Do college coaches go to the NBA any more? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Do college coaches go to the NBA any more?

Huskyforlife said:
I think Cal will go at some point. Jay Wright turned down the 76ers if I’m remembering correctly. Coach K I believe turned down some teams. Self seems satisfied at KU. It would need to be someone like Scott Drew or Dan next imo.
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Calipari did go to the pros coaching the Nets and the 76ers. Pitino did his stint in the pros as well coaching the Celts. Getting there is not as hard as staying there.

I suspect Hurley will go eventually. He's on record a few times with saying that that is a goal for him.
 
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I actually think that somone like Mcdermott could be a good NBA coach. That said its alot harder and you dont get to just have better players
 
Think you guys are overrating job security. It's important if you're working a 9-6 email job, sure. Being a basketball coach getting paid millions of dollars...not so much.

I actually wonder why most guys would want to stay in college. Having to fly all over the country and text 16 years constantly to "show love" when you could just be coaching basketball? This is even more true in the NIL world.

The insane drive is what makes these guys so successful, why wouldn't you want to give it a shot in the most competitive basketball league in the world?
 
ConnHuskBask said:
I actually wonder why most guys would want to stay in college. Having to fly all over the country and text 16 years constantly to "show love" when you could just be coaching basketball? This is even more true in the NIL world.
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I agree - I was surprised someone thought the quality of life favors college. Popp is not sitting in a high school gym in South Carolina in July and then jumping on a plane to sit in some other dumpy gym the next day. He's drinking ten bottles of wine and falling asleep on a boat off Positano.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
I agree - I was surprised someone thought the quality of life favors college. Popp is not sitting in a high school gym in South Carolina in July and then jumping on a plane to sit in some other dumpy gym the next day. He's drinking ten bottles of wine and falling asleep on a boat off Positano.
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Right and not to mention instead of flying cross country to play in podunk college towns (less so in the Big East to be fair), you're flying to NYC, Miami, Chicago, LA, etc.

Not that these guys are taking duck boat tours in Boston but they are probably staying at the fanciest of accomodations and dining at the best spots in those respective cities.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I agree - I was surprised someone thought the quality of life favors college. Popp is not sitting in a high school gym in South Carolina in July and then jumping on a plane to sit in some other dumpy gym the next day. He's drinking ten bottles of wine and falling asleep on a boat off Positano.
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Coach K was doing the same thing Pop is doing.
 
Call me an optimist but I think Hurley leaves UConn when he’s done coaching. I think the NBA is what he wanted but I think hell realize he’s at the perfect spot who he is
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Great example.
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You picked the most well known coach in the NBA in the very twilight of his career, coach K was the most well known coach in the very twilight of his career. Neither guy is/was doing anything they didn't want to be doing and they're both sitting on boatloads of cash.
 
superjohn said:
You picked the most well known coach in the NBA in the very twilight of his career, coach K was the most well known coach in the very twilight of his career. Neither guy is/was doing anything they didn't want to be doing and they're both sitting on boatloads of cash.
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Fair enough: the average NBA coach has a much better, more comfortable lifestyle than the average college coach. That's my take.
 
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Just poking through salaries... Hurley makes a hair over 5 million right now. That would put him around middle-of-the-pack from what I can see in the NBA.
 
AntG168 said:
But most average college coaches aren’t getting NBA offers
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Okay. The average NBA coach has a better QOL than the average coach of a successful P5 program. Better? It's just my take. People can differ. I randomly played golf with an NBA coach a few years ago and asked him if he would consider a college gig and he laughed. A lot of guys just don't want to deal with the grind of recruiting, the year-round nature of it, and babysitting teenagers. Again, people can disagree, but that doesn't seem very controversial.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I agree - I was surprised someone thought the quality of life favors college. Popp is not sitting in a high school gym in South Carolina in July and then jumping on a plane to sit in some other dumpy gym the next day. He's drinking ten bottles of wine and falling asleep on a boat off Positano.
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Unless you're an all-time great like Popp or Phil Jackson, I just don't see the upside to coaching in the NBA besides getting to tell people "I coached at the highest level".

Nick Nurse won a title and was jettisoned from Toronto 3 years later. Mike Budenholzer only lasted two years after his title. Same with Frank Vogel. Hell, Dwayne Casey won Coach of the Year in 2018 and was still fired the exact same year!

It really just doesn't seem worth it to me.
 
whosurdaddy2720 said:
Unless you're an all-time great like Popp or Phil Jackson, I just don't see the upside to coaching in the NBA besides getting to tell people "I coached at the highest level".

Nick Nurse won a title and was jettisoned from Toronto 3 years later. Mike Budenholzer only lasted two years after his title. Same with Frank Vogel. Hell, Dwayne Casey won Coach of the Year in 2018 and was still fired the exact same year!

It really just doesn't seem worth it to me.
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Eh, Nick Nurse is coaching the 76ers. These guys get recycled, just like the NFL. I think the upside is not dealing with recruiting, parents, boosters, summers, etc. The flip side is that it's a longer season with more travel, but they're not exactly slumming it. Some guys like Hurley (and Calhoun) seem built for the college game.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Okay. The average NBA coach has a better QOL than the average coach of a successful P5 program. Better? It's just my take. People can differ. I randomly played golf with an NBA coach a few years ago and asked him if he would consider a college gig and he laughed. A lot of guys just don't want to deal with the grind of recruiting, the year-round nature of it, and babysitting teenagers. Again, people can disagree, but that doesn't seem very controversial.
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I think it's personal preference. The travel sucks (or is great) in both jobs. You get to be a surrogate Dad to a rotating group of kids, or you get to manage uber-rich star athletes and their entourage. In college you control your roster but have to rebuild it every year. In the NBA, you have to work with what you're given and may honestly not even have a chance of winning. College is a lot fewer games, but recruiting is its own season. Media expectations are similar.

I don't think I'd want either job.
 
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I remember the lakers flirting with JC at a point and time, but I think coaching in college compared to the NBA is night and day
 
Waquoit said:
They had high hopes for Fred Hoiberg and he bombed out.
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The Mayor! (At Iowa State). Great player but my only real memory of him was getting torched by the Fab 5 at the Palace.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Fair enough: the average NBA coach has a much better, more comfortable lifestyle than the average college coach. That's my take.
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Agreed and maybe the job security thing is overrated because the NBA has always liked retreads. It's fine if you don't mind changing addresses. I do find it interesting that more college coaches have always been more well known and more revered than NBA coaches. A lot of these guys have huge egos so I think it's a factor.

I've been told Jay Wright didn't like the direction of college hoops. He didn't want to have to coach and be their head fundraiser/dealing with boosters while not developing kids his way anymore with the portal threat. I wouldn't be surprised if it pushed Roy to leave a little early too. The college job has gotten more complicated in recent years.
 
StllH8L8ner said:
The Mayor! (At Iowa State). Great player but my only real memory of him was getting torched by the Fab 5 at the Palace.
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He got a win coaching in the Dance against us. He got his NBA job after losing to UConn in the Dance.
 
superjohn said:
Agreed and maybe the job security thing is overrated because the NBA has always liked retreads. It's fine if you don't mind changing addresses. I do find it interesting that more college coaches have always been more well known and more revered than NBA coaches. A lot of these guys have huge egos so I think it's a factor.

I've been told Jay Wright didn't like the direction of college hoops. He didn't want to have to coach and be their head fundraiser/dealing with boosters while not developing kids his way anymore with the portal threat. I wouldn't be surprised if it pushed Roy to leave a little early too. The college job has gotten more complicated in recent years.
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Agreed on all points.

Think the biggest draws to college are complete autonomy over your program and not only being the face of your school or state, but really the entire sport.

March Madness doesn't take a back seat to just about anything in the US, and guys like K, Roy, Izzo, Pitino, Calhoun had the limelight for decades.

I don't think it's hyperbole given Hurleys personality, success, platform and age that he could be THE face of the sport in the coming decade. That is a pretty cool carrot.
 
hurley is a control freak and would therefore be an absolutely horrible nba coach. no offense intended. not worried about him making the jump at all. his personality is perfectly suited for college.
 
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