Gregory's relationship with Suns owner Mat Ishbia dates back to the late 1990s. When Ishbia was a walk-on at Michigan State, Gregory was an assistant coach on Tom Izzo's staff. Gregory did not downplay this connection; he framed it as a positive thing. Why? Alignment!

Brian Gregory's basketball resume has plenty of gravitas thanks to nearly two decades as an NCAA Division I head coach at Dayton, Georgia Tech and South Florida.