Mark Jackson was formally introduced Friday afternoon as the 24th head coach coach in Golden State Warriors history in a San Francisco-based press conference. Jackson also used the press conference to introduce Mike Malone as the lead assistant on his coaching staff.
Joe Lacob opened the press conference with a quick explanation of the hiring process. Lacob indicated the hiring committee, which included the owners, Larry Riley, and Jerry West, among others, interviewed upwards of a dozen candidates. Jackson was apparently the first candidate interviewed and Lacob came away impressed with how the interview went. He repeatedly referred to him as the most experienced candidate they interviewed, even though Jackson has no coaching experience.
When Jackson spoke after Lacob, he addressed the experience issue. He spoke of how his work as a point guard led to his becoming an extension of the head coach out on the floor. Additionally, in his attempts to form a coaching staff, he indicated he would be looking to hire guys who are prepared to be head coaches. It could be viewed as a Lincoln-esque "Team of Rivals", which would seem necessary for a coach with no traditional coaching experience.
Jackson spoke about his previous coaches and how he learned different things from each coach and he would use all of that to develop as a coach himself. The most interesting point to come out of this was that he viewed Rick Pitino as the best coach he ever played for throughout his college and professional career. The reason for that accolade was the fact that Pitino instilled in Jackson the confidence that he was a great player who could run through walls. Considering Jackson has played for some Hall-of-Fame coaches, that's high praise.
We'll have more on the Mark Jackson introductory press conference, but in the meantime, here is his opening statement.