The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coach of the Year program recognizes member coaches who stand out, both on and off the court, exemplify and teach Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA S.T.A.R. qualities (Sportsmanship, Teamwork, positive Attitude, and Respect), while representing the hard work and dedication that make youth sports a rewarding developmental experience for players, parents, officials and other coaches.

“Providing positive examples of sportsmanship and teamwork for youngsters to learn from, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches of the Year teach kids how to play the game the right way,” said Bill Laimbeer, WNBA Champion Detroit Shock Coach and Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Advisory Council Member.

“The passion and commitment these coaches bring to youth basketball exemplifies the goals of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA,” said Nadine Glinski, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Senior Director. “It was a challenge to select 32 coaches out of so many deserving candidates, but this group stood out above the rest.”

Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA member league directors had the opportunity to nominate up to three coaches (male or female) from their league as a 2007-08 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coach of the Year. The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Selection Committee evaluated the coaches on eight categories including preparation, teaching and ethics. The committee also examined the league directors’ evaluation forms and letters from parents, players or other coaches associated with the nominee.

The following coaches are the 2007-08 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches of the Year:

Market	Name	Organization	City	State
Atlanta	William Tarver	Corpus Christi Youth Basketball	Stone Mountain	GA
Boston	Erin Clark	Newport Recreation Department	Newport	RI
Charlotte	Timothy Pittman	Whippoorwill Youth Athletic Association	Durham	NC
Chicago	Herbert Offord, Sr.	Country Club Hills	Country Club Hills	IL
Cleveland	Victoria Kukarola	Brunswick Youth Basketball	Brunswick	OH
Connecticut	Kerin Woods	New London Recreation	New London	CT
Dallas	Elaine Hutchinson	Denny Price Family YMCA	Fairview	OK
Denver	Ken Lancaster	Peterson Air Force Base Youth Center	Colorado Springs	CO
Detroit	Jeremy Brandt	JCC Kenny Goldman	West Bloomfield	MI
Golden State	Mark Popovich	City of Dublin P&R	Dublin	CA
Houston	David Smith	Salvation Army Boys &Girls Club	Beaumont	TX
Indiana	Troy Sego	Bloomington Youth Basketball	Bloomington	IN
LA Clippers	Arturo Chamo	Hollywood Recreation Center	Los Angeles	CA
LA Lakers	Angie Patrick	Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs	Palm Springs	CA
Memphis	Spencer Richardson	West Nashville Sports League	Nashville	TN
Miami	Jerome Bragg	YMCA “Maddie” Basketball League	Fort Lauderdale	FL
Milwaukee	Clifford Curtis, Sr.	Milwaukee PAL	Milwaukee	WI
Minnesota	Tony Bonillo	Columbia Heights P & R	Columbia Heights	MN
New Jersey	John Clark	McGuire Air Force Base Youth Programs	McGuire AFB	NJ
New Orleans	Nolan Carr	Kids Kollege	Pearl	MS
New York	December Bails	Roberto Clemente State Park	Bronx	NY
Orlando	Alex Mestre	FBVA Deltona	Deltona	FL
Philadelphia	Owen Weston	Penn Hills YMCA	Pittsburgh	PA
Phoenix	Simon Phipps	YMCA of Metro Phoenix	Goodyear	AZ
Portland	Ty Lakey	City of Salem	Salem	OR
San Antonio	Bob Lovett	PYBA	Pflugerville	TX
Sacramento	Josh Smith	Tulare Youth Athletic Association	Tulare	CA
Seattle	Shawn Osborne	Snohomish Boys &Girls Club	Snohomish	WA
Toronto	Dotty Kelland	Melville Stars Minor Basketball	Happy Valley-Goose Bay	Canada
Utah	Brad Dial	City of Shelley P&R	Shelley	ID
Washington D.C.	Pitman Kennedy	Andrew Air Force Base Youth Sports	Andrews AFB	MD
International	Stefan Taylor	BBaLL UK	Tonbridge, Kent	England

Completing its seventh season, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA has grown the game of youth basketball through recognition programs such as the Gatorade Championship Series, National Skills Competition, Pledge to be a S.T.A.R Summer Camps, Clinic Series, National Team and Coach of the Year. The program has reached more than ten million players, parents and coaches globally, providing a support structure that not only encourages participation, but also makes the game fun and rewarding.

As part of NBA Cares, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA provides instructional materials to players, parents, coaches and officials created by a distinguished group of experts, including nationally-recognized youth sports expert Rick Wolff, the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), and the Jr. NBA/ Jr. WNBA Advisory Council comprised of Ray Allen (Seattle SuperSonics), Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Danny Crawford (NBA Official), Lisa Mattingly (WNBA Official), Bill Laimbeer (head coach of the Detroit Shock), Doc Rivers (head coach of the Boston Celtics), Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) and Bill Walton (Hall-of-Famer and ABC/ESPN analyst).