Ex-Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins bench boss Antonio Lang has earned a job in the world's premier basketball league. But he has no intention of cutting his ties with Japanese hoops; after all, he's grown to cherish the game here.
Lang was hired as a Utah Jazz assistant coach in late June. He said he's thrilled to have the opportunity to work for the Western Conference club under new head coach Quin Snyder, who also has international coaching experience, as an assistant for CSKA Moscow in Russia in the 2012-13 season. (Lang and Snyder are both Duke University grads.)
While he humbly said that he had a lot of luck to get the position, Lang emphasized that his stint as a sideline supervisor for Mitsubishi, an NBL team, played a key role, too.