt we'll be as good or better with the talent we've identified."
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...
American Basketball Association Stories from November 7, 2009
- Stars Introduce New Book Reading Program - Kansas City Spartans
- Florida Names New Head Coach - ABA
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
