New Cleveland Cavaliers coach Dave Blatt has admitted that he has high hopes for the young team.
Blatt was named as coach this week, after the Cavaliers fired Mike Brown last month following a disappointing campaign.
Despite being born in Massachusetts and playing for Princeton, Blatt is the first coach to make the move from Europe to the NBA, following a spell of management in Israel.
He told reporters: "I know I'm carrying the torch, and I hope like hell I don't drop it. This is a young team. For me, the slate is clean with teaching to be done. Hopefully being young, there will be fewer bad habits to break here.
"I know that we're working to put the best team on the floor for us, but the guys that I see now are talented and not that far off being a winning team. We don't want to settle for a little bit of progress or a better season. We want to go the furthest.
"If these guys are willing to learn, it's now my job to make sure we do things the right way."
The 55 year-old led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague championship this season. He also guided Russia to a bronze medal at the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Joe McPhee
