Santa Cruz Warriors Name Casey Hill New Coach

This just in from the Warriors. Patch will post an interview with the new coach later today.

CASEY HILL NAMED SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS HEAD COACH

Former NBA D-League Assistant Becomes Second Head Coach in Franchise History

 SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The Santa Cruz Warriors have named Casey Hill as the team’s new head coach. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

 Hill becomes the second head coach in Santa Cruz franchise history and replaces Nate Bjorkgren, who led the Warriors to a 32-18 record and a berth in the NBA D-League Finals last season.

 Hill spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Santa Cruz Warriors/Dakota Wizards, where the team posted a 61-39 (.610) regular season record. As part of Bjorkgren’s staff, Hill coached five Golden State Warriors during their assignments while developing five players who went on to earn call ups to the NBA. Last season, the team broke NBA D-League records in total rebounds, defensive rebounds and lowest opponent field goal percentage. Most recently, Hill helped lead the NBA D-League Select Team to a 4-1 record as an assistant coach at 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

“This is a tremendous step forward for our organization,” said Santa Cruz Warriors General Manager Kirk Lacob. “Casey has proven he can succeed and work exceptionally well with the Golden State Warriors staff on all aspects of development. We have a bright young coach at the helm and we look forward to the future under the leadership of Head Coach Hill.”

Prior to joining the Santa Cruz staff, Hill worked under his father, longtime NBA coach Bob Hill, with the Tokyo Apache, a professional team in Japan. Hill is a graduate of Trinity University, where he was a member of the Bantam’s basketball team.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me, and I’m excited about what lies ahead,” said Hill. “Santa Cruz has the best fans in the NBA D-League, and I can’t wait to have them behind me and the team every step of the way. The Warriors have built something special here, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”