{"id":408628,"date":"2026-09-23T21:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408628\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T21:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:18:09","slug":"new-osceola-magic-coach-excited-to-return-to-g-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408628\/","title":{"rendered":"New Osceola Magic coach excited to return to G League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Magic<\/a> coach Sean Sweeney<\/a> isn\u2019t the only new pro basketball coach in the Central Florida area this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also Ronnie Burrell<\/a>, who was formally introduced Wednesday afternoon on the practice court inside Kia Center as the new head coach of the Osceola Magic<\/a>, Orlando\u2019s G League<\/a> affiliate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be a part of a new culture,\u201d Burrell said about the opportunity. \u201cThe Orlando Magic (are) going through a culture change, and it\u2019s very impressive to watch Sean Sweeney and the front office, the things that they\u2019re imparting, the processes that we\u2019ll try to duplicate as best as we can in part in Osceola as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like we\u2019re a cog in the machine of the Orlando Magic, trying to help strengthen this franchise,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s pressure to it, but it\u2019s what I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burrell, who was named G League coach of the year in 2023 while guiding the Long Island Nets, said it was a goal of his to return to the G League as a head coach following three years as an NBA<\/a> assistant. The last two seasons he served as an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers and spent the year before that as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come back to the G League a better version of myself,\u201d Burrell said. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to put to use some of the things that I\u2019ve learned in the last three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching in the G League is much different than the NBA. The game is played at a faster pace in comparison, and rosters are often in flux because of NBA call-ups and two-way players who go back and forth between the two leagues. Sometimes NBA teams will send roster players down to their G League affiliate on assignment for extra court time or to work their way back from injury.<\/p>\n

Burrell isn\u2019t shying away from the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it. It fits me,\u201d Burrell said of coaching in the G League. \u201cIt\u2019s the most fulfilling thing I\u2019ve done as a coach. So, I\u2019m happy to be back and (I\u2019m) very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time he coached in the G League, Burrell\u2019s team had success. When he won the G League\u2019s top coaching honor, he led the Long Island Nets to a 23-9 record and an appearance in the G League\u2019s Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

Osceola has also grown accustomed to success. Under past coach Dylan Murphy, who departed in August to join Mike Boynton Jr.\u2019s staff at the University of Michigan as an assistant coach, Osceola went 93-57 with three consecutive\u00a0 appearances in the Eastern Conference finals and a trip to the 2025 G League Finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s big shoes to fill,\u201d Burrell said. \u201cIt\u2019s a G League team with tradition, which is kind of a rare thing. It\u2019s a team that\u2019s used to winning, a team that\u2019s used to having talent. And that\u2019s pressure on my shoulders. It\u2019s part of the job to be done, is to continue that and try to win games while helping the guys achieve their goals. That\u2019s what the G League is about.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to relish the pressure of it and do my best to live up to the standards that have been here in Osceola,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Burrell said that while he and Sweeney didn\u2019t share a past connection before this summer, the two see eye-to-eye about the need for an \u201cold school grit\u201d that incorporates \u201creally cutting edge basketball processes\u201d in order to have success on the court.<\/p>\n

As the newest coaches in town, he and Sweeney look forward to their fresh beginnings. Orlando opens its regular season Oct. 21 against Atlanta at Kia Center, and Osceola starts Nov. 8 inside Osceola Heritage Park versus the Oklahoma City Blue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fresh ideas. It\u2019s new blood,\u201d Burrell said. \u201cBoth of us are in new roles. So, there\u2019s a level of excitement that comes with that and I think we\u2019re both pumped.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Magic coach Sean Sweeney isn\u2019t the only new pro basketball coach in the Central Florida area this upcoming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,2295,139,141,1239,140,109,76046,110],"class_list":["post-408628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nba","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-magic","tag-orlando-news","tag-social","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}