Profiling the Hornets’ new assistant coaches

Feb 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; A basketball rest on the court in the first half of the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; A basketball rest on the court in the first half of the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 11: Head coach Tyrone Corbin of Utah Jazz looks on from the sideline during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on February 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 11: Head coach Tyrone Corbin of Utah Jazz looks on from the sideline during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on February 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

TYRONE CORBIN

Tyrone Corbin had been a known candidate to join Steve Clifford’s staff for some time now, with Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reporting the news last month.

A native of nearby Columbia, South Carolina, Corbin will be the lead assistant and is the lone assistant on staff to have served as a head coach at the NBA level, leading the Utah Jazz from 2011-2014 and stepping in as the interim head coach for the Sacramento Kings for 28 games during the 2014-15 season. Corbin has a career record of 119-167 and managed to guide the Jazz to the playoffs in 2012. In 2013 he led the Jazz to a second consecutive winning season, but Utah finished 9th in the competitive Western Conference with a 43-39 record. The 2014 season was a struggle as Utah went just 25-57, resulting in Corbin not being offered a new contract. Ironically, the team’s struggles were largely due to the departure of leading scorer and rebounder Al Jefferson, who left Utah in free agency to join Charlotte. Corbin’s tenure in Utah also overlapped with current Charlotte forward Gordon Hayward’s first four years in the NBA.

Corbin enjoyed a 16-year playing career in the NBA, spending time with nine different teams. Before that, he enjoyed a standout collegiate career with the DePaul Blue Demons, a career which earned him induction into the DePaul University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

Corbin has been in coaching since 2004 and has an existing connection with Steve Clifford; the two worked together during Clifford’s tenure as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. In Orlando, Corbin was a part of a staff that helped guide the Magic to two consecutive playoff berths and a Southeast Division title in 2019.