Cole did it too

Next season, when Warriors head coach Cole stands on the sidelines to coach, you may see a young face appearing next to Cole and delivering a few words. The young man is Nicholas Cole, and he is Cole's son.

On Cole's 60th birthday, the Warriors officially announced that they would promote Nicholas Cole to the team's assistant coach. As early as June this year, there was news that the Warriors would promote Cole's son to the coaching staff. Of course, Cole Jr. did not airborne to be an assistant coach, but he has worked with the Warriors for many years.

Cole Jr. is 32 years old and grew up in San Diego. He played college basketball at the University of San Diego and the University of California during his college years. Although he has been on the court, Cole Jr. never felt that he could take the path of professional basketball. Although Cole Jr. majored in business at University, he loved basketball so much because of his father. After graduating from university, Cole Jr. chose to work in basketball.

When he was still in college, his father had already achieved success in coaching and led the Warriors to his first championship in the 14-15 season. After graduating from college, Cole Jr. went to the Spurs to be an intern, and of course there is also a relationship with Cole.

In 2018, Cole Jr. joined the Warriors' team, and for the first three years he was responsible for player development and served as video coordinator. Many coaches now start with video coordinators, studying games and players on the field from a videotape to complete the team's tasks.

After learning three years of tactics and data analysis, Cole Jr. was transferred to the Warriors' Development League team Santa Cruz Warriors as an assistant coach in 2021. This is his first serious coaching job. Two years later, he was officially promoted to the head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors.

In two years, he led the team with a total record in the Development League of China of 59 wins and 44 losses, making him the second most winning head coach in the history of the Santa Cruz Warriors, and his ability has been widely recognized. So it is reasonable to be promoted to an assistant coach this year.

When I looked through Cole's resume after retirement, I found that his son's coaching resume was much more solid than his father's resume before he became the head coach of the Warriors. His father, Cole, was a commentator at the beginning after retiring, and later served as general manager at the Suns. He left the team three years later due to poor performance, and then he returned to his position as an interviewer.

Before becoming the Warriors head coach with a five-year, $25 million contract in 2014, Cole had never worked on a team's coaching staff, and then airborne became the Warriors head coach. I have to say that Lacob's courage is indeed extraordinary, and he gave him a five-year long appointment at that time.

Of course, Cole also proved his ability later, and his tactical innovation allowed the Warriors to win the championship in their first season. Compared to his father, Cole Jr. has no professional experience. He started from scratch and spent seven years from video coordinator to become an assistant coach next to his father.

In a sense, Cole can be regarded as a father and son on the same stage. Before Kerr Jr. welcomed his first game of his G League head coaching career, he advised his son: "Don't worry. When you stand on the court, you know what you should do, but soon you will find that it is the players who decide everything on the court in the end. 'Unfortunately, Stephen (Curry) will not be supported in your first game.'"

Although there is no Curry, Kerr Jr. also has his own ace player. In his coaching debut, Pojmsky scored 24 points and TJD scored 28 points, bringing Kerr Jr.'s victory in coaching debut. Many people in the Warriors lineup have played under Kerr's hands.

Of course you have to admit that Cole Jr. has taken the benefits of being Cole's son. Cole has played so long in the league. After retiring, he has accumulated a lot of connections as a commentator and general manager. Cole Jr. starts from his work much higher than ordinary people.

For example, everyone will admit that Brownie was selected by the Lakers because his father is James, otherwise he would likely start his career as a undrafted candidate. But whether it is Cole or James, what can be brought to his son is limited to bringing them into the game.

None of your dad will give you any extra help from the moment you enter Lakers/Warriors work. Your future achievements are all related to your ability and level of effort. Whether you can gain a foothold in the NBA anymore, whether you can advance upward, and get more playing time or coaching opportunities depends on whether you work hard enough and outstanding enough.

Warriors second-round pick Santos said of Cole Jr. "Everyone is looking at you and saying, 'You have to be like your father, you have to be better than your father,' Of course, he is Steve Cole's son and is proud of it, but I believe he wants to pursue his own path and justify himself."