Sixers Hire Ex-Nets Coach

September 3, 1999 / 7:53 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Former New Jersey Nets coach John Calipari was chosen as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced Friday.

Calipari will join assistants Maurice Cheeks, John Kuester and Randy Ayers under coach Larry Brown.

"Coach Brown has been a mentor and friend for a long time," Calipari said in a statement released by the team. "This is an excellent opportunity for me to help the 76ers and to grow as a coach."

Calipari, who helped turn the University of Massachusetts into a national power as a college coach, was hired by the Nets on June 7, 1996, taking over one of the league's worst teams. The Nets went 30-52 the previous two seasons under Butch Beard.

A protege of Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, Calipari was given the power to change the Nets from a perennial loser into a winner, and made some progress. But following the NBA lockout, the Nets failed to rediscover the chemistry that made them one of the most exciting young teams in the league two seasons ago.

In two-plus seasons as Nets coach, Calipari had a record of 72-112. His 1997-98 team made the playoffs, but was swept by the eventual champion Chicago Bulls in the first round.

Calipari is a native of Moon, Pa. and played collegiately at North Carolina-Wilmington and Clarion.

In other personnel news, the 76ers promoted Tony DiLeo to director of player personnel. DiLeo, the team's director of scouting for the past five years, replaces Kevin O'Connor, who left the 76ers for the Utah Jazz.