Difference in profession makes one feel worlds apart? Can Hurley succeed with the Lakers? Demystifying the arduous journey of an American college coach in the NBA

Qing Yang said

2024-06-09 15:14Posted in Jiangsu Sports Creators

Lakers 100 million UConn double champion coach Dan Hurley, the 51-year-old coach who dominated the NCAA for two consecutive years, is now a household name in the United States. And since Vogel's departure and Ham's replacement, the questioning about the Lakers' head coach seems to have not stopped.

It seems that this time, the Lakers have finally found a reliable head coach candidate.

But will bringing in this championship coach solve all the Lakers' problems and return to the championship ranks?

It doesn't seem to be the case.

Keep in mind that there's only one coach in history who has won both the NBA and the NCAA, the great Coach Larry Brown.

He led the University of Kansas to the top in 1988 and the Detroit Pistons to win the championship in 2004 against the unbeatable "Lakers F4".

But throughout his 38-year career as a professional coach, there have been many ups and downs.

He has coached in the NBA, ABA, and NCAA, and has resigned three times and been fired six times.

He and the likes of Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller, Marbury and Michael Ray Richardson have all been at odds.

He lasted only one year in the storm of public opinion in New York, and became the first coach in history to lead the Dream Team to be eliminated at the Olympics (Athens 2004).

Brown's coaching career is a reflection of the differences between the NBA and the NCAA.

The NCAA players are all student soldiers, and they are very mobile, ranging from one year to four years. The real core of a college basketball team is the coach, and the tactical system and team culture he builds are the constant stability of the team. Therefore, the coaches in the college are used to saying the same thing and emphasizing their authority on the team, just as Michael Jordan, Tiangou, and Duncan had to listen to the coach obediently.

And the NBA is the world of adults. It's not just basketball, it's business, and the head coach's battlefield is not only off the court, but off the court to balance the relationship with the players and calm the emotions in the locker room.

The core asset of the league is the superstar, and when it comes to choosing between coaches and players, they are almost 100% on the side of the players. Back then, Coach Sloan's tears said goodbye to Sir Sir and I don't know how many people were saddened.

So although college coaches have entered the NBA since ancient times, such titans as John Wooden, Dean Smith, and Lao K have not been in this troubled water.

Historically, Rick Pidino, Calipari, Bellein, etc. have all landed in the NBA after their success in the NCAA, but most of them were disgraced, and finally ended hastily and returned to the ivory tower of the university.

Without him, it is because although they are both basketball coaches, these are two distinct alliances, and they are like mountains apart.

Especially in recent years, with the increasing personal influence of the league's stars, the status of the player class has become more and more advanced.

Today's NBA teams are choosing a head coach with a preference for "player-type" coaches who can prioritize balancing locker room relationships and dealing with stars, or newcomers who have been in the assistant coaching position for many years and are familiar with the rules of the league.

College coaches have been in the NBA for years, and there are fewer and fewer of them.

There are only five coaches in the NBA who really have college coaching experience in the NBA this season, including Billy Donovan (Bulls), Quinn Schneider (Hawks), Kevin Ollie (Nets agent), Mike Malone (Nuggets), and Popovich (Spurs).

Among them, Popovich, Schneider, and Malone all took the whip after several years of playing in the NBA, and the color of the NCAA on their bodies has long faded.

Billy Donovan is the only one who really enters the league with the aura of an NCAA coach.

He was also the last NCAA college coach to defend his title before Dan Hurley (University of Florida in 2006-07). But since coaching the Thunder in 2015, he brought the Thunder back to the Western Conference Finals in his first season, losing seven games against the Warriors.

Since then, although his technical and tactical literacy has been well received in the league, his record has been mediocre.

The most important thing is that he can't get a superstar like Young Master Wei.

He can build a system that can ensure that Wei Shao wins the MVP, but it can't help Wei Shao lose the first round for three consecutive years.

When it comes to the Bulls, he can't really upgrade a young star like LaVine, who has always hovered on the Eastern Conference play-in line.

In fact, the American universities that are the best in the NBA today are not in the coach's seat.

It is the current general manager of the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens.

The Green Army, which ended the Big Three era in 2013, hired Coach Brad Stevens, the 37-year-old second-youngest in NCAA history and leading Butler University to the NCAA Finals for two consecutive years in 2010-11.

And he lived up to expectations, helping the Celtics rejuvenate and return to the playoffs in just two years.

And in the 16-17 season, he only relied on the team with Saiah Thomas as the core to make it back to the Eastern Conference finals, only to lose to LeBron James in the end.

At the time, he was arguably one of the best rated head coaches in the NBA.

However, as time went on, Stevens' weaknesses and shortcomings were revealed. As a master of tactics on the pitch, he couldn't be as completely in control in the locker room as he was in college.

In the 18-19 season, the team formed a luxury battleship, but the record was not as good as the previous two years, especially against superstars like Irving, Morris, Rozier, and he was helpless.

Later, after it was determined that Shuangtanhua was the core, he was unable to lead the team to break through the shackles, but his authority in the team was constantly challenged, and he was finally overwhelmed.

So after being eliminated 4-1 by the Nets in the first round in 2021, Celtics management unexpectedly promoted him to general manager to replace Danny Ainge, who traveled to Utah.

It's not a rise or a fall, it's that the Celtics think Stevens' personality fits the team's style well and fully affirms his ability.

In just three years, the management led by Stevens has been very beautiful, and on the basis of still focusing on the double tanhua, they have completely won the team's roster on the basis of only sending two first-round picks in the next seven years.

They have reached the Finals twice in the past three years, and after being defeated by Curry in '22 and losing to the Heat in the East last year, they decisively gave up the "Double Williams Brothers" and the old minister Smart and ate Holiday and Porzingis.

The Celtics' starting lineup has reached a level that is far ahead of the East and even the whole league.

Now leading the Mavericks 1-0 in the Finals, they have a lot of hope this year.

Perhaps the success of the Celtics deeply touched the old rival Lakers, so they decided to go to college to find a real master of winning and losing to help the team out of the quagmire.

However, Los Angeles is not Boston, Hollywood is not Harvard, and the Lakers are not Celtics.

Completely different geography and team culture, as well as LeBron James, who is still one of the league's top superstars and has barely worked with a college coach in his career.

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