SALT LAKE CITY — Nine months after his tenure with the Utah Jazz ended, Tyrone Corbin returned to his old stomping grounds for a walk down memory lane.
Unfortunately for Corbin, his homecoming included a 102-90 blowout loss to his old team and a costly technical foul.
Other than that, though, the former Jazz player and coach seemed genuinely happy to be in the arena where he played for three seasons and coached for 10.
His pregame interview included a lot of smiles and positive statements.
“It feels good to come back. I spent a lot of time here, met a lot of great people here,” Corbin told reporters outside of the visitors locker room an hour and a half before tipoff.
“A lot of great memories, great organization, good group of guys to work with, and I do enjoy coming back when I get a chance.”
This was the first time Corbin had been in EnergySolutions Arena since the organization decided to not renew his contract less than a week after the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.
Not long after the Jazz named Quin Snyder as his replacement — and only the fifth head coach of the franchise’s Utah era — Corbin landed on his feet in Sacramento as Mike Malone’s lead assistant.
Things took a weird turn, however, early in the season when Kings management fired Malone and hired Corbin on an interim basis despite a good start by Sacramento standards.
It was the second time Corbin became a head coach under bizarre circumstances. In February of 2011, he was dubbed as Jerry Sloan’s successor after the Hall of Fame coach and longtime lead assistant Phil Johnson shockingly resigned in the middle of the season.
Corbin’s time as the bench boss in Utah had a variety of good and bad times. It began with a rocky start, exacerbated by management’s decision to trade star point guard Deron Williams less than two weeks after he took over for Sloan.
The 2011-12 season was the highlight of Corbin’s Jazz coaching stint, as veterans Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap led the team to the playoffs in the lockout-shortened season.
Utah challenged for a playoff spot the following year before falling two games shy of the No. 8 spot with a 43-39 record.
Corbin’s final season was the toughest, as the team plunged into the rebuilding pool and finished 25-57. That dropped his record as a head coach to 112-146.
When he thinks back on his time in Utah, however, Corbin said he remembers the people that came into his path. He’s grateful for relationships with Sloan, Johnson and other assistants. He’s thankful for an opportunity to work with young and raw NBA players, from C.J. Miles to Gordon Hayward.
Corbin also fondly recalled memories of front-office personnel, including longtime executive assistant Judy Adams.
“It was a great ride,” Corbin said. “I have some long-lasting relationships I miss being around.”
Though he’s no longer affiliated with the Jazz, Corbin said he still keeps tabs on his former players. He’s proud of the progress made by Hayward and Co., whose careers were boosted by extra playing time under his care last season.
“The young guys here. To see them grow every year — although I’m not a part of where they are now — you kind of watch and see and pay attention to what’s going on to them,” Corbin said. “I want to see them do well. They continue to grow. It was a good time to be with a young group.”
Like he often did last season, Corbin credited his former Jazz guys for the fight they showed despite being young and outmatched most of the time.
“I thought those guys did a great job of just hanging in there and playing all year,” Corbin said. “We were outmanned a lot of nights and they competed for the most part. Even when we didn’t play our best game execution-wise, they came back and gave a great effort the next night out.”
Now he only hopes his current team will do that — if, that is, he gets a next night out.
Reports have swirled all weekend that George Karl and Sacramento management are negotiating a new deal for the former coach to take over.
Corbin said he didn’t want to talk about that unsettled situation.
He didn’t want to vent about what happened last spring when the Jazz let him go elsewhere, either.
Corbin, who received a nice round of applause from the Jazz crowd during introductions, said he’s not bitter.
“I’m fine. I understand the nature of the business. I played in it for 16 years. Changes happen. Change is part of it,” Corbin said. “I had a great 10-year span here on the coaching side of it. I played here for three years and met some great people. It’s a great organization to work for.”
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