As T.J. Ford gets set to sign his contract with his new team the San Antonio Spurs, 
the opportunity to possibly coach Ford may not be just for head coach Gregg Popovich but Austin Toros coach Brad Jones as well.
Mikkayla Guillett of our Austin Toros affiliate site, TorosNation.com got to ask coach Jones what he thought about the Spurs signing Ford. Jones said he’d look forward to the opportunity to coach either Ford or rookie Cory Joseph if either player were sent to Austin.
“That would be terrific. I’m not so sure that TJ Ford’s thinking about coming to play for the Toros if that is true. The one thing that we have is a great relationship obviously with the Spurs and when they come here we try to make it as much like the Spurs in professionalism and the same type of comfort level that those guys have. Whether it’s him or Cory Joseph the rookie they drafted we get those guys it would be fun for our fans.”
As Jones mentioned, the Toros run an entire team system that is very closely tied to the Spurs. Though Ford is a seven year veteran, it may take some extra time for even a player like himself to learn Popovich’s system. Austin is the perfect place to get that extra training and in-game reps.
One last intesting note was that Jones may have been possibly aware of Joseph eventually making his way to Austin. Joseph was drafted out of the University of Texas were he was still seen as “raw” or unfinished product. As I observed him over the course of the FIBA Americas tournament in the fall, I can conclude that his offensive game needs a lot of improvement. If he does stay on the Spurs squad for the season, it will mainly be because of his attention to detail on defense. Joseph has deceptive quickness for staying with guards up-and-down the floor.
