The Utah Jazz announced today that Igor Kokoskov (kuh-KOS-kov) was hired as assistant coach, joining Head Coach Quin Snyder’s staff. In addition, Andrae Patterson has been named as player personnel/player programs coordinator.
Kokoskov has spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA, most recently with the Orlando Magic during the 2014-15 season. His previous NBA experience includes, one season with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2013-14), five seasons with the Phoenix Suns (2008-13), five seasons with the Detroit Pistons (2003-08) and three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers (2000-03). He reached the Conference Finals in each campaign with Detroit and captured an NBA title in 2004, becoming the first non-American assistant to win an NBA championship and the first to serve on an NBA All-Star Game coaching staff.
As a member of Alvin Gentry’s Los Angeles Clippers staff in 2000, Kokoskov became the first full-time non-American assistant coach in NBA History.
Kokoskov rejoins Coach Snyder after having also served as an assistant to him at the University of Missouri during the 1999-00 season, where Kokoskov became the first European coach to hold a full-time position with an NCAA Division I school.
In 2004, Kokoskov served as an assistant with the Serbia National Team at the Athens Olympic Games under renowned European coach Zeljko Obradovic. He has also served as head coach of the Republic of Georgia National Team for seven summers (2008-14), qualifying for the European Championships twice for the first time in team history. In 2012, he earned the Order of Honour, Georgia’s highest civilian honor, for his success with the team.
A native, of Belgrade, Serbia, Kokoskov became a United States citizen in 2010.
Patterson joins the Jazz front office staff after serving as an assistant coach for the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated D-League team, during the 2014-15 season. Prior to the Stampede, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at Arlington after two years as the school’s director of basketball operations/video coordinator and one as a student assistant.
He enjoyed a successful professional playing career that began when he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 46th overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, where he played from 1998-2001. Following his NBA career, he played nine seasons internationally for clubs in the top European leagues, including both CB Estudiantes (2001-05) and Bàsquet Manresa (2005-06) of the premier Spanish ACB League, as well as KK Zadar (Croatia-A1) and Panellinios BC (Greece-A1) in 2006, Ironi Ashkelon (Israel) in 2007, before finishing his playing career with Egaleo AO (Greece-A1) from 2007-09.
As a collegian, the Abilene, Texas, native played for Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight for four seasons at Indiana University (1994-98), where he was an All-American and four-time All-Big Ten selection and led the Hoosiers to four NCAA Tournament appearances while earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
