Amherst-Pelham’s Jonah Herscu Named New Head Coach of NBA G League’s Rip City Remix

From Amherst to the NBA: The Making of Jonah Herscu

There was once a time in life when Jonah Herscu could count on one hand how many days he had off in three years. 

Double Duty: Coaching in the G League and WNBA at the Same Time

He was 24 years old and in the middle of his eighth season in professional basketball. He was juggling two full-time coaching jobs with the NBA G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and loving it. 

Even pondering that workload across the length of a basketball is exhausting, but the man was a machine. He was adept at scouting, breaking down video, conducting player development and strategy sessions in two professional leagues at the same time. Respect on multiple fronts. Jonah was able to see what it entails to lead an organization much like he did during his Senior year of high school at Amherst-Pelham Regional when he interned with the Amherst College women’s basketball team under Division 3 head coach G.P. Gromacki. 

A Relentless Work Ethic Shaped Over 17 Seasons

“No Days Off” wasn’t just a trendy t-shirt slogan back in the day. It was Jonah’s ambitious reality and driving force to keep pursuing his outcome goal to one day become an NBA head coach. Crazy? Hardly. All of those overtime and extended hours on the court and in the film room are so worth it. The Amherst, Massachusetts native is now one step closer to counting up that achievement after 17 seasons of coaching in the NBA, NBA G League, and WNBA. 

Trail Blazers' Trust: Herscu Promoted to Lead Rip City Remix

The official NBA G League affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers, The Rip City Remix, have named Jonah Herscu as the team’s next head coach, making him the third head coach in franchise history. 

The promotion is well deserved as Coach Herscu takes over for previous head coach Sergi Oliva, who returns to his role as an assistant general manager to the Portland Trail Blazers. In the past three seasons, Coach Herscu served as an assistant coach under Chauncey Billups and was also the head coach for both the 2023 and 2024 Blazers Summer League teams.

Summer League Success and NBA Scouting Credentials

Prior to joining Portland’s coaching staff, Herscu served as an advance scout with the Sacramento Kings for two seasons (2019-21) before becoming assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. He also spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as an advance scout and player development assistant (2018-19) and as an assistant video coordinator (2016-18). Along with previous experience serving as a video coordinator with the Chicago Bulls,

Academic Drive: A Coaching Major and Master’s in Sports Science

Jonah has proven to be a student of the game since he played youth sports and high school sports in Amherst. His coaching trajectory continued to take shape since graduating from Lake Forest College where he developed his own major as an independent scholar – Coaching: Personal Identity, Leadership, and Sports Psychology – and later earned his Master’s degree in Sports Science, with a focus on coaching, from the United States Sports Academy. But it was those early years in the coaching biz that charted his course to becoming an NBA G League head coach. 

What Jonah Herscu’s Journey Says About the Road to the NBA

Working with the Erie Bayhawks before moving onto the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2013, his four year run in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky while pulling double duty with the Mad Ants is a steady reminder about the sacrifice, dedication, and determination it takes to get you where you want to go. 

Jonah Herscu may have the brand new title as head coach of the Rip City Remix, but there’s no doubt that he’s one of a kind.