He Believes: Mark Jackson brings dose of faith to Warriors
The Warriors could be in for another tough season. Just don't ask Mark Jackson to believe it.
With a little faith, the rookie coach said, anything is possible.
The Warriors made their own leap of faith by hiring Jackson, who on Christmas night will be coaching for the first time at any level. But the 46-year-old Jackson is certain he will transform the Warriors, a playoff team just once since 1994, into a winner.
Then again, Jackson is a man of abundant belief. An ordained minister with his own church in Van Nuys, Jackson calls himself "a born leader" who is meant to affect lives.
And he sees no reason why he can't win basketball games while continuing to record victories in that larger arena.
"I don't have to preach to them," he said of the players. "They're going to realize what I believe by the way I act. And guys will run through a wall for a coach who genuinely cares about them."
Players who arrived at training camp two weeks ago were largely unaware of their coach's pastoral work. Guard Stephen Curry said Jackson even had to explain the first day that they shouldn't misconstrue his calm demeanor for a lack of fire.