Tibbetts Follows in Father's Footsteps

by Mark Ovenden
January 09, 2012 7:38 PM


Nate Tibbetts grew up in the shadow of his legendary father Fred Tibbetts, who was South Dakota's all-time winningest girls basketball coach until last month. Nothing would have made Fred prouder than the news that his son had been hired as an assistant coach in the NBA. Nate made a big impression on the Cleveland Cavaliers and that's why he's our Karls TV & Appliance Athlete of the Week.

BYRON SCOTT, CAVALIERS HEAD COACH:"We had a radar on Nate for the past couple of seasons-watched him work in the D-League, thought he was very enthusiastic, a very hard worker. Just really liked to grind and loves working with the players...

MARK: THEY LOVE HIM IN CLEVELAND...FROM BYRON SCOTT TO #1 DRAFT PICK KYRIE IRVING, WHO INCIDENTALLY NATE PUSHES VERY HARD ON A DAILY BASIS...

KYRIE IRVING-#1 PICK IN NBA DRAFT:"He just has a firey personality. He's just ready to be out there and work every single day. Every single day at practice whether I'm having a down day he just brightens me up...

MARK: FRIDAY NIGHT WAS A SIGNIFICANT NIGHT FOR ONE SIOUX FALLS NATIVE AS THE TIMBERWOLVES HOSTED THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS AT THE TARGET CENTER. IT WASN'T HIS 1ST GAME AS AN NBA ASSISTANT, BUT IT WAS NATE TIBBETTS' 1ST CHANCE TO DO SO IN FRONT OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

MICKI TIBBETTS, NATE'S MOTHER:"It's just really hard to put into words, it just makes me want to cry. I'm so proud of him and I know Fred would be just beside himself, it's just very exciting. He's worked so hard to get here but it's a dream come true..."

MARK: FOR NATE IT ALL HAPPENED FAST. IN FACT HE ALMOST DIDN'T GO TO CLEVELAND FOR THE JOB INTERVIEW BECAUSE HE HAD 3 GAMES TO COACH IN 4 DAYS. BUT THEY WAITED A COUPLE OF EXTRA DAYS AND THE REST IS HISTORY...FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS...

NATE TIBBETTS:"My dad was my best friend. We was a guy that I looked up to every day. He was my role model, he was a guy I wanted to be like and my mom will tell you ever since I was a little kid I was a gym rat. I always felt like I was gonna be a coach and a big reason was because of him...">