Cooper Takes Helm As Nuggets' New Coach

DENVER (AP) - Michael Cooper began his first day as head coach of the Denver Nuggets with a team meeting, giving each player a frank assessment of his role now that Cooper is running the show. Then he took his players onto the practice court to work on defense.<br> <br> If Day 1 is any indication, the Nuggets can expect a lot of unflinching honesty and demand for hard work - especially on defense - from their new coach. They can also expect him to push them to be more than just a little above average, which is pretty much the best the Nuggets franchise has ever been.<br> <br> &#34;As Pat Riley once said, `If you don&#39;t talk about being a champion, you&#39;ll never be a champion,&#39;&#34; said the former Lakers star, who won five NBA titles - four with Riley as his coach.<br> <br> Most of the discussion will revolve around defense, just as most of Denver&#39;s first practice did Wednesday. <br> <br> At the end, with Cooper kneeling on one knee, the Nuggets went through the &#34;Shell Drill,&#34; a contest in which points came easier by making stops on defense than making baskets on offense. Bodies were flying - at one point, Bryon Russell, Marcus Camby and Andre Miller all went down in a heap. Earlier in the workout, guard Greg Buckner left with a groin strain.<br> <br> &#34;The first practice was short, but it was competitive,&#34; Carmelo Anthony said. &#34;It was hard and to the point.&#34;<br> <br> Miller said the Nuggets are still getting used to Cooper on this, the day after Jeff Bzdelik&#39;s midseason firing. The point guard did, however, say he appreciated Cooper&#39;s candor during the pre-practice meeting.<br> <br> &#34;Coach let the people know right to their face what he expects of them,&#34; Miller said. &#34;There were no hidden agendas. That&#39;s how it should be.&#34;<br> <br> Cooper figured he probably surprised some players by talking so much about winning a title, but he&#39;ll make no apologies for high aspirations. That&#39;s pretty much all he knows. Besides the five titles he won on the &#34;Showtime&#34; teams of the 1980s, Cooper also coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA to two championships.<br> <br> &#34;When I first came here, I pulled Marcus, Carmelo and a few other guys to the side and started talking championship and they looked at me like I was foreign,&#34; Cooper said. &#34;They understand what I mean now.&#34;<br> <br> The coach&#39;s arrival in Denver last offseason raised eyebrows, mainly because the Nuggets gave him a three-year contract, while his boss, Bzdelik, had only one year left on his deal.<br> <br> General manager Kiki Vandeweghe said the Nuggets had to offer Cooper a long-term deal to lure him away from the Sparks. Vandeweghe insisted the plan was never to replace Bzdelik with the former Lakers star.<br> <br> But after a 13-15 start, and with 16 of the next 25 games on the road, Vandeweghe decided now was time for a change. The Nuggets were expected to be among the better teams in the Western Conference. If they keep playing the way they started, they won&#39;t even make the playoffs.<br> <br> &#34;We haven&#39;t been running enough,&#34; Anthony said. &#34;We need to get 28, 30 points off our fast break. That starts with defense. Everybody&#39;s got to play defense.&#34;

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