Assistants who can recruit are recession proof
Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 5:55 PM
Filed Under:
Recruiting
Think being a coach’s right hand man is a thankless job? Not if you can recruit.
A great story by Rivals.com’s Bob McClellan details the deal of Kansas State assistant Dalonte Hill, who was the main man behind Michael Beasley’s Wildcats 1-year stint.
Put it this way: Hill doesn’t have to worry about the stock market collapse.
Combine Hill’s base salary ($150,000) and his additional compensation ($270,000 for television, radio, Internet, promotional and other services) for a $420,000 gross this season. Hey, if you can bring in the nation’s top talent, it’s worth it.
According to Rivals’ research, that’s far and away the largest assistant coach contract in college hoops, and more than half of what K-State head coach Frank Martin makes.
Other top assistants make up to $265,000 (like UNC assistant Joe Holladay), while guys on Tony Bennett’s Washington State staff got $25,000 raises to bump their pay to $110,000.
Essentially, as college hoops’ profile keeps growing, the salaries grow too. Head coaches like Kansas’ Bill Self and Florida’s Billy Donovan make more than $3 million annually.
Of course, the game’s changed a lot in recent years. Just ask Jerry Tarkanian.
Tark – who now has a blog on the Las Vegas Sun – writes in entertaining fashion about trying to recruit Sam Bowie, going against Arizona and how they got Anderson Hunt out of Detroit and into UNLV.
How would Tark fare in today’s recruiting world? Probably not well. He’s got a bit about how he wouldn’t be one of those coaches who offer more scholarships than he has, but that’s not how the big boys roll nowadays.
In the age of one-and-done players, you have to count on players leaving for the NBA, thus leaving you with more scholarships every season.
But I bet Tark could still get a few players.
