Jerry Stackhouse has made the first major addition to his coaching staff with Raptors 905, hiring Nicki Gross as a player development coach.
Chris Reichert of The Step Back confirmed the news Friday. It also would have been plain to see at training camp this week, where 17 players vying for 12 roster spots have gotten to work.
Gross joins Nathanial Mitchell, David Gale, and fellow new additions Donnie Tyndall (the master of the match-up zone and a former head coach at Morehead State, Southern Miss, and Tennessee) and John Corbacio on Stackhouse’s staff. A soccer player at Seton Hall, Gross transitioned to managing Monmouth University’s men’s basketball team while getting her Masters, then jumped to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League as a video coordinator. The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Iowa Energy, working her way up the ladder to become the D-League’s first female assistant. It’s pretty cool news for the 905 on the history/breaking barriers front, but also because multiple people around the D-League have spoken highly of Gross’ work and she stands to be a valuable addition to the staff.
One of Gross’ charges for at least today will be Bruno Caboclo, who was assigned for the first of many times on Friday. NBA teams don’t generally send their players on assignment during D-League training camp, but with the Raptors at home down the street for a game today, anyway, it’s an opportunity for Caboclo to get some additional work in and get acclimated with his new teammates and head coach. Caboclo will likely spend the season going back-and-forth between the Raptors and the 905, even just to get extra practice sessions in, as he did last season.
The 905 don’t play an official game until Nov. 18, but they have a pair of preseason games coming up. Given how thin the Raptors are and that the times nearly overlap, I’d be a little surprised if Caboclo suits up in the 905’s preseason opener on Sunday, but it’s entirely possible.
