Kuester: It all started at Benedictine

Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester said he encountered "very special" people while attending Benedictine.

Somewhere, John Kuester believes, Warren Rutledge is smiling.

Kuester, named the Detroit Pistons' coach yesterday, played for Rutledge at Benedictine High School during the early 1970s. Kuester said his journey to an NBA head-coaching job was greatly aided by several lessons he learned from Rutledge, who coached the Cadets for 43 seasons and died in 2000.

"Two things mostly. One is discipline of what you want to get accomplished on the court," Kuester said yesterday in a phone interview following his introductory press conference in Detroit. "Rut did a great job of knowing what he wanted to get accomplished. He's one of the greatest coaches that I ever had a chance to be under as a player.

"The second thing is how important it is to make sure you are in great physical condition. I'll always remember that he prepared me so well for [a playing career at] North Carolina. I'm very appreciative of what he did for me."

Kuester then ran down a list of other members of the Benedictine community who "were so influential in my life. I have a lot of people I went to Benedictine with who are very special."

Kuester, whose first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at the University of Richmond in 1980-81, replaces Michael Curry, fired after the Pistons went 39-43 in his first season. Kuester, who played three seasons in the NBA, reportedly signed a three-year deal.

FAMILIARITY: Detroit won the NBA championship in 2004 with Larry Brown as head coach and Kuester as an assistant, a memory that was fresh to Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations since 2000.

"He was the strong guy with Larry, and he ran just about everything during that whole season the practices, the shoot-arounds, the game plans," Dumars said of Kuester. "He's the guy that Larry turned to for everything. With all due respect to all the other coaches on the staff then, he was the guy that, when Larry needed something, he turned to him right away and said, 'Q, what do you have?' And boom, he'd give it right back to Larry."

Kuester, 54, also worked as an NBA assistant in Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Orlando, and most recently, Cleveland. He acknowledged that involvement in the Detroit championship season gave him an advantage when the Pistons sought a coach.

"I feel very fortunate because you never know when there's going to be a good fit with people you're familiar with," Kuester said.

This is Kuester's first opportunity as an NBA head coach, though he directed programs at Boston University (1983-85) and George Washington (1985-90).

TRANSITION PERIOD: Only Pistons Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince remain from Detroit's 2004 championship team. "We're going through a transition period now, so [Kuester is] not going to be judged on, 'Hey, listen, if we're not in the Finals, it's a failure,'" Dumars said.

The Pistons added Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon last week.

"There's no magic formula," Kuester said. "Our philosophy will be, 'Doing things the right way.' We'll accomplish that by the way we practice, by the way we play, by the way we interact with each other as players, all the time."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or .