|
rad Stevens is indicating privately for the first time that he is seriously entertaining the idea of leaving Butler, according to sources.
We’re hearing that the possibility of the UCLA open coaching position has Stevens considering a move.
8:55 PM
Stevens, the Butler head coach who is recognized as probably the top young, up-and-coming coach in the country, has been approached by different programs in the last several years but has never expressed legitimate interest in leaving Butler to take another job.
Stevens’ Butler squad lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Marquette, and unlike the other two top targets on UCLA’s list, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Stevens is free to listen to overtures and negotiate with other programs.
We are unaware of any contact directly between UCLA and Stevens.rad Stevens is indicating privately for the first time that he is seriously entertaining the idea of leaving Butler, according to sources.
We’re hearing that the possibility of the UCLA open coaching position has Stevens considering a move.
8:55 PM
Stevens, the Butler head coach who is recognized as probably the top young, up-and-coming coach in the country, has been approached by different programs in the last several years but has never expressed legitimate interest in leaving Butler to take another job.
Stevens’ Butler squad lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Marquette, and unlike the other two top targets on UCLA’s list, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Stevens is free to listen to overtures and negotiate with other programs.
We are unaware of any contact directly between UCLA and Stevens.
Of course, Stevens showing interest in the UCLA job is a long way from the coach actually making the decision to leave Butler and sign with UCLA, but those sources close to him can’t underscore enough that, for the reserved Stevens, this is unprecedented behavior.
Brad Stevens is probably the leading young coach in college basketball today. Here's why, in detail, he'd be a good fit as UCLA's next head coach...
The case for Brad Stevens to be the next coach at UCLA is pretty easy to make. He’s gone to two NCAA tournament finals at Butler (think about that for a moment) and he did it without cheating (an incredible feat in this day and age). He’s 36 years old, regarded by his peers as one of the brilliant coaching minds in the game and he espouses a set of values for his team (the “Butler Way”) that could have been written by John Wooden. Slam dunk, right? Well, Tracy said this piece needed to be more than a paragraph, so I’ll go on.
Like Shaka Smart, Stevens is unusually bright for a basketball coach. He attended DePauw University where he majored in economics and was a three-time Academic All-America nominee. He was working at Eli Lilly and Company when he decided he was going to pursue coaching as a career. He joined the Butler staff in 2000 as a volunteer and was promoted to assistant in 2001. He became the head coach in 2007 and won 30 games his first season, becoming the third-youngest head coach in NCAA history to win 30 games. In that first season in 2007-2008, Butler went 16-2 in the Horizon League, won the conference tournament and lost to #2 seed Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Stevens was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
here's your question
and mine too
The question that many people have had about Stevens is whether or not his style would be successful in Westwood. Does it translate when you’re talking about a different breed of player in Southern California? My feeling is that he wouldn’t use the exact same methods at UCLA that he used at Butler. He’s such a bright guy, on the cutting edge of the game, that it’s reasonable to assume he would modify his system to take advantage of the higher level of talent available to him at UCLA. A guy that’s using advanced statistical analysis is probably going to realize that he doesn’t want to play fewer possession games when he has the superior talent and athleticism. That’s not to say that he’s going to start playing at the same pace as VCU (although anything is possible). But I think it’s very likely that he’d try to find the optimal style of play given the talent available to him. So, for me, the whole question of style of play, does it translate, etc., is not a real issue. Stevens is not only a great coach, he’s a really smart coach – he would figure out how to use his talent at UCLA.
The real question for me is how difficult would the recruiting adjustment be for him. The kids he’s recruited at Butler, and the families he’s been dealing with, are nothing like what he’d be dealing with at UCLA. The Southern California AAU scene is an absolute mess, for a number of reasons. There are whacked out club coaches, crazy parents and hangers on, entitled (but talented) kids…the whole scene is like nothing Stevens has encountered before. The AAU teams he did have to deal with at Butler are nothing like what we have in Southern California and some other parts of the west. Again, since Stevens is obviously a very bright guy, my assumption is he would figure out pretty quickly how to navigate the waters out here. I think his youth is also an advantage when it comes to dealing with a brand new situation. It’s not like Bobby Knight coming out to L.A. and having to change his approach. But there is no question that recruiting at the elite, high major level is a very different experience than recruiting at the mid-major level.
---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
Okay Sports
