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Maccabi Tel Aviv Hires New Coach

Assistant coach Guys Goodes gets promoted after David Blatt heads to NBA

by
Stephanie Butnick
June 19, 2014
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Guy Goodes. (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Guy Goodes. (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

A week after Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt announced he would be leaving the team for a job with the NBA, the Israeli basketball team has appointed a new coach. The Jerusalem Post reports that Guy Goodes, who served as Blatt’s assistant coach for four seasons, has been named head coach. Goodes, who was mentored by Blatt, signed a two-year contract with the team.

The 43-year-old also played for Maccabi for eight seasons between 1990 and 1998, retiring in 2004 following an injury ravaged career. He moved straight into coaching, guiding Maccabi Rishon Lezion for two seasons (2004-06) before returning to the yellow-and-blue as an assistant for two years (2006-08). Goodes left Maccabi for the head coaching position at Hapoel Jerusalem in 2008, but was brought back to Nokia Arena in 2010 to work under Blatt.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has been on a roll lately, with an unexpected win at the Euroleague Championship in Milan in May. Hopefully Goode can keep up the winning streak.

Blatt, meanwhile, reportedly had “a good talk” with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and is also meeting with the Golden State Warriors.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.