Sixers assistant coach Billy Lange to take St. Joe’s head coaching gig

Philadelphia 76ers (now former) assistant coach Billy Lange will be giving up his role with the Sixers to become the head coach of St. Joseph’s University men’s basketball team, according to Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

St. Joseph’s has reached agreement with Billy Lange for the 76ers assistant coach to take over as head coach of the Hawks, according to several sources. - @jensenoffcampus

This is not much of a surprise, as Lange was rumored to be a finalist for the position at St. Joe’s well before today and he’s got a handful of ties to Philadelphia basketball. But the change is effective immediately and the Sixers were not able to prepare much for this development. Lange’s responsbilities as a member of Brett Brown’s staff were found on the defensive side of the ball, so he had a lot of influence on the game-to-game strategy of the team. Now with just eight games remaining until the playoffs, someone else will have to assume Lange’s responsibilities. My money is on Brett Brown increasing Monty Williams’ role in the wake of the departure.

The Sixers have released Brett Brown’s official statement on the matter:

STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF 76ERS HEAD COACH BRETT BROWN:

The pairing of Billy Lange as the head coach of the St. Joe’s basketball program is an incredibly natural fit.

As a Philly native, Billy’s basketball experiences as a head coach at Navy, an assistant at Villanova and six NBA seasons on our bench, provides a great base to develop, recruit and stamp his vision on a storied basketball program.

I am proud of his appointment and he and his family will be missed as friends and Billy in a professional capacity, very much.

He has been with me from day one and to see where he started and now where he has ended up, is a fantastic human and basketball story. We will be following him closely. Go Hawks.