LA D-Fenders Name Conner Henry As New HC

On Wednesday the Los Angeles D-Fenders named Conner Henry their new head coach. Henry was an assistant for the Lakers’ affiliate in the 2011-12 and 12-13 seasons. After his departure from Los Angeles, he took over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and had an outstanding career. He led the team to two straight D-League Finals appearances and claimed the title in the 2013-14 season.

A great move by the D-Fenders to bring Henry back to the club. D-Fenders President Joey Buss on the hiring via the D-Fenders site.

"“We consider him to be the best coach in the league. His leadership is effective for winning and developing players, having earned a championship and development award in the last two seasons.”"

Henry helped the Mad Ants play great defense, something the D-Fenders lacked. The Fort Wayne squad was 1st in steals, 3rd in rebounding and 5th in blocks. They allowed only 99 PPG, second stingiest defense in the league. Also they were a high-scoring offense as they led the D-League in that department. Scoring wasn’t the issue for LA, but rather stopping their opponents was the main reason for their 17-33 record. Henry had a 62-38 record as Fort Wayne’s HC.

So what does this mean for the Los Angeles Lakers?

It’s a huge boost for a rebuilding team to bring in a coach that develops young talent into NBA-ready players. The Lakers finally decided to utilize their minor league resource for untapped potential last season. Granted the Lakers were decimated by injuries. It got too a point where it was comical at the high-rate players were dropping. It proved to be a blessing in disguise because the Lakers found nice pieces for their rebuilding project. And under the ecstatic new HC coach, the rewards can payoff in the near future.

Best of all coach Henry wants to be here.

"“I would like to thank General Manager Nick Mazzella and the Buss family for having the faith to bring me home to pursue an NBA D-League Championship. Our coaches, players and management will have one goal in mind, and that’s for our team to compete nightly while representing the Lakers, D-Fenders and our fans.”"

The Lakers found a few gems in the D-League that showed some promise. Jabari Brown was the first player called up and impressed right off the bat. Brown led the D-League in scoring at the time of his call up. His good performances were rewarded with a multi-year contract from the Lakers. Vander Blue and Dwight Buycks also played well in their short stints with the purple and gold. I can see both players form part of the Lakers’ Summer League team.

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Jordan Clarkson spent some time in the D-League and showed the world what he could do. He averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and about 8 assists for the D-Fenders. His game definitely translated to the NBA as he had an outstanding rookie year. In 38 games as a starter, he scored 15 points and chimed in 5 assists and 4 rebounds. His impressive display earned him Rookie of the Month for March and was named to the All-Rookie first team.

The Lakers have three picks in the upcoming draft including No. 2 pick overall. They could potentially be adding three young players who may benefit getting some experience in the D-League under new HC Henry. As this new crop of talent marinates in the D-League, the rest of the youngsters will be getting well seasoned with the first team.

It’s a win-win situation for both the Lakers and D-Fenders. To have a coach in their minor league ranks that preaches defense could only benefit the new batch of youngsters who could make the jump to the senior roster. In the end a great hire for the Laker organization.

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