Who will replace our coaching legends?
Posted: Monday, February 11, 2008 12:12 PM
Filed Under:
Coaches, Rants
It’s been a week since Bob Knight resigned at Texas Tech. In that time, we’ve seen stories about Knight’s softer side, his tendency to hold grudges, his undeniable imprint on the game and musings that it may not be Knight’s last season on the bench.
And some took all of that into account, dealing with his good and bad aspects and how they affect his legacy. One article had a decidedly unflattering opinion – though not entirely unfair. (For example: Knight did graduate players, run a clean program and win games, but so did Dean Smith and Smith didn’t come with the extra baggage.)
But the one that keeps gnawing at me is tangential to Knight. Frankly, I’m surprised it took me so long to run across it.
This story from Dick Weiss (a N.Y. Daily News icon) at FoxSports.com laments Knight, 67, as a dying breed of the “teacher-coaches” in favor of “younger, good-looking, extroverted figureheads” who can just put people in the seats.
“Most college presidents, boards of trustees and ADs have turned corporate. They have now started to hire younger, good-looking, extroverted figureheads they can sell to their alums and big donors rather than the quirky, ruffled Pete Carril-like coaches. They are willing to invest more than a $1 million per year in the right candidate, hoping it pays major dividends like Billy Donovan did at Florida.”
Yes, that sounds like a cranky column, but I do understand the sentiment. Essentially, it’s about the transition from era into another one where coaches may not have the longevity as someone like Knight. And it’s worth a small lament.
Weiss spotlights coaches like Mike Krzyzewski (61 this week), Jim Calhoun (65 in May), Jim Boeheim (just turned 63), Gary Williams (63 in March) and Rick Majerus (60 on Sunday) who are all likely to retire from coaching in the next few years. (Though Lute Olson, 72, plans on returning to Arizona next season, which means all those guys may not be done that soon.)
Combined, those six coaches have eight NCAA Tournament titles and more than 4,000 victories. They’re among the game’s most successful coaches of all time, let alone this era.
And yes, as those coaches retire, college basketball will lose a large part of its most notable aspect. After all, there is more coaching turnover than ever before in the college game, which makes coaching icons more visible than ever before.
But there are new icons out there.
Billy Donovan, for instance. Among active coaches, only Coach K has more NCAA titles. And Donovan, who spurned the NBA in the offseason, has turned Florida into a hoops power, something few thought possible. At 42, he’s in his 12th season with the Gators and just passed 300 career wins. That’s not far behind where Knight was at 42 – and he began his coaching career at age 24.
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo didn’t get a young start like that, but he’s no less an icon at Michigan State. He’s 52, but has spent the past 13 seasons turning the Spartans into an elite program, with an NCAA title and four Final Fours.
Gonzaga’s Mark Few may not have a Final Four on his resume, but he’s 45, and with a coaching record few can match. Only Everett Case and Roy Williams had better starts to their careers.
They’re three of the best examples associated with one school, though coaches like Al Skinner (200 wins and always underrated at Boston College), Tom Crean (a Final Four, 180 wins in 9 seasons at Marquette), Dana Altman (spurned Arkansas to come back for a 15th season at Creighton) and Phil Martelli (who can forget that 2004 season from St. Joe’s?) deserve mention.
This doesn’t even include coaches who have thrived at multiple schools like Rick Pitino (Kentucky, Louisville, Providence all in the Final Four, to say nothing of his remarkable 1996 Wildcats squad), Roy Williams – fast becoming an icon at UNC after a remarkable run at Kansas – Rick Barnes (a Final Four and more than 200 wins in 10 seasons at Texas, to say nothing of his time at Clemson, Providence and George Mason) or Kelvin Sampson (after winning at Washington State, he took Oklahoma to a Final Four and could do the same for Indiana).
Want others? I’d put Ben Howland (revived Pittsburgh before taking UCLA to two Final Fours in just four seasons), Thad Matta (is there a better recruiter/coach in the country? Ohio State, like Xavier before it, bears Matta’s stamp) and Bill Self (a winner everywhere he’s been, Final Four be dammed).
I’d say the college game is in good hands, even more of the legendary coaches do start retiring.
