How much will he be able to do as an NBA coach? That has always been the contention about the pro game. How can an NBA coach get less money than most of the players and what kind of control and respect will he have from them? Stevens, who is 36 years old and the youngest coach in the history of the league, looks like he just graduated from high school. There’s the possibility that his new team might view him as a boy amongst men.
Personally, I like the guy. He has proven in the past six years to be as knowledgeable as any other collegiate basketball coach. He seems to have ice water running through his veins because of his calm and cool demeanor during pressure situations. It’s interesting that the Celtics looked to move from the traditional NBA scenario of recycling fired coaches from the league or making a current NBA coach an offer to consider. Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations for the Celtics, is a big fan of Stevens and was thrilled that he accepted the offer.
At Butler, Stevens led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship games in 2010 and 2011, a remarkable feat for a Horizon League team. Butler will now move into the revamped Big East beginning this coming season, but without their highly successful coach.
The university has just announced Stevens’ replacement, Brandon Miller, who was recently hired as an assistant. Miller, 34, was a former player at Butler. According to him, his philosophy has a lot of similar characteristics to that of coach Stevens.
“Brad Stevens did a great job being Brad Stevens,” Miller said. “My goal is to be the best Brandon Miller I can be.”
This will be another interesting scenario to watch as it plays out during the coming collegiate basketball season.
Stevens might have the perfect temperament to coach at the professional level. It will take him awhile to adjust to the different types of NBA personalities, the way the game is played and also the way it’s officiated. How Stevens’ coaching style will translate at the professional level will be a new experience for both the Celtics players and loyal fans.
Eric Musselman, who is an associate head coach at Arizona State University, started his coaching career in professional hoops at the age of 37, first in the CBA, and then as an assistant in the NBA before landing the head coaching job with the Golden State Warriors and then to the Sacramento Kings.
Musselman says, “Stevens is going to need an experienced NBA staff. They’re going to have to know the personnel of professional basketball. That’s probably more important than knowing X’s and O’s, and not just the superstars but the rotation guys too…Stevens must learn how to deal with a shorter time on the shot clock, as well as the fact that the game is eight minutes longer. Late game situations will be a very different scenario compared to the college game. There won’t be too many full-court game preps as a late game strategy because the ball will be moved to half-court. There will be a need for a special playbook just for half-court out-of-bounds plays, and of course practice will be different because there won’t be three days or longer between games for the preparation.”
I think Stevens will adjust his game and philosophy of coaching. Getting to understand that type of game will take some time, and moving into an environment that has three times the number of games will be challenging. Despite what Musselman says, I see the players as Stevens’ biggest hurdle. Once he gets them to buy into his style and expectations, the Celtics will be back as playoff contenders.
