OT: Celtics hire Brad Stevens as their next head coach
Link=all over twitter/espn
Wasn't he the guy said he'd go to 'whichever school showed him the most love' and he was down to Butler and Michigan? (or at least that was his top 2)
In other news, this may end Butler's run as a mid-major power. That school is so small, I'd be surprised if they can sustain it after losing Stevens
Edit: Previous 247 prediction was 100% Butler, with Michigan as the only other 'warmer' school. Would seem to be a good development for us
http://247sports.com/Player/Trevon-Bluiett-14935
Very shocked by this. I don't think he will be a success in the NBA. But college bball lost a great coach
Isn't Boston basically blowng up everything and rebuilding? (Isn't that the speculated reason why Rivers wanted out?) Seems like, if Boston really is rebuilding, we might see Stevens back at a major college job within 5 years
You're totally underselling the Gerald Wallace/Jeff Green/Rondo core. That's a dynamic team right there just waiting for a bright young coach.
/s
for Stevens. At the least, he just gets a massive pay raise for a few years, and at best he does a good job and sticks. If it doesn't work out, lots of colleges will still hire him at the highest levels due to his past success.
...who was down to Purdue and Michigan. Bluiett supposedly is considering a whole bunch of teams, though Butler was believed to be the leader with Michigan 2nd.
Picks are moving to Michigan as we speak.
I've never been to Butler but I'm gonna go ahead and assume Stevens was the most attractive aspect of the school/basketball program by a large margin.
Well, there's now at least one person on this board who hasn't seen Hoosiers.
college hoops venues. Beautiful campus, too. Catch a game there if you have a chance.
How does this news help Michigan.
Trevon Blueitt come on down.
I'm Celtics fan and I've to say I do not know this guy at all.
I barely watch College Basketball. Way too early to say, but is he a good pickup for Boston ?
but he was awesome for Butler. Consistently turned teams with no recruiting hype into national contenders. He took Butler to consecutive national title games and also knocked off #1 Indiana and #something Gonzaga last year.
He's done awesome at Butler, not sure how well he'll make the jump to the NBA
I generally think it's a bad idea to hire college coaches for NBA teams. The coaching is just so different, with college (at least for a place like Butler) being much more developmental and motivational and NBA coaching being far more technical about manipulating matchups, creating defensive organization and running slight variations off the same sets.
In fact, it's hard to think of a college coach that's been successful in the NBA. Calipari and Pitino both failed. The most successful might be ... PJ Carlesimo? ... and he's never been what you'd call successful.
That said, Stephens is smart and he never won with overwhelming talent, or a system like Pitino's that depends on overwhelming the other team with ball pressure, so maybe he'll have a chance.
Larry Brown was the most successful college to pro guy.
Ummm... Okay then.
This likely helps UM with Blueitt, and probably ends Butlers little run they've had recently, at least once the current recruits graduate. As for the Celtics, I think they'll get a hard-working coach but I'm not sold he'll be able to handle the added complexity and scrutiny associated with the NBA, especially at a prominent team like Boston. The number of big-name college coaches who flamed out in the pros is long and depressing, and many of them at least came from big-time programs. He's inheriting a very mediocre team that just lost two of its best players, is looking to rebuild, and is replacing a guy in Rivers who won quite a bit (even though I think Doc is overrated as a coach). This feels like Stevens will coach a couple of years and they be replaced with a more established name once the team starts to increase its talent level.
And there's another candidate who's already at Butler and is also an alum—Brandon Miller. He seems just as much an inside-the-family candidate (if not more so) than Jordan.
If Butler stays within family, Stevens' successor could be Brandon Miller (just returned to staff) or Michigan assistant LaVall Jordan.
— David Woods (@DavidWoods007) July 3, 2013
Tom Thibideau is an example of a coach that get those things out of his players all season long. So it is possible to do.
At the same time, there have been rumblings from Chicago that some players are not that crazy about playing for him anymore, that his style wears guys down, etc. Probably some complaining bench guys, but there's a reason so few of those disciplinarian types make it in the NBA. You have grown men making millions of dollars, and few of them want some guy making significantly less money and far less athletic screaming at them to work harder. I think Stevens is a good coach for college, but nothing about him seems like a great fit for Boston as a first-time coach.
Rick Pitino anyone?? I think he's a great coach, but I really can't see him commanding the respect of Rondo and Boston isn't know for being for being paitent.
So how is Butler looking now to the new Big East?? I'm thinking Memphis looks better right about now.
I think he'd be a great fit in the front office, but I'm not sure if players are going to start buying into analytics about their play nearly as much as agents and GMs. Stevens will have to either convince guys like Rondo to believe in him (which seems unlikely given how tough Rivers had in getting Rondo on the same page) or win early and often so that the pressure is off. The Boston fans are used to (at the least the media portrayal of) a contending team, and next year definitely will be a rebuilding one. It will be interesting to see if Stevens draws their ire if/when the season sputters.
Dude just yanked up the annual income by several multiples.
I mean, why not? If he succeeds, great. If he fails, he'll just go back to college -- like Carlissimo, Petino, etc., they all did it. And even if he fails, he gets to see what it takes to be an NBA guy, gets some more exposure, etc. That's all stuff he can sell to recruits long-term.
So it's a win-win for him. Long term, looking out 20 years, this can't hurt him at all, regardless how well the Celtics do. Someone said, he can replace Coach K? Sure, why not, maybe he leaves the pros in 2-3 years -- that's about the average lifespan of an NBA coaching gig anyway.
And, meanwhile, Mr. Blueitt, your options have just changed!
Either Stevens is successful and Boston has found a great young coach.
Or Stevens isn't successful, Boston tanks for Wiggins, and in a couple years Stevens will have his choice of college coaching jobs
I don't think it hurts college hoops. There are teams like Butler every year. They don't have to do it consistently to make it exciting. SDSU a couple years ago, Florida Gulf Coast last year. Speaking of FGC, I thought Andy Enfield would have been the perfect hire for the Clippers. He would have taken dunk city to a new level there. Doc Rivers is way overrated if he doesn't have the most talent in the league, as are just about all NBA coaches not named Larry Brown.
You're talking about Tournament teams. There are upsets every year, but Butler was the exception. Stevens was 166-49 in 6 seasons at Butler and he made the Tournament 5 times. They went to the Championship game two years in a row. For a Mid-Major, that's pretty incredible. I wouldn't quite say there are teams like Butler every year but there are some Mid-Majors that do buck the trend every once in awhile.
Fuck the NBA.
Sigh... Remember a few years ago when Boston offered Rondo and the Pistons rejected?
Allen and Rondo for Rip, Tayshaun, and Stuckey. I would have took the trade then. I've never been a fan of Stuckey.
Now I'm reading that the Celtics would want Monroe in return. I'd deal Monroe but only if they pick up Josh Smith which isn't looking likely.
A simple rule for Joe and the Pistons, no trades with Boston, ever.
You must be too young to remember the 2004 title, then.
I'm sorry.
Dick Vitale got snookered twice. Boston rarely seems to get the worst of any trades, including the last one with the Pistons.The trade in 2003 worked out well because it was mostly with Atlanta.