HoopsHype.com Rumors

Part-time Spurs advance scout Rick Duque has known a different Popovich than the rest of us since their days together as recruit and coach in the mid-1980s at Division III Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, Calif. There was a bond built that remains to this day, a decade after Popovich's hard-wiring as a disciplinarian learned at the Air Force Academy, back when his foundation that has so much to do with the player-coach relationship was being formed. As is so often the case with Popovich, it all began with a shared love of wine and basketball. Duque's father, Henry, shared a passion for Popovich's favorite pastimes, so he and his wife, Judy, became instant friends with their son's new coach. Some 30 years later, Popovich still checks in with them. "When I graduated and (Popovich) left (for the NBA), he still continued to stay in touch with my mom and dad and with me as well," said Duque, who would only agree to be interviewed after receiving Popovich's permission. "He'll write handwritten notes to check in and see how they're doing and let them know how his life was. He still remembered who they were, even though he'd moved on to something bigger." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

While Popovich will never sing his own praises, his record does: a .681 regular-season winning percentage, four titles, the NBA's longest tenure. Next longest: the Boston Celtics' Doc Rivers, at nine seasons. Over Popovich's 17 seasons, the other NBA clubs have averaged seven head coaches. "He's actually, I think, a little more fiery now, if you can believe that," Duncan tells USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously he's been doing this for a long time, and I don't think his passion has changed. That's tough for the period of time that he's done it. And as I said, I think he's even more fired up now and wants it even more than he did before." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

"The opportunity to go to the Finals and to win a championship is very rare," star point guard Tony Parker says. "He realizes that and has got that fire from last year, too." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

Mike Monroe: Looks like Coach K just relegated #CoachPop to an afterthought re. Pop's dream of ever coaching Olympic team; Pop will be 71 in 2020 Twitter @Monroe_SA

Coaching, Gregg Popovich, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Colangelo planned on naming a coach by the start of the calendar year, but deviated from that plan in an attempt to convince Krzyzewski to come back. (He did not want to bother him during Duke's season.) A coach needs to be in place by the first USA basketball minicamp in July. Colangelo said he hasn't approached any other candidates. (The candidates widely speculated were Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins.) "I would never do that," Colangelo said about talking to other candidates. "I've said that from the beginning, for what he's invested in USA Basketball, he's entitled to make his decision before anyone." SI.com

Doc Rivers, Coaching, Jerry Colangelo, Gregg Popovich, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Doug Collins 

Sources say there is no leading candidate, though the Pistons' ability to pry an interview out of Mike Budenholzer certainly represented some leeway in the San Antonio Spurs veteran assistant coach's future plans. Budenholzer long has been considered the top choice to replace Spurs boss Gregg Popovich someday, and while that still could happen, there are only 30 of these jobs and that bird-in-hand thing to consider, if the Pistons' and Budenholzer's shared interest should take them deep into the search process. Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Gregg Popovich, Joe Dumars, Mike Budenholzer 

Jeff McDonald: Pop pregame: "Any other questions?" Some guy I don't know: "Have you seen any sunglasses? I seem to have lost mine." True (awesome) story. Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich 

The Spurs did something no team has ever done by rallying from 16 points down with four minutes or fewer remaining in regulation to win an NBA playoff game. Indeed, according to Las Vegas insider RJ Bell via the Elias Sports Bureau, teams had been 0-392 under those circumstances heading into last night’s game. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich 

Jeff McDonald: Someone asked Manu if Pop was like Kasparov in a playoff chess match. "More like Bobby Fischer," he said, "in the craziness." Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich 

Mike Monroe: Steph Curry, on Popovich comparing him to Michael Jordan: 'Was he drunk when he said that?' Twitter @Monroe_SA

Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Michael Jordan, Gregg Popovich, Stephen Curry 

Against Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker. And in this universe, that can only mean one thing: Final score, 120-89, the worst home playoff loss in franchise history. San Antonio up 3-0 in the series. “I thought our guys played as hard as they could play,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said after. “but they ran out of gas toward the end.” SheridanHoops

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Mike D'Antoni, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Mike Trudell: Asked Popovich how Duncan does it at this level 16 years in. Said Tim had extremely rare commitment, physically/mentally. Just like Kobe. Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Kobe Bryant, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Do you have any kind of relationship with Gregg Popovich? Goldstein: I’m not very close with Pop. We speak occasionally, but I don’t have the same kind of relationship I have with Peter Holt, for example. He can be a little sarcastic at times, to put it lightly. But obviously I respect him tremendously as a coach. I’ve always been a fan of the Spurs. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Peter Holt 

"I don’t really know," Popovich said when asked for his plan to integrate Tracy McGrady, who was just signed this week, into the lineup for the playoffs. "We’re going real slow. Just, we wanted to have another body, just as an insurance policy." Sulia

San Antonio Spurs, Tracy McGrady, Gregg Popovich 

Bill Plaschke: In San Antonio for 1st rd, Pop admitted worry about Spurs slow reg season finish..''We ended it worse than I can remember..I'm concerned.'' Twitter @BillPlaschke

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich 

While some face termination for not working hard enough, former Spurs forward Stephen Jackson said he was dismissed from the team for wanting to give more. “We had a disagreement,” Stephen told Sister 2 Sister about his most recent coach Gregg Popovich. “He wanted me to agree to players being better than me, and I didn’t agree. I’ve been in the NBA a long time, so it’s just something I didn’t agree with and something I have no control over. He’s the coach. He controls who plays, and he controls the team, which I do respect. At the same time, I know what I can do and what I been doing my whole career, and I’m far from ready to hang it up. So, I can’t let one person tell me where I’m at 35-years-old. To me, it just didn’t make no sense.” S2S Magazine

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Stephen Jackson 

However, the NBA veteran said if the Spurs’ management had either granted him more playing time or released him from his contract earlier, he may have been able to help another team advance to the playoffs. “It was talked about before the all-star break, before the trade deadline…about me not wanting to be here and me going to other teams, but they wouldn’t do it then,” Stephen explained. “If they would have done it then, I would be on another team right now.” S2S Magazine

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Stephen Jackson 

But as for this widely-held assumption that they wanted to face the ailing San Antonio Spurs, that they saw this oldie- but-goodie team as vulnerable and thus fought even harder to outlast the Houston Rockets in that overtime game on Wednesday that secured this matchup and got them out of facing top-seed Oklahoma City? That's where the boasting came to an end. "No, no no no no no," World Peace blubbered, his head shaking and eyebrows raised. "Not when you've got (Spurs coach Gregg) Popovich – uh uh uh uh uh. He's amazing. That coach is something else. I just know he draws up plays where he could have five old ladies after they eat 14 boxes of chocolate chip cookies. He'll put them on the court, and they'll win. That's how good Popovich is." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Metta World Peace 

For this widely-held assumption that they wanted to face the ailing San Antonio Spurs, that they saw this oldie-but-goodie team as vulnerable and thus fought even harder to outlast the Houston Rockets in that overtime game on Wednesday that secured this matchup and got them out of facing top-seed Oklahoma City? That's where the boasting came to an end. "No, no no no no no," World Peace blubbered, his head shaking and eyebrows raised. "Not when you've got (Spurs coach Gregg) Popovich – uh uh uh uh uh. He's amazing. That coach is something else. I just know he draws up plays where he could have five old ladies after they eat 14 boxes of chocolate chip cookies. He'll put them on the court, and they'll win. That's how good Popovich is." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Metta World Peace 

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says injured guard Manu Ginobili is “progressing” in his rehabilitation from a strained right hamstring. One day — perhaps soon — the team’s medical staff will clear the 35-year-old sixth man for full contact. Then, a familiar dance will begin. “He’ll be all over me (to play),” Popovich said. “I’ll try to hold him back, and he’ll push me and abuse me and threaten me so he can get on the court. Then we’ll come to some sort of compromise, once the medical staff says he’s OK.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, Injuries