Next Generation Head Coaches (Today's Great Assistants?)

[Gate81]

Recent threads have mentioned that several WBB head coaches will likely retire within 5 years as they are in their 60's+ (Geno, McGraw, Tara, cViv etc.). So here's the question: who are the next generation of great coaches? They may be Assistant Coaches today, but possess the traits needed to make the leap to head coach.

 

[VAUConnFan]

How is it even possible to determine who will become a great coach?
Is there a statistical correlation between assisting for a great coach and becoming a great coach? Is there a statistical correlastion to previous expereience as a predictor of future head coaching success? I can only think of four great coaches in the men's game who apprenticed with HOFers; Coack K, Roy Williams, Denny Crum, and Rick Pitino. Coach Stringer had absolutely no experience coaching basketball when handed the helm at Cheyney. She got her first head coaching job by merely raising her hand. HOF tutelage, absolutely no experience, pro experience, high school coach(Coach Coale), former players,; Success has been achieved within a myriad of previous experiences.
I am actually convinced that every coach out there possesses the knowledge, skills, temperament, and motivation to be a great coach. Having teams that perennially overachieve will garner many accolades, but actual greatness is only conferred upon those able to perennially win and to perennially advance in the postseason. There were very few if any on this board who would have foreseen Coach Staley's current success a few years ago when Kelsey Bone transferred. All this said, who is going to be able to recruit talent and coach them to a high winning percentage? Who is going to be able to recruit in today's and tomorrow's coaching atmosphere? I, personally, have no idea, but would love to see more women getting head coaching positions in the women's game, and within that context, like to see to see more black women hired as head coaches; Then wish them all the best of luck.

 

[mudcat]

How is it even possible to determine who will become a great coach?
Is there a statistical correlation between assisting for a great coach and becoming a great coach? Is there a statistical correlastion to previous expereience as a predictor of future head coaching success? I can only think of four great coaches in the men's game who apprenticed with HOFers; Coack K, Roy Williams, Denny Crum, and Rick Pitino. Coach Stringer had absolutely no experience coaching basketball when handed the helm at Cheyney. She got her first head coaching job by merely raising her hand. HOF tutelage, absolutely no experience, pro experience, high school coach(Coach Coale), former players,; Success has been achieved within a myriad of previous experiences.
I am actually convinced that every coach out there possesses the knowledge, skills, temperament, and motivation to be a great coach. Having teams that perennially overachieve will garner many accolades, but actual greatness is only conferred upon those able to perennially win and to perennially advance in the postseason. There were very few if any on this board who would have foreseen Coach Staley's current success a few years ago when Kelsey Bone transferred. All this said, who is going to be able to recruit talent and coach them to a high winning percentage? Who is going to be able to recruit in today's and tomorrow's coaching atmosphere? I, personally, have no idea, but would love to see more women getting head coaching positions in the women's game, and within that context, like to see to see more black women hired as head coaches; Then wish them all the best of luck.

How about Billy Donovan when he was at FL, didn't he play for and coach with Rick Pitino? I like the head coaches at TCU and Albany as young coaches, but you're right it's almost impossible to predict. Just look how UCONN lucked out with that assistant coach from Virginia.

 

[Sonny44]

Tartamella.

 

[UcMiami]

VAU - I agree. It is easier to look at head coaches at lesser programs and identify that they are doing a good job, than to guess how someone assisting on a team would do given the HCing job. It is sort of like looking at the 12th player on a championship team and projecting how they would do if they were starting compared to a starting player on the worst team in the league.

You can look at an assistant and say they seem to be upgrading the recruiting for a program, but that is like looking at a star junior sales guy doing cold calling - they are great at moving the ball along, but they aren't the one actually closing the deal.
You can look at the assistant working with the guards and see steady improvement in their charges, but are they equally adept at teaching post players, implementing whole team concepts and building the individuals into a high functioning unit.

And that leaves out all the other things that go into making a great coach - the delegation of authority and creating 'ownership' from top to bottom in the program, the administrative headaches and political fighting that constitute being part of any large organization, the public relations aspects of being the figurehead, and responsibility and pressure that goes with growing the whole enterprise. Hiring the right people and firing the wrong ones, and recruiting both employees and players that fit into the structure you create.

People point to the recruiting at Hartford and say Jen doesn't have the ability to recruit Uconn class talent - and I say, we have no idea. The product Jen sells at Hartford is a Timex, if you gave her a Rolex to sell she might do very well. What you can say is that she has run a small program successfully dealing with all the issue that entails and when given a Cartier to run by USA basketball she has been very successful.

People point to Shea and Niele and say they will be great head coaches, but they haven't actually proved anything beyond being junior members of a coaching staff, and if you look around the WCBB landscape it is littered with highly regarded assistant coaches from very good teams who have failed or are struggling mightily as HCs. Even looking right here at home on the men's side - Kevin did a fantastic job keeping a program in trouble together, and in his second year took them to the promised land - but that was actually mostly Jim's team, and the results since that date are not quite as glorious. People often dismiss what Peck did at Purdue with an 'inherited' team, is that so different?

 

[Zorro]

Holly was a great assistant coach.

 

[Gate81]

so you guys really don't want to rise to the challenge? not something I'd have expected from this knowledgeable group!

 

[iamcbs]

so you guys really don't want to rise to the challenge? not something I'd have expected from this knowledgeable group!

It isn't about rising to a challenge. What is the challenge exactly, to speculate on which current assistant BB Coach at one of the 335 universities that play D-1 NCAA WCBB would be a great HC, with all of the variables involved? That isn't a challenge at all, that's tantamount to asking who'll win the next "American Idol." Being an Assistant Coach, even at a great program doesn't guarantee success in an HC position. Assistants make suggestions, HC's have to make decisions and there are many factors involved. You mentioned C. Vivian Stringer, she didn't have any BB coaching or playing experience when she took the job at Cheyney State. Where was the predictor for her success? VAU's response is the most cogent one you'll get on this subject. As I said it's merely idle speculation which most obviously choose not to engage in.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Leon Barmore assistants have done well: Nell Fortner; Kim Mulkey; Gary Blair; Kurt Budke; Kristy Curry; and Stacy Johnson-Klein have all had success (and yes some falls). Perhaps preparing young coaches, and maybe seeing who has the potential, was one of his gifts. I do not know of another wbb college coach who has such a coaching tree.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Holly was a great assistant coach.

What is a great assistant? Someone who brings the coffee and donuts in on time??

 

[BroadwayVa]

It isn't about rising to a challenge. What is the challenge exactly, to speculate on which current assistant BB Coach at one of the 335 universities that play D-1 NCAA WCBB would be a great HC, with all of the variables involved? That isn't a challenge at all, that's tantamount to asking who'll win the next "American Idol." Being an Assistant Coach, even at a great program doesn't guarantee success in an HC position. Assistants make suggestions, HC's have to make decisions and there are many factors involved. You mentioned C. Vivian Stringer, she didn't have any BB coaching or playing experience when she took the job at Cheyney State. Where was the predictor for her success? VAU's response is the most cogent one you'll get on this subject. As I said it's merely idle speculation which most obviously choose not to engage in.

That inner fire, rarely seen in great assistants until they are GREAT head coaches--would anyone THEN have said geno would be a great head coach?? The key word is as an assistant THEN> Lots of things must come into being---The program MUST provide money and high level support, ability to recuit--ability to recruit (it's that important)--drive, determination, personality, and 100,000 unknowns.

 

[UcMiami]

Leon Barmore assistants have done well: Nell Fortner; Kim Mulkey; Gary Blair; Kurt Budke; Kristy Curry; and Stacy Johnson-Klein have all had success (and yes some falls). Perhaps preparing young coaches, and maybe seeing who has the potential, was one of his gifts. I do not know of another wbb college coach who has such a coaching tree.

Nice. Jim Foster comes to mind - with both Geno and Muffet in his coaching tree. The best trainers of great coaches may not be the best coaches themselves - I don't think the two qualities march together.

And it isn't just WCBB, but all sports at all levels, where it is not a given that assistants to great coaches make great coaches themselves.

 

[msf22b]

One of the problems in assessing (for example) the UConn assistants is the absence of data.

We don't see them at work (practice), there are relatively few public utterances or interviews...some but not much.
So we are left to judge the results and if we care to study them, (rather than the game) and perhaps if we employ the services of a good lip-reader, we might have additional insights.

Also, all facets of UConn's game have seemingly improved, both backcourt and front court play.
Hard to say which kids are getting better coaching.

So we are left to guess.

OK, I'll bite...

I think Marisa has the most potential as between her, Shea, even Jen
Shea seems so darn serious, frightens me sometimes

The few times I've heard Marisa, she displays leadership, intelligence and perhaps a bit of Geno's zany sense of humor.
Whether that in addition to those other necessary (unknown) qualities makes her a great coach remains to be seen.
But I expect that we will get to see them soon (somewhere else).

With regard other teams, Niele with her great reputation for recruiting and her fire off the bench seems a natural...I'd pencil her in for ND or Stanford, which ever opens first.

And since all of this is unsupportable conjecture...i'd nominate Kara for UTenn or even UConn as the darkest of dark horses.
I think she's got it.

 

[TFintheMix]

Holly was a great assistant coach.

How did you determine that she was a great assistant coach? Other than recruiting, most "great" assistants should to defer to the head coach (making the boss and the program look good).

 

[Zorro]

I rest my case.

 

[iamcbs]

One of the problems in assessing (for example) the UConn assistants is the absence of data.

We don't see them at work (practice), there are relatively few public utterances or interviews...some but not much.
So we are left to judge the results and if we care to study them, (rather than the game) and perhaps if we employ the services of a good lip-reader, we might have additional insights.

Also, all facets of UConn's game have seemingly improved, both backcourt and front court play.
Hard to say which kids are getting better coaching.

So we are left to guess.

OK, I'll bite...

I think Marisa has the most potential as between her, Shea, even Jen
Shea seems so darn serious, frightens me sometimes

The few times I've heard Marisa, she displays leadership, intelligence and perhaps a bit of Geno's zany sense of humor.
Whether that in addition to those other necessary (unknown) qualities makes her a great coach remains to be seen.
But I expect that we will get to see them soon (somewhere else).

With regard other teams, Niele with her great reputation for recruiting and her fire off the bench seems a natural...I'd pencil her in for ND or Stanford, which ever opens first.

And since all of this is unsupportable conjecture...i'd nominate Kara for UTenn or even UConn as the darkest of dark horses.
I think she's got it.

Kara's future is locked, she is such a natural in the studio and her insight and analysis are so spot on, she's never leaving television. She has way too much talent in that area for the day-to-day grind of coaching at any level. Plus TV pays a lot more!!

 

[meyers7]

Holly was a great assistant coach.

And she's doing a bang up job as HC.

 

[VAUConnFan]

How about Billy Donovan when he was at FL, didn't he play for and coach with Rick Pitino? I like the head coaches at TCU and Albany as young coaches, but you're right it's almost impossible to predict. Just look how UCONN lucked out with that assistant coach from Virginia.

Are we ready to anoint Coach Donovan as a great coach? (Note: Coach Pitino's recent induction into the HOF totally escaped me)
He definitely enjoyed success at Florida.

 

[pinotbear]

What is a great assistant? Someone who brings the coffee and donuts in on time??

It's only a broad tangential comparison, but, I coached girls' fastpitch softball for 20 years, at the town, Little League, high school and summer ball levels. Other than Little League, I was an assistant coach. I'm much better as an assistant than as a head coach. The head coach is the face of the program - even in high school, he/she gets the interviews from the local paper, deals with parents, administrators, academic eligibility, health issues, conference/league meetings, whatever. Assistant coaches just ... coach. They do skills, mental game, team chemistry, in-game advice (not decisions, advice, much easier). They focus on the individual players and the individual games, individual situations. Being a head coach, even at rudimentary levels, has a whole different menu of responsibilities. Some assistants are capable of mastering it, some are not, and some aren't too interested (see Daily, Chris). At a place like UConn, it's a very daunting set of expectations. This is why I get a little nutty when folks assume that just because "blank" (Bird, Taurasi, whomever) is a world-class player, they could jump in and be a world-class head coach. There's almost no correlation whatsoever. Doesn't mean that some can't - Bird, Russel, etc. - but, it's by no means a sure bet.

 

[SCGamecock]

Maybe the next generation of great coaches will come from the player ranks..

There's a great generation of female players in their 30's who I think will be great coaches..

 

[easttexastrash]

Maybe the next generation of great coaches will come from the player ranks..

There's a great generation of female players in their 30's who I think will be great coaches..

I think Katie Smith could eventually return to the college ranks and be a darn good head coach.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Maybe the next generation of great coaches will come from the player ranks..

There's a great generation of female players in their 30's who I think will be great coaches..

Could very well be.

Speaking of players, I think Moriah Jefferson has coach written all over her.

 

[huskyd]

Woody Allen paradigm: "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach; and those who can't teach, teach phys ed."

 

[geneticrex]

I believe I heard Taurasi mention something about the possibility of coaching in her future.

It's an intriguing prospect for me. On one hand, you have the one player who displayed the golden trifecta in spades. Great basketball skillset (especially at crunchtime), combined with great leadership qualities, combined with the ability to elevate the games of everyone on the floor with her. On the other hand, you have a person from the UCONN tree with high level wit and confidence in front of a camera.

Of course we don't yet know if she can coach and recruit, but I have no doubt her interviews would be as entertaining as Geno's.

 

[reno tony]

While we are working on this challenge, I offer another.... who was the best Vice President?