A month after helping lead the Boston Celtics to their first Eastern Conference Championship in a dozen years, Williams College alumnus Will Hardy is heading west.

 

On Tuesday, the Utah Jazz named Hardy its new head coach.

 

At age 34, he becomes the youngest active head coach in the National Basketball Association.

 

"The Utah Jazz are one of the most respected and successful franchises in the NBA and the fan base here is legendary,” Hardy said in a news release. “This opportunity comes with tremendous responsibility. I’m grateful for the trust the Jazz have placed in me and I look forward to the work ahead.”

 

He spent last year as the top assistant for Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, helping the first-year head coach lead Boston to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.

 

Hardy, who was graduated from Williams that same year, is a career assistant coach at the international and NBA level.

 

He spent most of his career with the San Antonio Spurs organization, starting there as an intern the year he left Williamstown.

 

He picked up head coaching experience by leading the Spurs' Las Vegas summer league teams in 2017 and 2018, and he spent four years as an assistant coach under legendary coach Gregg Popovich.

 

"I couldn’t be happier that Will has been given the opportunity to lead one of the finest programs in the league in the Utah Jazz,” Popovich said in a news release by the Jazz. “His intelligence, ability to teach, and most importantly his manner, brings immediate respect from players, management, and staff. He’s a competitive young man who understands the responsibilities of the position and no one will work harder to continue the success the Jazz have enjoyed for so long.”

 

A native of Virginia, Hardy helped the Williams men's basketball team to a 30-2 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division III final as a senior.