Mad Ants' Tom Hankins named G League Coach of the Month for December
Mad Ants' Tom Hankins named G League Coach of the Month for December
He's guided the Mad Ants to the best start in league history, including a 13-1 record in December and an appearance in the Showcase Cup Finals.
One day after Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, another individual within the franchise has been honored.
Indiana Mad Ants head coach Tom Hankins is the G League Coach of the Month for December. He guided the team to not just the best start of any team this season, but also to the best start in league history with an 18-2 record.
The Mad Ants won 13 of 14 games in December. They reached the finals of the G League Showcase Cup, but then they ultimately suffered their only loss of the month to the Westchester Knicks.
Pacers first-round picks Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard have played six and five games, respectively, with the Mad Ants on assignment. Otherwise, they are led by two-way players Isaiah Wong (17.7 ppg), Oscar Tshiebwe (16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds per game) and Kendall Brown (16.3 ppg).
The veteran leaders are Elfrid Payton and Jordan Bell.
During Showcase games in December, they ranked fourth in the G League in scoring (120.5 ppg), first in field goal percentage (51.4) and 3-point percentage (42), and second in assists (29.4).
Hankins is in his fourth season as head coach. This is his first time winning this honor. Steve Gansey won it back in Nov. 2016.
“I absolutely love going to work every day,” he said before the season. “People talk about the grind of the G League and all the different things that you have to deal with — the travel, the buses, hotels, commercial flights — but that’s what I’ve done coaching college basketball my whole life. That’s not that big of a deal at all.”
Read more with Hankins:
