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Sidney Lowe laughed at the memory.
Lowe, two years removed from playing in the NBA, was expecting to use his first
couple of seasons out of the league learning how to coach the pro game.
But that's when the unexpected happened. Midway through the 1992-93 season. Jimmy Rodgers was dismissed as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lowe, an assistant, was appointed interim coach and later had to contend with the attitudes of Isaiah Rider and Christian Laettner in his 1½ seasons as head coach.
Lowe led the Wolves to a 13-30 record the rest of the 92-93 season and a 20-62
record the following year. Ticketmaster
"Everyone was so young," he said. "I was young, the team was
young. Our stars were J.R. (Rider) and Christian."
After stops as an assistant in Cleveland and Minnesota, and a head-coaching
stint in Vancouver/Memphis, Lowe is back with the Wolves as an assistant coach.
This time it's a team that is expected to be among the best in the Western Conference.
"It's a big difference now," he said with a chuckle. "Now it's
Kevin Garnett, (Latrell) Sprewell and (Sam) Cassell. It has been a process of
this franchise growing and growing and getting into the position where we can
acquire those kinds of players. Winning is a high priority now." Ticketmaster
It's only fitting that Lowe is back with the Wolves. He was a member of the
inaugural team in 1989, a television analyst for the club, an assistant coach
two seasons in the early 1990s, assistant again during the 1999-2000 season
and now an assistant coach again.
"In all the years I've been in the league playing and coaching, there's
only one place where I've bought a home — Minnesota," Lowe said.
"Twice as a matter of fact. I think it's meant for me to be here."
Maybe that's why Lowe never bought a house while he was a coach with the Grizzlies.
Like most young coaches trying to break into the coaching ranks, Lowe was hired
by an organization that didn't have much direction.
In two seasons with the Grizzlies, Lowe led them to back-to-back 23-59 records.
Then, after the Grizzlies opened last season by losing their first eight games,
Lowe met with Jerry West, Memphis' president of basketball operations, and the
two decided it was best to part ways. Ticketmaster
"We sat down, and we talked about it and it was kind of a mutual thing.
I thought it was the best thing for myself, and he was certainly in agreement
with that," Lowe said.
Lowe didn't stay out of coaching long. Although he didn't get a paycheck from
the Wolves, Lowe joined the team as a consultant in January. The Wolves officially
hired him on their coaching staff in August.
"I've always liked him, I coached him and I think the players respect him,"
Wolves coach Flip Saunders said. "He has good knowledge. It's very unfortunate
that his head-coaching positions have been bad jobs."
Lowe hasn't changed much since his early stints with the team. He still has
a passion for the game, and he still enjoys teaching defense.
"I've known Sid for a long time, and I think he continues to get better,"
Wolves assistant coach Jerry Sichting said. "The fact that he has been
a head coach a couple of different times has obviously helped him a lot."
The thought of being a head coach again lingers in Lowe's mind, but right now
he is using the time to help the team and learn from two other guys on the staff
with head-coaching experience — Saunders and Randy Wittman.
"I'm not thinking about that right now," Lowe said about a head-coaching
job. "I'm just trying to get my job done here. I think you get those opportunities
when you get the experience with a winning ball club. If it happens, great."