Stephen Silas has many reasons for wanting to coach USA Basketball in the FIBA AmeriCup qualifying rounds.
One of those reasons is his father.
Paul Silas passed away two years ago, and even though he had a long career as an NBA coach, he never had the chance to be part of the national team. So, when USA Basketball reached out to his son about coaching the team for games this weekend — Friday and Monday in Washington — and then two more qualifying games in February with a likely different roster, Stephen was excited to accept.
“I’m coaching Team USA, which is amazing,” Stephen Silas said. “That’s one part of it. And the other part of it is my dad never was on Team USA. He played in the league for 16 years, coached for 30 years and all that. And, unfortunately, he passed away, but I know he would be super proud that I’m coaching this team.”
The AmeriCup is the championship for the FIBA Americas region, and the U.S. is trying to qualify for the tournament next year in Nicaragua.
The U.S. will play Puerto Rico on Friday and the Bahamas on Monday, and then face those teams again on the road in February, with games scheduled for February 20 and 23. Silas will coach in those games, though it’s not yet known how many players from this roster will return for those games.
The qualification has four groups of four teams, and three teams from each group will make it to Nicaragua. Right now, the U.S., Puerto Rico, Bahamas, and Cuba are all 1-1 through the first stage of qualifying.
Silas is just happy to be back coaching. He spent three years as the head coach of the Houston Rockets during a rebuilding phase, with a record of 59-177.
Last season, he was an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, who struggled through a 28-game losing streak and finished with a 14-68 record.
“You learn how tough you are. You learn how much you love basketball, to go through the last four years that I’ve gone through in the NBA,” Silas said. “I still love to coach and want to coach after all those losses.
It really makes me understand how much I love the game and love to coach and to see guys improve. And I’m looking forward to my next opportunity.”
