The recent trend in newly hired rookie coaches in the NBA seem to be leaning towards NBA assistant coaches and former players...Regardless, which NCAA coach(es) do you think will be potientially a good NBA coach...
Man,I don't know about this one. It's two different types of basketball. The college game is all about teamwork and fundamentals where as the pro level is mostly a one-on-one type atmosphere. The thing I think is hard on alot of guys that make the step up is that alot of the players don't respect them and that pro players are harder to coach. The college cats are very receptive usually plus eager to prove themselves hence they play they hearts out. As far as X's & O's I think any top level college coach would do a good job in the NBA,it's the rest of the stuff I think that would be a problem...the last several coaches to make the jump haven't faired too well...Calipari & Pitino to name just two.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Nasty:</div><div class="quote_post">Man,I don't know about this one. It's two different types of basketball. The college game is all about teamwork and fundamentals where as the pro level is mostly a one-on-one type atmosphere. The thing I think is hard on alot of guys that make the step up is that alot of the players don't respect them and that pro players are harder to coach. The college cats are very receptive usually plus eager to prove themselves hence they play they hearts out. As far as X's & O's I think any top level college coach would do a good job in the NBA,it's the rest of the stuff I think that would be a problem...the last several coaches to make the jump haven't faired too well...Calipari & Pitino to name just two.</div> Yea, I agree, and that's why we are seeing the trend that we are seeing...Guys like Tim Floyd and Calipari struggle right off the bat, while guys like byron scott and Larry Bird lead their teams into the Finals...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Nasty:</div><div class="quote_post">it's the rest of the stuff I think that would be a problem...the last several coaches to make the jump haven't faired too well...Calipari & Pitino to name just two.</div> The main difference is that some coaches on the college level thrive by recruiting the big name guys (legally or illegally). Everyone in the NBA is great, but in college basketball some teams just have better players than others. You can't tell me that Duke wouldn't have the same record with me or you as a coach. They're just too talented. All Rick Pitino and John Calipari could do was recruit. They weren't good coaches. Most teams in the NBA that need new coaches are teams without much talent compared to the rest of the league. Most good X's and O's coaches do well though. Just look at Hubie Brown and Jeff Bzdelik. They were once college coaches and now their teams are playoff contenders in the West.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Wave:</div><div class="quote_post">The main difference is that some coaches on the college level thrive by recruiting the big name guys (legally or illegally). Everyone in the NBA is great, but in college basketball some teams just have better players than others. You can't tell me that Duke wouldn't have the same record with me or you as a coach. They're just too talented. All Rick Pitino and John Calipari could do was recruit. They weren't good coaches. Most teams in the NBA that need new coaches are teams without much talent compared to the rest of the league. Most good X's and O's coaches do well though. Just look at Hubie Brown and Jeff Bzdelik. They were once college coaches and now their teams are playoff contenders in the West.</div> Well regardless of recruiting you still have to be able to coach. Pitino was/is alot more than recruiter. His Kentucky teams were really awesome,and it had alot to do with how good of a coach he was there. You have to recruit but then you have to be able to mold what you've recruited into a team all the while teach fundamentals and the game itself. Can't be a successful coach on any level if you don't have a grasp on the game and how it's played. You just brought up something I think is interesting. If you look at the teams you mentioned,neither team really has an over the top superstar and they are forced to rely on the team game if they want to win. In that situation you'd be best to have a x's&o's guy..but you get some of these pro guys who think they know it all anyway,then regardless of how good of a coach you are you gonna struggle because they aren't going to take instruction very well..
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Nasty:</div><div class="quote_post">Well regardless of recruiting you still have to be able to coach. Pitino was/is alot more than recruiter. His Kentucky teams were really awesome,and it had alot to do with how good of a coach he was there. You have to recruit but then you have to be able to mold what you've recruited into a team all the while teach fundamentals and the game itself. Can't be a successful coach on any level if you don't have a grasp on the game and how it's played.</div> No doubt Pitino was talented, but I don't think he was as talented as the other twenty-eight coaches in the NBA. At Kentucky his rosters were loaded. He had Jamaal Magloire, Antoine Walker, Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, and more. I could be off with some of those players, but I believe a good High School coach could take that team to the Sweet Sixteen or possibly further. The current Kentucky coach, Tuby Smith, is a better coach in my opinion. He doesn't have the super-star talent like Pitino does, and he plays four guards in his starting rotation. However, the Wildcats are ninth ranked in the nation. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Nasty:</div><div class="quote_post">but you get some of these pro guys who think they know it all anyway,then regardless of how good of a coach you are you gonna struggle because they aren't going to take instruction very well..</div> Refresh my memory. We're Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, and Antoine Walker all not Celtics and Wildcats? Rick Pitino had all of his big time players back on his Celtics team. There weren't really any hot heads outside of Mercer and Walker, and Pitino knew how to handle those guys. I'll look at him as an above-average coach and an elite recruiter, but not an elite coach.
