The Maine Red Claws today introduced Dave Leitao as the team’s head coach.

“Dave Leitao has a tremendous resume of developing young talent and of getting the best out of his players,” said Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings. “Our players will benefit greatly from his experience and emphasis on defense and winning. “Dave as the head coach of the Maine Red Claws is a great addition for the franchise. This organization has enjoyed a great number of successes, on and off the court, and this day marks the beginning step to the next level for this franchise.”

The Massachusetts native is the former head coach of the University of Virginia where he was named the 2006-07 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year by the Associated Press as well as the 2007 National Association of Basketball Coaches District 5 Coach of the Year. Previously, he was head coach at Northeastern University and DePaul University and served lengthy stints as an assistant coach at Northeastern and the University of Connecticut. As the assistant coach at UConn, Leitao served under Hall-of-Fame head coach Jim Calhoun for whom he had also played at Northeastern University.

The National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League announced the affiliation system for the 2011-12 season. An all-time high nine NBA teams will have single NBA D-League affiliates - more than double last season's total of four - including first-year partnerships between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Canton, the Golden State Warriors and Dakota Wizards, the New Jersey Nets and Springfield Armor and the New York Knicks and Erie BayHawks, along with the return of the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Los Angeles Lakers' single affiliate.

For the seventh consecutive year, each NBA team has one NBA D-League team to which it may assign players. During the 2010-11 season, the NBA D-League saw all-time highs in NBA player assignments (56), individual players assigned (39) and NBA teams assigning a player (25), while last season marked the first time every NBA D-League team was assigned an NBA player.

"We're very excited that an all-time-high nine NBA teams will have exclusive, 'one-to-one' relationships with their NBA D-League affiliates this coming season," said NBA D-League President Dan Reed. "This clear trend of NBA teams buying into the NBA D-League is not only a testament to our past success, but also the sign of a very promising future."

The NBA D-League will again have 16 teams playing in 2011-12, including Canton, which will play its first year in Canton, Ohio, under the ownership of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles D-Fenders, who resume operation under the ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers after taking a one-year hiatus.

Along with Canton and the D-Fenders, the Austin Toros (San Antonio Spurs), Dakota Wizards (Golden State Warriors) and Tulsa 66ers (Oklahoma City Thunder) are fully owned and operated by their NBA affiliates. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets), Springfield Armor (New Jersey Nets) and Erie BayHawks (New York Knicks) all have 'hybrid' single-affiliation partnerships, where the NBA teams control their NBA D-League affiliates' basketball operations. Meanwhile, the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks remain solely affiliated with the Texas Legends.

The complete affiliation system for 2011-12 is listed below:

AUSTIN TOROS (TX)
San Antonio Spurs

BAKERSFIELD JAM (CA)
Los Angeles Clippers
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors

CANTON (OH)
Cleveland Cavaliers

DAKOTA WIZARDS (Bismarck, ND)
Golden State Warriors

ERIE BAYHAWKS (PA)
New York Knicks

FORT WAYNE MAD ANTS (IN)
Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks

IDAHO STAMPEDE (Boise, ID)
Denver Nuggets
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz

IOWA ENERGY (Des Moines, IA)
Chicago Bulls
New Orleans Hornets
Washington Wizards

LOS ANGELES D-FENDERS (CA)
Los Angeles Lakers

MAINE RED CLAWS (Portland, ME)
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Bobcats
Philadelphia 76ers

RENO BIGHORNS (NV)
Atlanta Hawks
Memphis Grizzlies
Sacramento Kings

RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS (TX)
Houston Rockets

SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE (SD)
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic

SPRINGFIELD ARMOR (MA)
New Jersey Nets

TEXAS LEGENDS (Frisco, TX)
Dallas Mavericks

TULSA 66ERS (OK)
Oklahoma City Thunder