Knicks expected to add Billy Lange to coaching staff

Former Sixers assistant Billy Lange is expected to leave his position as the men’s basketball head coach at Saint Joseph’s University in order to take a job on the Knicks‘ staff under new head coach Mike Brown, according to Pete Thamel, Jeff Borzello, and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).

A New Jersey native, Lange has been coaching since 1996, primarily in the college ranks. After taking a series of jobs at smaller programs, he joined Villanova as an assistant from 2001-04 under Jay Wright, was Navy’s head coach from 2004-11, then rejoined Villanova as Wright’s associate head coach from 2011-13.

Lange subsequently made the leap to the NBA, working as an assistant on Brett Brown‘s coaching staff in Philadelphia from 2013-19. He returned to the NCAA in 2019 as the head coach at St. Joe’s and has spent the past six seasons in that role.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), the expectation is that Lange will oversee the Knicks’ player development program. He served in a similar role during his time with the 76ers in addition to being involved in Philadelphia’s offense.

The Knicks have made a handful of changes to their coaching staff since bringing in Brown to replace former head coach Tom Thibodeau. New assistants Chris Jent and Brendan O’Connor are expected to run the offense and defense, respectively, while New York is also bringing in former Birmingham Squadron head coach T.J. Saint.

Additionally, the Knicks are retaining several coaches from Thibodeau’s staff, including Rick Brunson and Maurice Cheeks, and are adding Charles Allen and Riccardo Fois, a pair of player development assistants who worked under Brown in Sacramento.