Tom Thibodeau will make a return to coaching next season after being hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Thibodeau has reportedly signed a five-year deal worth upwards of $40m to return to the franchise he started his career with as an assistant coach during their 1989-90 expansion season.The 58-year-old was fired by the Chicago Bulls at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, despite a win record of nearly 65 per cent in his five seasons, and is currently working as an NBA analyst for ESPN. They have also brought in Scott Layden as general manager - he had been working as an assistant to San Antonio Spurs president RC Buford.We are extremely excited to welcome Tom Thibodeau back to the Timberwolves, owner Glen Taylor said in a statement.He is a proven winner, leader and one of the most well-respected NBA head coaches over the last decade. The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves has never been brighter.The Timberwolves finished last season with a disappointing 29-53 record and fired interim coach Sam Mitchell soon after their final game - Mitchell had taken over when Flip Saunders died last October after a battle with cancer.Despite that record, the franchise boasts two of the leagues most promising young players in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, at least giving Thibodeau something to build on.I started my NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and it is an incredible opportunity to rejoin the organisation at a time when they have what I believe to be the best young roster in the NBA, Thibodeau said.Together with a great owner in Glen Taylor and a terrific basketball partner in Scott Layden, I look forward to building a winning culture that Minnesota sports fans can be proud of. Jon Merrill Stanley Cup Jersey . 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Nate Schmidt Stanley Cup Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. MINNEAPOLIS -- Most of the sellout crowd of 5,392 packing the Sports Pavilion for Saturday nights NCAA regional final eagerly anticipated yet another victory by a Minnesota volleyball team that hadnt lost at home for more than two years.Yet five minutes into the match, against UCLA, the Gophers were in trouble. The Bruins jumped to a 6-0 lead, scoring three points on tips -- little finesse shots over the outstretched hands of Minnesota blockers that fell harmlessly to the floor behind them.In the last month the Gophers often found themselves in tough spots, especially that stretch of four consecutive five-set matches against ranked teams to close the Big Ten Conference season. Each time, with help from their coaches, the Gophers coolly corrected mistakes, puzzled out solutions and recovered to win the match.Saturday the Gophers gradually reeled the Bruins back, took their first lead at 21-20 with a run of four consecutive points, then prevailed 25-23, as six players combined on 14 kills. Big Ten Player of the Year Sarah Wilhite added nine kills and four digs in the 25-20 second-set victory. And in Set 3, setter Samantha Seliger-Swensons 14 assists helped close out the match, 25-22. With that, the Gophers advanced to their second consecutive final four.I thought they did a great job of slowly coming back, UCLA coach Michael Sealy said. Its not like they went on an eight-point run. It was two points and a side-out, one point and a side-out. So in the course of about three or four rotations, that turned into a two-point lead. Theyre a good team.The night before, facing Missouri in the regional semifinal, Minnesota lost the second set 25-21 before finishing off the Tigers in four. The Gophers won with contributions across the board: Five players with at least 10 kills, and four others with at least 10 digs. And their hitting percentage improved with each set, from .244 in Set 1 to a stunning .667 in Set 4.What makes them so good is the balance they have, Missouri coach Wayne Kreklow said. The more balance you have, the harder you are to beat.Can balance and resourcefulness deliver Minnesota (29-4) its first NCAA title? The second-seeded Gophers head for Columbus reasonably sure they can handle anything thrown at them. I dont think theres anybody out there theyre not capable of beating, Kreklow said.Minnesota showed that with its Nov. 23 comeback against top-ranked Nebraska. The Gophers lost the first two sets and trailed 23-20 in the third, at home. Minnesota scored the next four points to go ahead; fought off match point at 24-25 beforre going on to win 28-26; then won the next two sets 25-17 and 17-15 to steal the match.ddddddddddddThere was a point in that fifth set and I think we just looked to each other and we said, We have no doubt right now, said Seliger-Swenson, a sophomore and the Big Tens setter of the year. We believe in each other so much, and that really helps us in those tough moments in matches when its really close. I think thats something thats really special about this team.Four seniors -- Wilhite, hitting/blocking twins Paige and Hannah Tapp and defensive specialist Katie Schau -- carry the leadership burden while Seliger-Swenson and others pitch in. Junior middle blocker Molly Lohman, freshman outside hitter Alexis Hart, junior libero Dalianliz Rosado and junior backliner Alyssa Goehner contributed dazzling moments in Minnesotas four NCAA tournament victories. It doesnt all fall on Wilhite.Something weve always talked about is that our strength is in our unity, Wilhite said. I think thats really helped me take outside pressures and expectations and keep them out of the picture because I turn to my teammates in those tough moments instead of putting it all on myself.That, Kreklow said, makes the Gophers particularly tough.Its so hard because theyve got so many options, he said. If you slow one down, they go to somebody else. You slow them down, and they go to a third person. Their setter does a great job of delivering the ball, moving it around, finding the right person at the right time.This will be Minnesotas fifth final four appearance and second under Hugh McCutcheon, the two-time U.S. Olympic coach who took over the program in 2012. Only once did the Gophers advance to the championship match, losing in 2004 to Stanford, their opponent in Thursdays semifinal. Last year Texas eliminated the Gophers in four sets, with all but the last decided by two points.McCutcheon believes those tense final Big Ten matches toughened up his team for postseason.The biggest thing to me is to adjust in-match to different things that are going on, McCutcheon said. Weve had people try to attack us a lot of different ways, try to defend us a lot of different ways, and yet were still able to pick the lock and figure out how to win the next point. I think thats the rare quality.Now, whether that means were as good as we can be in Columbus, who knows? I personally think the team is well prepared. Were in a good space. But time will tell. Cheap Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap Jerseys Store ' ' '