Austin Ainge (born September 29, 1981) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach, executive, and former collegiate player. He is the current director of player personnel for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA).

Playing career

Ainge attended Highland High School in

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located southeast of Phoenix within the city's metropolitan area. Incorporated on July 6, 1920, Gilbert was once known as the "Hay Shipping Capital of the World". It is the fifth-larg ...

, where he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior. He was named Fiesta Conference First Team, Conference MVP, East Valley Region First Team, and East Valley MVP. Ainge had a successful basketball career at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

where, as a two-time team captain, he led the school to two Mountain West Conference championships, three NCAA tournaments and one NIT appearance. Ainge was named All-Conference Honorable Mention twice. During the 2006–07 season, he led the MWC in three-point field goal percentage at 52.5% and was one of the best three-point shooters in the nation.

Coaching career

On July 21, 2009, he was named the first head coach of the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

, an expansion team in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. In May 2011, Ainge was named Director of Player Personnel for the

. Previously, Ainge performed scouting duties for the Celtics organization. As a part of this position, he worked with Celtics rookies J.R. Giddens and

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

while they were on assignment with the

Utah Flash Orem, Utah Orem Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal ...

of the

. Prior to joining the Celtics front office staff, Ainge served a stint as an

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

for

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

, where he was responsible for perimeter players, recruiting, player development, video breakdown, and developing game plans. There, he worked under former

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

assistant and BYU coach Roger Reid.

Personal life

Austin is the son of former

player and former

President of Basketball Operations,

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-sp ...

. Ainge and his wife, Crystal (née Bluth), have three children: Andre, Finley, and Otto.

References

External links

*
Ainge bio
at ESPN.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ainge, Austin 1981 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Arizona Basketball players from Arizona Boston Celtics scouts BYU Cougars men's basketball players Maine Red Claws coaches People from Gilbert, Arizona Point guards Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area