huzzah Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 The following will rely heavily on the Wall Street Journal, March 17-18 article "Good Coach, Bad Mentor" written by Darren Everson. The best mentors include Rick Pitino, Herb Sendek, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, and Tom Izzo. The worst mentors include Roy Williams, Tubby Smith, Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski, and Bob Knight. The article indicates the going rate for head coaches in the major conferences now routinely tops $1,000,000. However, with this amount of money involved the selection process is more of an art than an analytical process. Selection seems to be based on reputation, not science and as a consequence bad decisions have been known to happen. Examples abound and can include, but not be limited to, Matt Doherty, Shawn Finney, Jay John, Tommy Amaker, Quin Snyder, Mike Davis, etc. One of the reasons some programs don't produce good coaches is that they do not get training. Some coaches delegate out responsibility, some don't. Rick Pitino is considered the best at developing new coaches. He holds coaches responsible for mistakes. lets them participate in game strategy, and has had impressive results. In short he delegates out more than just the routine. 19 of Rick's former assistants have become head coaches including Billy Donovan and Tubby Smith. The Holy Cross head coach came out of Rick's tutelage. Rick currently has a female assistant coach, a first @ Div 1. One of the worse programs for coach development, according to this article, is Duke. Duke has 3 national titles and 23 NCAA appearances in the past 24 years. Assistants that have come out of this program include Bob Bender, Quin Snyder, and Tim O'Toole. Lute Olson also has few success stories in regard to developing assistant coaches. In the unsuccessful programs the assitants usually get stuck in performing narrow roles, and because of the prominence of the program, get a chance at a H/C job not totally prepared. Therefore, the coaches that delegate out other than just the menial tasks are the programs an AD should look to for a hire. However, as indicated before reputation seems to be the over riding criteria. A salary of $1,000,000 seems a lot, but a succesful program brings in a lot of money and donations. Creighton is selling adds on its web site. This alone will bring in $800,000 according to a prior WSJ article. Ticket prices and/or premiums for tickets increase, TV money goes up, you get tournament money, enrollment increases, and donations rise. School clothing, jackets, hats, etc sales increase. Gonzaga makes out like a bandit in this area. Just think what a Billiken logo, because it is so unique, could generate. I don't know if Cheryl will be looking for a coach anytime soon, but hopefully she will tend to ignore reputation and place more reliance on getting an assistant from a program with a good coach and a good mentor; that is, a coach who delegates a variety of duties to assistants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Sort of funny. Bob Knight is a bad mentor, but is Krzyzewski a disciple of his. And Pitino is a good teacher, but Smith (a disciple of his) a bad one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzah Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 Coach K is a disciple of Knight's from the Army days. However, Coach K is the exception. Steve Alford, Mike Davis, and others have failed or are in the process of failing. Smith is an example of Pitino's good teaching. However, Smith has not proved himself to be a good teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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