The College Park Skyhawks, the G League affiliate of the Hawks, has a new head coach. The team announced Tuesday that assistant Steve Klei will coach the Skyhawks.
Klei (pronounced Kly), who turns 31 next month, will take over from Ryan Schmidt, who led College Park to its best defensive season in franchise history as Skyhawks head coach last season. Schmidt will become a full-time assistant with the Hawks after splitting his time between the Skyhawks and main franchise last season.
The Hawks also announced Aaron Evans as the team’s fourth general manager in franchise history.
“It is an incredible honor to be named the next head coach of the College Park Skyhawks and continue as an assistant on the Hawks coaching staff,” Klei said in statement provided by the team. “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity and the belief that (Hawks general manager) Landry (Fields), (assistant GM) Kyle (Korver), and (coach) Quin (Snyder) have instilled, and I’m honored to play a part in helping carry out the greater vision of the Skyhawks and Hawks. I couldn’t be more excited to work alongside Aaron and our staff to put together a team that will continue to emphasize our commitment to development, and that will both compete and be a joy for our fans to watch.”
A graduate of Indiana University, Klei heads to the G League as the Hawks continue to develop not only their players but members of their staff. They’ve aimed to build a program with continuity and overlap between the Hawks and their affiliate.
In looking for the next coach of the Skyhawks, Snyder saw the value in having someone who already spent time in the system that Snyder and the team have begun to build. Klei came to the Hawks toward the end of 2022-23 season from Italian professional team Olimpia Milano, where he was director of player development.
“The way that I’ve kind of conceived or wanted (our system) to kind of unfold, is that there is a few really fluid interactions between the two teams – one program, two teams,” Snyder said. “And the people that are coaching in there, if those coaches can come and feel comfortable and understand and do the things that we’re doing, then they’re able to start that as a base there.”
Before that, Klei worked alongside Snyder with the Jazz for six years from 2016-22, spending time in the team’s player-development and advanced-scouting video program, including as head video coordinator. He eventually worked up to becoming a coaching associate. During his tenure with Snyder in Utah, the Jazz made the playoffs, with three trips to the Western Conference semifinals.
He also spent the 2015-16 season with the Canton Charge (now Cleveland Charge), the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavaliers, as a basketball operations assistant under current Nets coach Jordi Fernandez, and current Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey. While a part of Fernandez’s staff, Klei helped the Charge reach a 31-19 regular-season record, as well as an appearance in the second round of the NBA G League playoffs.
He also served as coach for two of the Hawks games at Summer League in Las Vegas in July.
Snyder noticed that Klei had a talent for seeing the big picture when he asked him to join his staff when he began has tenure with the Hawks toward the end of the 2022-23 regular season. The Hawks coach observed how Klei could work and teach multiple players based on how it fit the team as a whole, rather than on solely an individual level.
But Snyder had a feeling that Klei could take on that challenge three years ago, but gave him the space to see that.
With all of his experience, Snyder felt confident in Klei’s ability to see the big picture and that he can help the Hawks continue to build a program in College Park.
“I think kind of the sum total of his experience, everything from six years ago, when he was having to referee during practice and having, you know, Donovan Mitchell yell at him because he made what he thought was a bad call,” Snyder said.
“Like that interaction with a player, then the preparation that he did with me in the video room. Then the preparation that he did last year doing advanced scouting, the player-development component on the floor, all those things kind of collectively. A lot of it is when you’re good at what you’re doing, you gain confidence from that. And I think that’s really important. And I think his confidence over time is at a point where it’s seamless. It’s different, but he’s more than prepared for the role.”
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