The Brooklyn Nets Monday introduced their new head coach Kenny Atkinson to the media at6 their practice center in Sunset Park’s Industry City.
For Atkinson, who previously worked as the assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, this was about Atkinson’s coaching career coming full circle, back to where it all started, for the Long Island native. As a product of the metropolitan area, The coach wore his pride on his sleeve throughout the afternoon, continuing to express the ultimate excitement in coming back to his roots.
Before handing over the microphone to his new coach, General Manager Sean Marks started off the afternoon discussing his excitement about making his first head coaching hire here in Brooklyn.
“I sat with at least half a dozen and out of those guys it was pretty clear that Kenny was my No. 1 choice,” Marks said. “Going into it there was a familiarity with Kenny. I loved everything he stood for, what he was all about, his grit, his determination, his work ethic, but above all is just the person he is.”
Throughout the press conference, Atkinson, at times got emotional and afterwards he mentioned that seeing so many people in the audience, both family and friends that he grew up, made the day extra special. It was good to see the new coach let the emotion out. Brooklyn is a borough that thrives on passion and intensity and those are two traits that Atkinson exhibitedMonday.
What was puzzling about the afternoon was that neither owner Mikhail Prokhorov or Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark were in attendance. One would expect that either would have been in Industry City to help supply a vote of confidence for the new head coach, especially since Prokhorov has stated recently that he would become more involved with the team’s daily operations.
Possibly, their absence was a show of their own collective support for new GM Sean Marks. This was his decision and he is now the man responsible for the short and long term progress of this team. Either way, Marks had shown recently that he has the command to help steer the ship for Brooklyn, and he is ecstatic Kenny Atkinson, his number one choice, is his brand new skipper.
Now, the pressure will arise for the new, young coach. Sure, people need to be patient in order to see some positive results for this team, but this is New York where nothing but the best is always expected. And nobody realizes that better than Kenny Atkinson himself.
“It’s part of the job,” he said. “It’s New York and I get that and I accept it and I embrace it. I embrace the pressure and I know that comes with the territory, especially here.”
