Mark Jackson, head coach

Mark Jackson has been hired by Golden State as their new head coach replacing Keith Smart.

Jackson played 17 years as a point guard in the NBA, for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1988 and made the playoffs 14 times. He ranks third on the NBA’s all-time assists list.

But he has never coached, spending the past few seasons as the lead analyst for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage. He won’t start his new job until after he’s finished calling the NBA finals.

Jackson played for five Hall of Fame coaches in his college and pro career: Lou Carnesecca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown. [Not to mention Rick Pitino.]

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It's time to see whether Jackson can coach as well as he talks. (If he does, he'll be really good.) I wonder if he'd hire JVG as his assistant?

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Jarred mentioned "hand down, man down" (which Jackson often utters in the telecasts) over on facebook. I never understood what that means. OK, now I know.

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Mark Jackson was every bit the bold and boisterous personality on his first day as coach of the Golden State Warriors that he was as a player and a broadcast analyst.

Only time will tell if he can be equally successful.

Declaring that "the Bay Area will never be the same," Jackson promised sweeping changes Friday to the perennially underachieving franchise. He was introduced by the Warriors at a swanky San Francisco hotel across the bay from where the team plays in Oakland that had all the flair of the area's new coach.

The Brooklyn native and former New York Knicks point guard said the Warriors will make the area "New York City West" in NBA circles, attracting the coveted free agents the franchise has always struggled to sign. He even predicted championship banners would follow.

"When you look at the success of the teams in this area, the A's have had theirs. The Niners have had theirs. The Giants have had theirs. The Raiders have had theirs. And now we're looking forward to ours," Jackson said. "So, therefore, it's about time. Sorry it took so long, but now we're at the party."