Donnie Tyndall followed Dwane Casey to the Detroit Pistons organization and, after one year, has been named Grand Rapids Drive head coach.
Donnie Tyndall might be out of coaching if not for Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey.
Tyndall, 49, will be head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive, first reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman and confirmed by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
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Tyndall was given a 10-year show cause penalty by the NCAA for alleged academic fraud. USA Today’s Dan Wolken wrote that Tyndall would “likely never coach at the highest level again,” regarding college coaching.
The former Tennessee coach went 16-16 in his only season before being fired due to the allegations. He had won at Southern Mississippi (59-17 from 2012-14) and Morehead State (114-84 from 2006-12).
Casey, the second-year Pistons coach, was an assistant at the University of Kentucky while Tyndall led nearby Morehead State. The two established a relationship and became friends.
In 2016, searching for work, Casey hired Tyndall as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors’ Gatorade League affiliate, Raptors 905. After Casey was fired by the Raptors, following a 59-23 season that netted him the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award, he was hired by the Pistons. He brought Tyndall along to be an assistant coach with the Drive.
"“It was a no-brainer for me as far as a teacher and understanding the fundamentals of the game,” Casey told MLive’s Peter J. Wallner. “He’s a really, really good teacher for our G League team.”"
Tyndall is a head coach again. This time in his hometown of Grand Rapids, a Northview High School graduate.
Here’s what we know about Tyndall’s coaching style.