Candid Coaches: Which college coach will be the next to make the jump to the NBA?

[HooperScooper]

Candid Coaches: Which college coach will be the next to make the jump to the NBA?

Coach, college Percentage
Kevin Ollie, UConn 20 percent
Bill Self, Kansas 17 percent
John Calipari, Kentucky 16 percent
Jay Wright, Villanova 16 percent
Shaka Smart, Texas 9 percent
Tony Bennett, Virginia 8 percent

The Ollie pick, I think, is the right one. He is both equipped and likely. His NBA connections run deep, and superstars like Kevin Durant already have a lot of respect for him. To me, Ollie is on the board as a possibility to leave UConn for the NBA at the end of any given season. I could also see him staying with the Huskies for another five years; he fits so well there, too.

Until Ollie does ultimately leave I guess we're going to have to deal with this always being mentioned.

 

[Pudge]

This guy Norlander almost roots for this to happen. And who is voting on this? Other College Coaches ... and dumping UConn from the elite is on all their agendas.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Tinfoil hat stuff aside, it's hard to argue with this. It's when, not if, for Ollie and the NBA, I think. It's the pinnacle of the sport. I just don't necessarily think it'll be in the next few seasons.

 

[champs99and04]

This guy Norlander almost roots for this to happen. And who is voting on this? Other College Coaches ... and dumping UConn from the elite is on all their agendas.

Come on. It's clearly a compliment. Bill Self is second on the list. I've never understood why UConn fans view this as a negative.

 

[Paesano]

Come on. It's clearly a compliment. Bill Self is second on the list. I've never understood why UConn fans view this as a negative.

Because something like this can plant a seed in a recruit's head and encourage him to go elsewhere. The guy "most likely to leave" is going to have to work harder to convince kids he is not leaving.

 

[champs99and04]

Because something like this can plant a seed in a recruit's head and encourage him to go elsewhere. The guy "most likely to leave" is going to have to work harder to convince kids he is not leaving.

My point is that all of the elite coaches deal with this. It has been a weekly story in Lexington for years and yet Cal pulls in top ranked classes just by getting dressed. K dealt with some of the same things when he was younger, Donovan dealt with it before ultimately accepting the OKC job, and guys like Self, Wright, and Ollie will continue to deal with it going forward. It being regurgitated in the press that Ollie has respect from guys like Kevin Durant is way more positive than negative. Nothing quite captivates a recruit like being told that he was chosen over the NBA gig.

I will take this ten days a week over being Fran Dunphy whose probably going to be there for another ten years but isn't exciting a soul.

 

[UC1985]

This guy Norlander almost roots for this to happen. And who is voting on this? Other College Coaches ... and dumping UConn from the elite is on all their agendas.

It's been clear for a while that Jim Calhoun was not very nice to Norlander/Goodman back in the day because they'll take every opportunity to dump on UConn now.. Now that it's safe.. I don't think this is one of them, just wanted to share that observation .

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Because something like this can plant a seed in a recruit's head and encourage him to go elsewhere. The guy "most likely to leave" is going to have to work harder to convince kids he is not leaving.

For the last 5 years of JC career all we heard were talks of his advanced age and bad health but do you ever hear anything about Boeheim , whose now older and has also had health issues as well as ran a program with some serious issues.
JC retirement was viewed as a death knell for our basketball program ,as according to them he created the the program ex nihilo.
JC would have never left Boston if he didn't think Ct was a basketball crazy state with a good regional history.
The fact that KO duplicated JB NC in his first try had to really bother these experts.
Since he his young the NBA is their only angle.

 

[intlzncster]

Tinfoil hat stuff aside, it's hard to argue with this. It's when, not if, for Ollie and the NBA, I think. It's the pinnacle of the sport. I just don't necessarily think it'll be in the next few seasons.

I've zero hard evidence to support this whatsoever, but I'll be shocked if Ollie jumps while Jim Calhoun still lives and breathes.

 

[boba]

My point is that all of the elite coaches deal with this. It has been a weekly story in Lexington for years and yet Cal pulls in top ranked classes just by getting dressed. K dealt with some of the same things when he was younger, Donovan dealt with it before ultimately accepting the OKC job, and guys like Self, Wright, and Ollie will continue to deal with it going forward. It being regurgitated in the press that Ollie has respect from guys like Kevin Durant is way more positive than negative. Nothing quite captivates a recruit like being told that he was chosen over the NBA gig.

I will take this ten days a week over being Fran Dunphy whose probably going to be there for another ten years but isn't exciting a soul.

A couple of things, come to mind. Which NBA team would be stupid enough to hire Self or Calipari? (OK other than the Knicks) Self is OK in X & O's, seems to get the players on the same page, but is he equipped to work with the personalities in the NBA? Calipari doesn't appear to have a real good grasp of in game management (he may, but to this casual observer it doesn't appear to be so) and while he seems to get the young hot personalities to listen to him, he doesn't appear to be a great talent developer. I just don't see either of those guys being really in demand.
This is almost opposition research strategy - "Oh he's gonna leave and the team will stink, and you'll be stuck there." Crap articles like this do not inform, they do not present analysis or perspective, they are solely there to sow Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD). That 2 bit hack writers continue to produce them informs us how limited their repertoire is and the shallowness their thinking. I like the optimism that we can tell recruits that they are more important than NBA gigs, but is that really the message that is being conveyed?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

A couple of things, come to mind. Which NBA team would be stupid enough to hire Self or Calipari? (OK other than the Knicks) Self is OK in X & O's, seems to get the players on the same page, but is he equipped to work with the personalities in the NBA? Calipari doesn't appear to have a real good grasp of in game management (he may, but to this casual observer it doesn't appear to be so) and while he seems to get the young hot personalities to listen to him, he doesn't appear to be a great talent developer. I just don't see either of those guys being really in demand.
This is almost opposition research strategy - "Oh he's gonna leave and the team will stink, and you'll be stuck there." Crap articles like this do not inform, they do not present analysis or perspective, they are solely there to sow Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD). That 2 bit hack writers continue to produce them informs us how limited their repertoire is and the shallowness their thinking. I like the optimism that we can tell recruits that they are more important than NBA gigs, but is that really the message that is being conveyed?

You do Paesano proud with a post like this. Holy overreaction.

 

[superjohn]

Tinfoil hat stuff aside, it's hard to argue with this. It's when, not if, for Ollie and the NBA, I think. It's the pinnacle of the sport. I just don't necessarily think it'll be in the next few seasons.

Ollie is here for a long time, if he was going to leave he would have left to coach Durant and Westbrook. Norlander is the biggest schmuck covering college hoops and openly roots for Ollie leaving, shame the putz is from Connecticut.

 

[Paesano]

You do Paesano proud with a post like this. Holy overreaction.

This from the guy that made an of himself and got ejected from a game. The divide between how intelligent you are and how intelligent you THINK you are is cavernous. Typical for those of your ilk.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Ollie is here for a long time, if he was going to leave he would have left to coach Durant and Westbrook. Norlander is the biggest schmuck covering college hoops and openly roots for Ollie leaving, shame the putz is from Connecticut.

I don't think you can say "if he was going to leave he would have left already." He hasn't been the head coach that long, and his daughter's still at home for a couple more years. If he wins another ring and he's got the empty house, you shouldn't be at all surprised if he jumps to the next level.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

I agree with superjohn. He was the front runner for the OKC job. He had a good shot at the Laker job which he probably gets offered if Steve Kerr wasn't on medical leave. I doubt a sexier job pops up soon unless Luke Walton gets axed.

 

[EastCoast2]

Get used to Ollie to NBA chatter every offseason for the forseeable future. Ollie had a legit chance to pursue LA (Walton was their #1), but it seemed like Ollie was 100% committed to UConn, I think that says a lot. The Lakers job doesn't open up every week and he's from LA, right?

I don't see Self ever going pro. I see him chasing Coach K's record, stacking B12 championships and 30+ win seasons at Kansas.

 

[BleedHuskyBlu]

Eventually I feel like Ollie will go to the NBA but hopefully not soon

 

[Goat]

KO derives great satisfaction from coaching up the players as people. He drafts character and builds it.

The NBA experience does not include the same opportunity. I'm not worried.

 

[James]

KO derives great satisfaction from coaching up the players as people. He drafts character and builds it.

The NBA experience does not include the same opportunity. I'm not worried.

It could , if he was offered a front office and coaching role at the same time. Or atleast some input in personnel, that's probably the sweetest gig in all of hoop... Either a combo of vp of basketball ops and hc deal or being cool with owners/front office ( think Kerr or Carlisle) There will be countless great coaching opportunities in the future, Spurs and sixers come to mind.

I agree with most here that he'll leave but wants to polish his legacy more here while he's young.

 

[aceboon]

Ollie is here for a long time, if he was going to leave he would have left to coach Durant and Westbrook. Norlander is the biggest schmuck covering college hoops and openly roots for Ollie leaving, shame the putz is from Connecticut.

KO was never the first option for OKC, it was Donovan all along, the buyout at the time OKC had a coaching opening pretty much insured that.