Dennis Rodman taps Rainmen coach for North Korea exhibition

Craig Hodges

Halifax Rainmen coach Craig Hodges can now add basketball ambassador to his resume. The former NBA sharpshooter is headed to North Korea for a week to perform with a collection of former NBA players picked by Dennis Rodman (6'9''-F-61, college: SE Oklahoma) to participate in an exhibition game in Pyongyang. Rodman leads a team that includes former NBA all-stars Kenny Anderson (6'1''-G-70, college: Georgia Tech), Cliff Robinson (6'11''-F-66, college: Connecticut) and Vin Baker (6'11''-F-71, college: Hartford). Hodges, who was the champion of the NBA three-point shooting contest for three consecutive years, joins ex-Raptor Doug Christie (6'6''-G-70, college: Pepperdine) and Charles D. Smith as other former NBA players on the squad. The team will play against a top North Korean senior national team on Wednesday, marking Kim Jong Uns birthday. Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in late 2011. Rodman calls the exhibition game his version of basketball diplomacy. Hodges left Halifax on Saturday, Rainmen owner Andre Levingston confirmed, and was to miss two games, including Saturdays tilt against the Moncton Miracles. Hell also miss Thursdays contest in Saint John, N.B., but will be back for Halifaxs next home game on Jan. 12 against the Island Storm. Assistant coach Don Sellers, who joined Hodges on the sidelines in late December, will coach the team until his return. Hodges, a six-foot-two shooting guard, averaged 8.5 points in 695 regular-season NBA games over 10 seasons, winning two championships with Michael Jordans Chicago Bulls. Now 53, hes demonstrated in shootarounds after Rainmen practices that he still has the keen shooting eye that made him the NBAs most efficient three-point shooter in 1985-86 and 1987-88.
Courtesy of: thechronicleherald.ca