Are Wooden, K or Calhoun......

[Chin Diesel]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

 

[imno1]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

I'm laughing at the thought of Danny trying to coach a team of all star prima donnas.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I think social media and the internet changes everything. People barely remember coach k, or izzo being courted by the NBA.
This one was elevated!

 

[Hoophound]

No, nobody cares if you prove yourself in the NBA. I'd argue that only Pop and Phil Jackson really even have a lot of clout among NBA coaches in terms of being legendary. The college game is much more about the coaches than the NBA is. The NBA is a player's league.

 

[boog204]

I think there are far more legendary college coaches that NBA. Obviously, college guys get a bit more longevity. But I was always questioning the notion that Hurley going the NBA would finalize his legend.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

I would also like Danny Hurley to do the thing that aligns 100% with my own personal preferences as well

 

[Verne]

The college game has always been framed around the coaches because the players have much shorter playing careers there.

I don't think anyone would try to convince you Coach K was a better coach than Phil Jackson. But I think anyone would realize they each probably couldn't have done what the other did. Just very different coaches and styles for a different level of the game.

The new NBA has devolved into coaches being yes men. Coaches don't have the say and power they did 20 years ago in the NBA. The best jobs in the NBA are now what Riley and Steven's do. It's a totally different dynamic.

Hurley has come along at the perfect time for college basketball. He hails from a basketball royalty family but a family that had to earn everything and did it while being devoutly loyal and stubborn to anyone around them. He's interesting, he's extremely popular among his players while also being hated by opponents and their fan bases and he wins. He's the perfect mixture of what makes a great college coach at a time when a lot of those personalities are gone or are dwindling.

Hurley may go to the NBA someday and he may end up being a good coach there but I think the biggest part of his legacy will always be what he's done and is doing in college at Uconn. It'll be hard to ever eclipse that in the pros.

 

[freescooter]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

I don’t think those are comparable jobs honestly.

 

[freescooter]

No, nobody cares if you prove yourself in the NBA. I'd argue that only Pop and Phil Jackson really even have a lot of clout among NBA coaches in terms of being legendary. The college game is much more about the coaches than the NBA is. The NBA is a player's league.

I agree with this. There was a time when NBA coaches were legendary. But that was long ago. Jackson was really the last of them. But back in the day you had Auerbach, Red Hotlzman of the Knicks, Heinson, Pat Riley. They were part of the fabric of their teams. Now it is some guy named Moe. Heck the head coach of the Boston Celtics, another legendary team, was coaching D2 Fairmont State in 2019. Which btw is his only head coaching experience. And he is just as likely to be out on his butt if the team doesn’t win it all this year as he is to be back. If that happens, he’ll end up in Brooklyn or Detroit or wherever there is an opening next year. Or look at Thibidau with the Knicks, Timberwolves, Bulls after 20 years as an assistant in various places. He is the prototypical NBA head coach. Start as an Assistant, then move up. Wear out your welcome in one town and move on to the next.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don’t think those are comparable jobs honestly.

Wasn't trying to do a direct comparison.

Just pointing out that if you are a highly successful college BB coach, you will be recognized as such. There is no "But he never did it in NBA" tag to their bio's.

 

[MrJama100]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

Name the top five NBA coaches.
Then name the top 5 college coaches.
Tell me who has the higher "mindshare".
College coaches are far more respected than NBA coaches IMO.

 

[McLovin]

How do you even begin to define greater or lesser? There really isn't any way to do an apples to apples comparison of career accomplishments or even X & O skills.

I am probably biased because I'm a college hoops junkie, but my opinion is that the top college coaches of the last quarter century would have just as much name recognition to the average sports fan as the top NBA coaches. And I bet the average sports fan could name more current college coaches than current NBA coaches.

 

[McLovin]

I think there has only been 1 guy to ever win a title in both college and the NBA and that's Larry Brown. When I think of what makes the NBA appealing to Hurley, it isn't the prestige of being looked at as a top coach / basketball mind - most of his colleagues and the general public would agree he is already - it's the chance to do something only 1 other person has ever done before.

He is a guy who always wants to push the envelope, and if he ever does go for the NBA I think THAT will be the legacy he will be shooting for (not just being looked at as better or whatever).

 

[metsfan2323]

There is only one solid reason IMO to go to the NBA and that is more money. All of the other reasons are highly subjective.

 

[dogpause]

I find it tough to understand why Hurley would want to coach an NBA team. But if that's his dream, then I hope he gets to pursue it someday. However, he'll be giving up what is currently the best job in college basketball, and he'll be taking a risk in terms of personal happiness. He'll also be closing out his legacy as it relates to UConn. At some point maybe he'll change his mind about coaching anywhere but here. I sure hope so.

 

[Kembafan]

There is only one solid reason IMO to go to the NBA and that is more money. All of the other reasons are highly subjective.

There’s more money but also less work. It’s a much longer season but you don’t have to do recruiting or portal or NIL stuff. Scouting is way easier. There’s a lot more time off.

 

[metsfan2323]

There’s more money but also less work. It’s a much longer season but you don’t have to do recruiting or portal or NIL stuff. Scouting is way easier. There’s a lot more time off.

That is highly subjective.

BTW recruiting has always been difficult in college, I don't really buy the idea that it is tougher now, and least it is no longer dirty and the coaches no longer have to worry about an NCAA investigation. Kelvin Samson once lost his job over phone calls and texts. We all saw the scrutiny Calhoun had to endure. UConn is at the top of the recruiting food chain right now. Karaban is in the NBA if not for NIL.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I don't think of them as lesser coaches... but I do think of them as control freaks that would struggle dealing with adult men who have more organization pull than the coach. I always think of PJ's transition to the pros and wonder if JC would of had similar issues.

 

[huskyfever34]

Yea I think Wooden is every bit as legendary as Auerbach, probably more. K, Jimmy, Izzo etc were more revered than all the coaches in their prime era except maybe Pop and Phil. And now, Spo is probably the best coach and he's not even discussed much generally.

 

[Teddie1056]

I think college coaches are held in higher esteem usually.

 

[boog204]

Yea I think Wooden is every bit as legendary as Auerbach, probably more. K, Jimmy, Izzo etc were more revered than all the coaches in their prime era except maybe Pop and Phil. And now, Spo is probably the best coach and he's not even discussed much generally.

I mean in my lifetime (I'm 44), the "legendary" NBA coaches are probably Phil, Pop, Riley, Chuck Daly, Spoelstra, Kerr, and maybe KC Jones? Lenny Wilkens? And even that list, I think, has distinct "tiers" within it. But that's 8 guys in 44 years. There's easily 5-6 times the amount of college coaches who fit into the "legend" category.

 

[DRBackup]

Or Knight, John Thompson or Izzo considered "lesser" coaches by peers, media or fans because they stayed on college rather than testing the pros?

Do people think they are lesser coaches than Riley, Pop, Jackson, etc?

Would love to see Hurley stay in NCAA and do the K thing of positioning himself for national team coaching and winning Olympic gold.

Ask the followup question to get the answer - who is a great college coach that went on to also be a great NBA coach. I mean, there might be one, but I'm not aware of it, frankly.

 

[DRBackup]

I find it tough to understand why Hurley would want to coach an NBA team. But if that's his dream, then I hope he gets to pursue it someday. However, he'll be giving up what is currently the best job in college basketball, and he'll be taking a risk in terms of personal happiness. He'll also be closing out his legacy as it relates to UConn. At some point maybe he'll change his mind about coaching anywhere but here. I sure hope so.

I would tend to agree with you if it were just going to coach just any NBA team. Before last year, that may have been a distant dream of Hurley's - to coach in the NBA. But now ? He just turned down the Lakers. He should be able to pick the job he wants, within reason, assuming nothing crazy happens. As a NJ guy, maybe getting to be the Knicks head coach is a dream job, regardless of the difficulties of coaching in the NBA. I get that.

 

[Kitaman]

How many jobs do you know of where the employee makes more than the boss?

Many NBA coaches its a money grab (and rightfully so), switching from team to team (e.g. Rivers, Williams) because teams are in a win now scenario. No time to build, empty seats means empty revenue.

Just saying how the hell do you get someone who makes more than you to work harder (i.e. practice) at 100%? Yelling just going to piss them off. And Dan is about culture change.

Imagine Danny coaching Draymond Green.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What the general public thinks may not really matter as in most cases it would come down to personal preference. Some of these coaches may truly believe that they need to accomplish something at the highest professional level while others are content with something other than that.

Tell me, do you think Bob Hurley Sr. views himself as a less accomplished coach because he never coached beyond high school?

At the moment Danny sees the NBA as a challenge that at some point he would like to attempt. His thought process may change as he continues here but it also may become more important to him to give it a shot.

The one thing that I am fully confident in is that while he is here he will continue to be what he currently is, a relentless worker who won't ever rest on his prior accomplishments.

 

[Kembafan]

That is highly subjective.

BTW recruiting has always been difficult in college, I don't really buy the idea that it is tougher now, and least it is no longer dirty and the coaches no longer have to worry about an NCAA investigation. Kelvin Samson once lost his job over phone calls and texts. We all saw the scrutiny Calhoun had to endure. UConn is at the top of the recruiting food chain right now. Karaban is in the NBA if not for NIL.

I don’t think it’s subjective. Being a head coach in the NBA is less work than being a college head coach at a top program. That’s an objective truth.

As for recruiting always being difficult. Sure. But it’s more difficult now. You have to re-recruit your own players every year. And you have to hit the portal. And you have to raise NIL money. It’s year-round. How does that compare to the NBA job? Where there’s zero recruiting? Theres some scouting draft picks but that’s waaaaay less work because it’s limited to a handful of possible choices.

 

[jibsey]

I don’t think it’s subjective. Being a head coach in the NBA is less work than being a college head coach at a top program. That’s an objective truth.

As for recruiting always being difficult. Sure. But it’s more difficult now. You have to re-recruit your own players every year. And you have to hit the portal. And you have to raise NIL money. It’s year-round. How does that compare to the NBA job? Where there’s zero recruiting? Theres some scouting draft picks but that’s waaaaay less work because it’s limited to a handful of possible choices.

Travel, massive egos and less control over the outcome surpass that in negatives but we’ll see.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

People talk about the NBA on this board like it’s a pro roller derby league or Slamball.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I agree with this. There was a time when NBA coaches were legendary. But that was long ago. Jackson was really the last of them. But back in the day you had Auerbach, Red Hotlzman of the Knicks, Heinson, Pat Riley. They were part of the fabric of their teams. Now it is some guy named Moe. Heck the head coach of the Boston Celtics, another legendary team, was coaching D2 Fairmont State in 2019. Which btw is his only head coaching experience. And he is just as likely to be out on his butt if the team doesn’t win it all this year as he is to be back. If that happens, he’ll end up in Brooklyn or Detroit or wherever there is an opening next year. Or look at Thibidau with the Knicks, Timberwolves, Bulls after 20 years as an assistant in various places. He is the prototypical NBA head coach. Start as an Assistant, then move up. Wear out your welcome in one town and move on to the next.

100%
NBA coaches remind me of backup quarterbacks in the NFL:
You rarely know where they came from, you'll not be surprised to see them on a different bench from year to year, and sometimes out of nowhere, these guys head-scratchingly get the job to actually lead a team