Rivers glad to have fellow Chicago native Beverly on his side
Now that he's coaching the Clippers, Doc Rivers gets back to his hometown just once per season. So he had plenty of Chicago stories ready before Tuesday's visit to the United Center.
It started on the topic of injured Clippers guard Patrick Beverly, a West Side native who attended Marshall High School. Rivers starred at Proviso East in Maywood.
"The first time I met Patrick or saw him, we're playing the Rockets and during a free throw, he yells over to me, "We beat Proviso East!'" Rivers said. "I didn't even know at the time he was from Chicago. I said, 'Ridiculous, that never happened.' And I looked it up, he was lying. Wasn't even telling the truth. They didn't beat Proviso East, but he had like 40, so good for him. But Proviso East won."
Beverly, who joined the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade from Houston, had knee surgery on Nov. 22. The Clippers are missing another backcourt newcomer in Avery Bradley, who skipped Tuesday's game with a sports hernia.
"Our guard corps could be phenomenal," Rivers said. "I just thought defensively at the end of games, you put Avery and Patrick Beverly on the floor at the same time, there are either going to be stops or a fight. That would be a good group."
Doc shares positive thoughts:
Here are a couple more quips from Doc Rivers, always won of the best quotes among NBA coaches.
On why he went to Marquette instead of DePaul: "I did almost go to DePaul. That would have been too close to home. As much as I liked the school, I needed to go to school. With all my friends in the neighborhood, I don't think that would have gone well."
On cleansing the NBA of team tanking for better draft picks: "I'm on the board and I'm not smart enough (to find a solution). Clearly, no one else is either because we haven't done anything about it. I don't think players ever tank, I will say that. I don't have a solution to it. When you do go down that road and you lose a lot, that's no fun either."
Hoiberg descends into Madness:
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg did well in the NCAA Tournament when he was at Iowa State and still keeps an eye on the college game.
"I love this time of year," Hoiberg said. "It's a lot of fun, especially I've got a son that's involved in it that's really fun to watch. My wife went to their banquet Sunday. It's the best time of year. In my opinion, it's the best single sporting event on the planet."
Hoiberg's son Jack is a freshman walk-on at Michigan State. He's redshirting, so there's no point in arguing that Tom Izzo owes Hoiberg some playing time since the Bulls let MSU practice at the Advocate Center last week.
Hoiberg has already jumped on the Loyola bandwagon. He coached Missouri Valley player of the year Clayton Custer as a freshman before Custer transferred from Iowa State to Loyola.