The Westchester Knicks, the official NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knicks, and first-year head coach Derrick Alston, announced the hiring of Lisa C. Willis and Allen Deep as assistant coaches on Monday morning.
“The Westchester Knicks continue to be a vital part of our player development program at the New York Knicks,” said Steve Mills, President, New York Knicks. “Today, we’ve added two talented coaches who will improve our players’ skills both on and off the court.”
Willis comes to the Knicks following the completion of the NBA’s Assistant Coaches Program (ACP), a program formed by the NBA G League’s Player Development department, providing an educational conduit for former NBA, WNBA and NBA G League players to coaching and front office opportunities. Current Westchester assistant, Keith Bogans, is also a product of this initiative.
A former fifth overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft, Willis played her first two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks before spending time with the New York Liberty (2007-08). At UCLA (2002-06), the Long Beach, Calif. native was recognized as the nation’s best defender by ESPN’s Nancy Lieberman. She later graduated as the Bruins’ all-time three-point leader and second all-time in then-PAC-10 history and ranked ninth all-time in scoring.
Deep arrives to Westchester by way of the Maine Red Claws, the official NBA G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics. During his time, two players received an NBA Call-Up including current Knick, Andrew White III, who spent time with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018.
A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2008) and the University of Akron (2017), Deep also serves as Support Staff/Player Development Assistant for USA Basketball and has since 2016.
“I am very excited to welcome Allen and Lisa to our Westchester Knicks family,” head coach Derrick Alston began. “Lisa has had the benefit of playing professionally and winning at the highest levels. Given Lisa’s acumen for the game, there is no doubt in my mind that her transition to the sideline will be seamless.”
Alston continued, “Deep has shared spaces with some of the NBA’s most esteemed coaches and has experience developing high level guys. Deep also has a great understanding of the NBA and G League landscape and will be a valuable asset for our organization as we continue to develop the next crop of potential NBA players!”
For its sixth season, the Knicks will open the 2019-20 regular season versus the Raptors 905 at the Westchester County Center Saturday, November 9 at 7:00 PM ET.
For information on Knicks’ season ticket packages, fans may visit www.WestchesterKnicks.com or contact the sales office at (914) 559-6889 or at westchesterknicks@msg.com.
