The last time former NBA guard Robert Pack served as a New Orleans assistant coach, he played a prominent role in helping launch the pro careers of Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton. Despite both guards receiving bench splinters for the then-Hornets early in the 2009-10 season, Collison landed on the All-Rookie first team, while Thornton was a second-team pick. Other than Anthony Davis in 2012-13, that’s the last time a New Orleans player has appeared on either NBA All-Rookie squad.
“They weren’t playing much at the start of the year,” Pack, a New Orleans native, remembered of Collison and Thornton.