In 1995 the NBL was arguably the most successful period in Australian basketball history, the NBL was at it's peak and with the North Melbourne Giants reigning NBL champions they recruited Chris Jent, who had won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets only a few months earlier to replace an injury Paul Maley and formed a dynamic duo with Darryl McDonald.
The team was unable to repeat as champions, losing the deciding third game of the NBL Grand Final to the Perth Wildcats 108-88.
Jent averaged 25.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game and was named all NBL first team in the process.
Chris Jent was one of the greatest "one and done" players in NBL history and he joins the podcast to talk about his time in australia as well as his time playing for Ohio University, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Italy, Spain and Greece.
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Topics discussed on the podcast include;
Chris Jent elaborates on his coaching role with the Atlanta Hawks (2:00)
How he was recruited to Ohio State University, playing with Jimmy Jackson and facing Michigan's Fab Five (9:00)
The early 90's Continental Basketball Association and what that was like (13:00)
Going undrafted then being signed by the Houston Rockets and playing alongside Hakeem Olajuwon (15:00)
Coaching Atlanta's young stars Trey Young and John Collins and what he hopes to develop in them next season (16:00)
Winning the NBA championship with the Houston Rockets (18:00)
His 1995 season with the North Melbourne Giants (29:00)
His relationship with former coach Brett Brown now both are in the NBA coaching ranks (35:00)
His struggles with the Australian culture (38:00)
Returning to the NBA as a coach (41:00)
Working with LeBron James as his shooting coach and what Chris helped him change with his shot (46:00)
The biggest hurdle he overcame as both a player and a coach in the NBA (49:00)
The toll of minutes and travel in the NBA (52:00)
All of this and a whole lot more...
Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring;
Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Brad Newley
Current NBL Stars - Kevin Lisch, AJ Ogilvy, Damian Martin, Daniel Kickert, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason Cadee, Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Mitch McCarron, Cam Gliddon
Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Phil Smyth, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole
NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff
The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Andre Moore, Steve Woodberry, Mike Mitchell, Dusty Rychart
And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chuck Harmison, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner
All that and much more. Follow @AussieHoopla on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and email at info@aussiehoopla.com
