Playing in-your-face defense was Metta World Peace's calling card when he was still in the NBA. But what's he like as a coach?
Known as a tenacious defender who could easily get under a player's skin, World Peace is bringing the same mentality to his coaching career.
"[As a coach] you wanna focus on picking up and playing defense. I think that's what i like about me coaching because I'm gonna have my teams play a lot of defense," World Peace said Friday on SportsCenter Philippines.
World Peace did some coaching in the NBTC National Finals when FilAm Sports USA, the team his son Jeron Artest plays on, faced the San Beda Red Cubs. FilAm Sports USA bowed out of the tournament after losing in the Fantastic Eight.
"It was fun. I had the opportunity to come out here and coach a game. My son Jeron invited me and coach Bong [Ulep] invited me to coach and I told them it would be an exciting opportunity to coach here in the Philippines," he said. "I wasn't excited about the loss even though it was a fun game. The kids were competitive, my son is super competitive and hates losing."
The former NBA star even earned a technical foul in the second quarter of that loss.
"It's always good to get a technical when you're a coach," he said. "It's very good to show support for your team. Our players were getting fouled and the refs weren't calling fouls. We got fouled multiple times. But I don't want my players to get the tech, so I get the tech."
World Peace, who's had some coaching experience back in the U.S., said coaching allows him to approach the game an entirely distinct way.
"Coaching is different because you're not out there playing, so the players are always going to do all their work. The key [to coaching] is not to get in the players' way, give them a little structure, let them be free and do what they want."
He added that some of the things he applies in his coaching he got from playing under several successful NBA coaches.
"A lot of the spacing techniques and cutting, especially with offense. Sometimes you can put in an offense that act as a defense. Most players want to play offense, but I need them to play defense. So I like offenses that flow right into defense."
For most people, having a former NBA player as a dad is one thing, and having him as a coach is another. But Artest welcomes the idea of learning from World Peace both on and off the court.
"He's always given me tips. It's been the same kind of relationship," Artest said. "[He's taught me] to never give up and always make sure you keep on trying."
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