Former Miami Heat guard Ray Allen has been hired as head boys basketball coach at Gulliver Preparatory School. The 46-year-old has no prior coaching experience but is widely regarded as one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history.
The move was first noticed by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, then confirmed by a recruiting website for Miami Dade High School Basketball. Gulliver Prep star Amare Sanders took to Instagram to show his excitement over Allen’s arrival. Gulliver Prep went 5-16 last season and 23-7 in 2019-20 under outgoing coach Gary Decesare.
Allen, a two-time champion, retired from professional basketball in 2016 after a storied 19-year career. He averaged 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game while shooting 40% from deep during stints with Seattle, Milwaukee, Boston, Miami. Allen was the fifth overall pick in the 1996 draft out of Connecticut. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Despite only playing two seasons in South Beach, the area must have made a lasting impression on Allen. It’s unclear if the South Carolina native (military child, via Germany, England, California, Oklahoma) has any connection to Miami other than his Heat playing days. Allen did hit one of the biggest shots in franchise history (Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals), arguably one of the most iconic shots in NBA history.
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Allen Turned Down Bucks Job in 2014
The Milwaukee Bucks — the team that drafted Allen in 1996 — recruited the legendary sharpshooter to return in 2014. Head coach Jason Kidd reached out to Allen personally to gauge his interest in him coming back as a player and mentor to the younger guys, sort of in the Udonis Haslem role.
Allen turned that offer down — and another one from the Boston Celtics — and eventually retired from professional basketball in 2016.
“We thought, just like the fans, that it might be a good situation for him to be able to come back and also teach the young guys,” Kidd told Slam at the time. “We thought he would be a good piece for us to try to get but he didn’t have any interest.”
Bimbo Coles Moves Back to Florida
Vernell “Bimbo” Coles is another former Heat player back in Florida. He had been coaching the boys’ basketball team at Greenbrier East High School in West Virginia but recently stepped down for a better opportunity.
Coles wanted to be closer to his son, Bailee, who is playing basketball at Field of Dreams Sports Academy (Port Richey, Florida — near Tampa). He decided not to stay at Greenbrier East on a part-time basis.
“The kids deserve so much more than me being there half the time,” Coles told the West Virginia Gazette-Mail. “Even during the season, I could have been there for games, but there would be times during the week where I’d miss practice, and as a coach, you need to be there for all the practices, not running around doing other jobs.”
Coles, a second-rounder in 1990, spent seven seasons as a productive point guard for the Heat. He averaged 7.8 points and 3.9 assists in 852 career games during stints with Miami, Golden State, Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston.
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