GALION — When Nate Reinking finished his 16-year pro basketball career in Europe, he knew he wasn’t finished with the game.
On Sept. 27, he was named the fourth head coach of the Canton Charge, the Cleveland Cavaliers farm team in the NBA’s Developmental League.
After a legendary career at Galion concluded in 1992, Reinking went on to a stellar stint with Mid-American Conference basketball at Kent State. He graduated with a degree in exercise science in 1996.
Reinking still ranks among the Golden Flashes’ career top ten in scoring (1.456, 8th), games started (100, 8th), field goals made (491, 9th), free-throw percentage (.792, 9th), and 3-point field goals made (184, 6th). As a captain his senior season, Reinking was second team All-MAC after playing in all 27 games and averaging 18.7 points on .445 shooting with 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game.
Reinking made a name for himself, too, in England, playing for the Leicester Riders, Derby Storm, Bree, Belfius Mons-Hainaut of the Belgian League, Mersey Tigers and Sheffield Sharks. In his first year, Reinking averaged 18.3 points per game as the Riders’ point guard.
After making the Great Britain National Team, playing in the EuroBasket in 2009 and 2011 and performing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Reinking returned to Ohio, where he said he expected to coach college ball.
“I’ve been around the sport my whole life,” The first-year coach said. “To be honest, I don’t know what other job I could do.”
Luck followed Reinking back to the states as he was able to take part in the NBA Summer League. There, he told Canton general manager, Mike Gansey, he was willing to help out any way the organization saw fit.
Reinking, 42, was hired as an assistant under head coach Steve Hetzel for the 2013-14 season, responsible for player development and opposition scouting.
After Hetzel’s NBA promotion, the Galion alum was retained under newly appointed head coach Jordi Fernandez as an assistant the next two seasons while adding game-planning and game personnel to his responsibilities. With defensive principles as the focus on the Charge staff, Canton’s scoring defense ranked 1st in 2013-14 (101.4 points per game), 1st in 2014-15 (95.8ppg), and 5th in 2015 season (103.3ppg).
Now the Charge are his show. His job to prepare players for their call up to the NBA while winning games, he said.
“I have to develop guys to have better jobs, hopefully wins will come with that,” he said. “I have to do everything. Make sure it all works. The (Development) league has people come up and come down all the time, I have to manage all of that.”
This summer, Reinking and his team has been training with the 2016 NBA Champions.
“Cleveland has been very good for us,” he said. “We just try to soak it all in. We are around elite players. We try to implement similar philosophies so there is some common ground, an easy transition from here to there.”
No doubt, Reinking said this is a dream come true.
“I’m an Ohio guy from Galion who grew up watching the Cleveland Cavaliers,” he said. “Now I’m working for them. It’s a dream job.
“It’s going to be a challenge and will make me grow as a person and as a coach, but it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward it.
