Ex-Los Angeles Lakers champion Lamar Odom is considering coaching hoops at one of the high schools he spent time at as a prep player. According to reports, Odom is considering an offer to become the next head basketball coach at Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, New York.
Odom spent part of his senior year at Redemption after leaving Christ The King High School due to poor grades.
Coaching Redemption
TMZ Sports reports Odom reached out to his former school inquiring about the current head coach and the conversation led to the offer. The former Sixth Man of the Year knows basketball, but he hasn’t coached on any level before.
Not to mention that would mean moving from Los Angeles to upstate New York for at least six months every year. Odom has just invested in a string of California rehab centers that have been transformed into “Odom Wellness Treatment Centers” designed to save the lives of drug and alcohol addicts.
But Odom is seriously considering making the move as Redemption is said to hold a special place in his heart. No doubt he would feel a strong connection to a school that took him in after he left Christ The King.
The ball is in his court as the school has given him a few weeks to make a decision.
Odom allegedly wants to coach college ball in the future according to the report. This would be a step in that direction.
As always, Odom’s No. 1 priority should be retaining his own sobriety. If he and his team feel that he can do that and take on a job like this, more power to him.
Odom Was A Baller
Odom was selected fourth overall in the 1999 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He played 14 seasons in the league, was a two-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.
He played collegiately at Rhode Island for one year (1998-1999), where he was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year. This following a distinguished prep career where Odom played for legendary New York City high school Christ The King, Redemption, and the now-defunct St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He was a two-time Parade All-American and the Parade Player of the Year in 1997.
