Latest news with #DavidWest
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
David West on playing under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio: "Like going to basketball college"
For many experienced NBA players seeking flexibility and freedom, the basketball culture in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich felt suffocating. The Hall of Fame head coach demands absolute discipline and laser-sharp focus from all his players, steering them away from controversies and anchoring their attention solely on their craft. David West openly doubled down on this sentiment, reflecting on how his lone season with the Spurs felt like a return to college basketball, where every detail was broken down by veteran coaches as if players were amateurs. But far from frustrating him, that structure only deepened his love for the game. D-West on playing for Coach Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs At the age of 35, West joined the Spurs organization after years of being a consistent starter with the New Orleans Hornets and Indiana Pacers. Yet, upon arriving in San Antonio, he was immediately asked to embrace a bench role. Moreover, his minutes dropped significantly - from logging 28.7 minutes per game during the 2014-15 season to just 18.0 minutes per game under coach Popovich. Still, "The 17-Foot Assassin" never saw this as a demotion. Instead, it became one of the most cherished experiences of his career. Advertisement Speaking on "The OGs" podcast, the two-time All-Star praised the culture built by Pop meticulously one centered around fundamentals, growth and discipline. With a staff of veteran coaches who obsessed over every small detail, the legendary coach ensured that each player, regardless of their accomplishments or resume, was made clear of their role and what they must do to thrive in it. "That year was like going to basketball college, man. That training camp, they had a lot of fire coaches where they would sit and write notes during practice. I remember Thibs was down there, Del Negro was down there. So, it was really like basketball college in there bro. They got whiteboards everywhere and instruction and regiments, drill work, station work. Like a very rigid structure," the retired big man said. "So, it was a great opportunity to play." Related: "When you get somebody with that kind of potential and they're white and you are in America, you keep that dude" - Stephen A. Smith claims Dallas must draft and keep Cooper Flagg Basketball culture in San Antonio demands nothing but sheer discipline The New Jersey native's reflection makes it clear that the game always comes first in San Antonio. For someone like Dennis Rodman, who preferred to live life on his own terms, that kind of structure might have felt limiting. However, for veterans like West, who were eager to embrace the grind and rediscover the purity of the sport, Popovich's system reignited their passion. Advertisement Perhaps that is why he was able to play a pivotal role off the bench in helping the Golden State Warriors attain two back-to-back titles while playing a role off the bench with even less time on the court. Furthermore, maybe that is why players like LeBron James, who have never played under Gregg, hold such great respect for the work he has done for the game. Despite Pop's team making him drop two championship rings, "The King" knows that when it comes to basketball, the former is one of the brightest minds who has always wanted to contribute positively in nurturing talents. Related: "When I needed cash, he said, 'how much?'" - John Salley says Shaquille O'Neal loaned him $70,000 when he was broke and didn't want it back
Axios
20-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Proscia pulls in $50M for digital pathology
Proscia, a pathology digitization software provider, received $50 million in unlabeled funding from Insight Partners, CEO David West tells Axios exclusively. Why it matters: Investors see pathology as a new frontier for automation and AI in health care provision, similar to radiology. Zoom in: Alpha Intelligence Capital's US fund and Triangle Peak Partners joined, alongside Avenue Capital Group, Emerald Development Managers, GPG Healthcare, Fusion Fund, Interwoven Ventures and Razor's Edge. How it works: Founded in 2014, Philadelphia-based Proscia's software digitizes data from biopsy slides to help pathologists accelerate diagnoses. It has over 100 customers, including publicly traded contract research organizations Iqvia and Labcorp, as well as pharmaceutical companies AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bayer and Takeda Pharmaceutical. Its software scans 20,000 images daily. West declined to disclose revenue for the company, which has raised $130 million to-date. What they're saying: West says the fundraise allows leadership to build a public-scale company and not be concerned about runway. "An IPO could open doors with more capital to invest in groundbreaking technology and broaden our reach to serve customers," says West. What's next: Fresh funds will help Proscia develop more algorithms for biomarker discovery, clinical trials and companion diagnostics. "Most people know large language models — there's also large vision models and vision language models that really open up this totally new possibility, especially in an area producing lots of image and text data," West says. The big picture:"There's a secular trend of the digitization of pathology," says Insight Partners managing director Scott Barclay, adding that the sector "is 10 to 20 years behind radiology." The Trump administration's proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health funding could have ripple effects for biopharma budgets — heightening demands for efficiency, says West. "I anticipate that digital pathology will become even more essential for CROs so that they can pass these benefits along to the pharmaceutical companies they serve," West adds. By the numbers: A persistent pathologist shortage is further ratcheting up demand for digital solutions.
