Sean Rooks Died Hours After Interviewing For An Assistant Coaching Job With The Knicks

Clem6/08/2016 5:40 PM

The Vertical- Hours after interviewing for an assistant-coaching job with the New York Knicks on Tuesday, former NBA center Sean Rooks collapsed and died in a Philadelphia restaurant. Rooks, considered a warm and engaging gentleman within the basketball community, had been a player-development coach for the past two years with the Philadelphia 76ers.

“It is with deep sadness and overwhelming grief that we mourn the sudden loss of my son, Sean,” his mother, Deborah Brown, said in a statement released by the 76ers on Tuesday night. “Our family asks that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this incredibly difficult time.”

Rooks, 46, had traveled to New York and back on the train Tuesday, meeting with Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek, general manager Steve Mills and president Phil Jackson about becoming an assistant coach. Rooks and Knicks officials had departed the meeting enthusiastic that Rooks might join Hornacek’s staff and that an agreement could be reached soon, league sources said.

Real sad news that just came out of the blue last night. Obviously there has been a lot of talk on this site lately debating about if/when people should joke about a person after he dies. And I would say based on what his former teammates and coworkers said about him last night, Sean Rooks was a good dude that probably doesn’t deserve to get all the one-liners that were flying around about how working for James Dolan or coaching the Knick is worse than death. Obviously the Knicks can use all the help they can get and losing someone that was actually excited about coming to this franchise sucks. And then you read the statement from Rooks’ mom and realize just how insignificant sports is in the grand scheme of things. What a weird week it has been.

But in typical Knicks fashion, that wasn’t all. I doubt the two stories are related, but this morning news broke that Kurt Rambis and the Knicks were finalizing a deal for Rambis to join Jeff Hornacek’s coaching staff.

Now this is something that is fake sports sad to crack jokes about. One of the biggest losers in NBA coaching history staying with the longest running punchline in the NBA. Like I wrote yesterday, if you don’t think that Rambis will be viewed as a spy for the Zen Master to at least every Knicks fan, if not player and coach, I don’t know what to tell you. If anyone deserved a scholarship of being an assistant coach on the Knicks regardless of qualifications, it is Ol’ Sad Eyes himself, Patrick Ewing.