I wonder if any of us media geniuses will use Mike Krzyzewski's success with USA Basketball as our evidence to counter the facile argument (that seems to be the only one ever made) that college coaches are not equipped to make it in the NBA.
I have said this many times before, and it bears repeating: Such a generalized argument is patently absurd. Individual coaches succeed and fail, not groups of coaches. Those that believe college coaches cannot make it in the NBA always trot out the names of some college coaches that have failed in "our league" (nobody owns the game or the league, but some of those in it like to suggest that it is a closed community). But, they always fail to mention those coaches with NBA pedigrees that have been dismal failures in the NBA. NBA-trained coaches like Magic Johnson, Quinn Buckner, Eddie Jordan, Randy Whitman, Isiah Thomas, Maurice Cheeks, Doc Rivers, Jim O'Brien, Bob Hill, Terry Stotts, Eric Musselman, Bernie Bickerstaff, Mike Shuler, Johnny Davis, John Lucas, Fred Carter, Don Chaney, Alvin Gentry, George Irvine, Gene Littles, Keith Smart, Elgin Baylor, Tom Nissalke, Bob Weiss, Mike Woodson, Richie Adubato, Gar Heard, Jim Cleamons, Wes Unseld, Butch Beard and on and on, couldn't win their way out of a paper bag. Yet college coaches get tagged as not being able to make it. Please.
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Jay Bilas
