Vipers Add Madkins, Johnson And Jabour To Basketball Operations Staff
Published on November 6, 2009 under NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release
MCALLEN, TEXAS - The NBA Development League Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the NBA Houston Rockets announced today that Rockets' personnel Gerald Madkins, Brent "B.J." Johnson and Phillip Jabour will be joining the Vipers' basketball operations staff. Madkins will serve as Director of Player Personnel, Johnson will serve as Director of Player Development and Jabour will serve as Director of Scouting for Rio Grande Valley.
"The Rockets basketball operations staff has been working since June towards the Vipers' on-court success, and the addition of Gerald, B.J. and Phil to the franchise is one of the strongest indicators that the Rockets intend to place the best product possible on the court in 2009-10," Vipers President Brian Michael Cooper said.
Madkins, Johnson and Jabour will work with Rockets Vice President of Player Personnel Gersson Rosas, who is also the General Manager of the Vipers, as well as Vipers head coach Chris Finch and assistant coach Paul Mokeski.
"Gerald, Brent and Phil bring with them a wealth of basketball knowledge and experience in developing young talent. All three have played a vital role in the recent success of the Rockets and I'm looking forward to their input as we assemble our roster in the coming days. Their combined expertise will be a valuable asset as we continue building the Vipers into a perennial championship contender," Rosas said.
In his role of Director of Scouting with the Rockets, Madkins is responsible for scouting colleges and developmental leagues. Madkins joined the Rockets after serving as the Director of West Coast College Scouting for the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2007-08 season and as a scout for the New York Knicks from 2003-07. Previously, Madkins served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at his alma mater, UCLA, from 2001-2003 and at California State University from 2000-01. After a stellar playing career with the Bruins, Madkins began an eight-year professional career in 1992 that included stints in the Continental Basketball Association (Grand Rapids, Rockford), NBA (Cleveland, Miami and Golden State), Spanish Basketball League (Joventut Badelona), and French Basketball League (Pitch Cholet).
Johnson is in his 16th year as a scout with the Rockets and his 14th as a full-time member of the team's basketball staff. Johnson focuses his efforts on scouting talent at the high school, college and minor league levels. Johnson is a 1979 graduate of East Tennessee State, where he played guard for the Buccaneers and was a graduate assistant during the 1978-79 season. His coach at East Tennessee State was Sonny Smith, who was Charles Barkley's coach at Auburn. Upon graduation, Johnson played on Meadowlark Lemon's exhibition teams that toured throughout the world. He also played professionally in Mexico and Ecuador. After his playing days, Johnson worked for Schoenfeld Sports, a sports agent firm, until he got his start in scouting.
Jabour oversees all video projects regarding draft prospects, free agency, trade and NBA Development League player acquisitions with the Rockets. He travels regularly to scout the top talents in the NBA Development League and college. An intern with the Rockets during the 2006-07 season, Jabour was promoted to the fulltime position as Personnel Video Coordinator in September 2007. The 2006 Arizona State University Graduate worked as a member of the support staff for the 2006 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team that featured future NBA draft selections Michael Beasley (Miami Heat), Spencer Hawes (Sacramento Kings), Jonny Flynn (Minnesota Timerwolves), Donte Greene (Kings), DaJuan Summers (Detroit Pistons), and Jerryd Bayless (Portland Blazers).
NBA G League Stories from November 6, 2009
- Stampede Acquire Former NBA Player In Three-Team Trade - Idaho Stampede
- Bighorns Acquire Hubbard From Vipers - Reno Bighorns
- Mad Ants Acquire Kurz In Trade With Erie - Indiana Mad Ants
- Vipers Acquire Reno's Second-Round Pick: Trade Marcus Hubbard for Haminn Quaintance - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Skyforce Announces 2009-10 Training Camp Roster - Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Vipers Add Madkins, Johnson And Jabour To Basketball Operations Staff - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Jam Add Eight In Draft - Bakersfield Jam
- Mad Ants 2009 Draft Recap - Indiana Mad Ants
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.
