The Qualities Of The Next Basketball Coach
posted by Scott Hood on Monday, January 21, 2008
I’d have better luck trying to pick the nominees for both major political parties for the general election in November.
And we probably won’t know that key piece of information for at least two months considering we’re still weeks away from the start of March Madness.
But I do know the characteristics I want USC’s new coach to possess.
Young.
Aggressive.
Great recruiter.
Good X’s and O’s.
Excellent communicator.
That’s a lot to ask, but today’s college basketball environment demands someone who can handle all five of those chores. The coaches who succeed in these five areas are the one that lead their teams to championships.
So, who are the coaches who possess those five characteristics? I think two of the names we’ve heard the most – Anthony Grant and Jeff Capel – possibly come the closest.
But there are others too. Some we know, some we don’t.
Make no mistake, this is a critically important hire for athletics director Eric Hyman. Frankly, it could be his legacy at USC.
I always thought Mike McGee’s tenure was tarnished a bit by the poor decision to hire Brad Scott as head coach in 1994. It’s clear, in retrospect, he wasn’t ready to become a head coach for the first time at the SEC level.
Hyman doesn’t want to fall into that trap.
Think about it. Hyman may not have to hire a new football coach for another five or six seasons at least. Steve Spurrier appears to be committed through the duration of his contract, which expires after the 2012 season.
And with the new ballpark finally under construction, it looks like Ray Tanner will stick around for awhile.
So, for Hyman, this is it. This hire is how he will be judged by USC fans for the next five years or more.
Here’s the catch: Hyman has to roll the dice a little bit with this hire.
Florida did just that a decade ago when AD Jeremy Foley rescued Billy Donovan from oblivion by tabbing him to be the next Gators head coach.
Where was Donovan coaching at the time? Marshall. Yes, that school. You know, “We are. . .” Okay, so you didn’t see the movie. A lot of people didn’t.
But that doesn’t obscure the fact Florida took a huge gamble on Donovan. But Foley did his homework and concluded he was the guy. It turned out to be a gutsy but great call, as we all know.
Hyman, hopefully, will do the same thing. I think I know him well enough that I can confidently say he’ll perform meticulous research on every serious candidate.
So, when the moment comes to pull the trigger, he’ll hit the target right through the center.
However, contrary to what my family and friends may tell you, I’m not dumb enough to predict the new basketball head coach for USC will win back-to-back national championships.
A conference championship will do just fine, thank you very much. It’s been over a decade since the Gamecocks won one of those.
Whoever ends up with the job, there’s something possibly unique about this coaching search. The fans might actually play an important role in who eventually gets to stand up at the pres conference and smile for the cameras.
As I mentioned in my article posted late Sunday night, a couple of people I spoke with this weekend informed me there is a lot of consternation in the coaching fraternity – and that’s what it is, a fraternity – about the way Odom is exiting after a 22-year head coaching career.
In short, many coaches on the national level feel he was forced out by a large group of unappreciative fans. Believe it or not, Odom is very well respected and held in high esteem by his fellow coaches. He’s been a major figure in the coaches association for a long time.
As a result, many coaches will be monitoring closely how Odom is treated by USC fans in the final seven regular season home games.
Simply, if Gamecock fans want to secure the best coach possible, they need to show Odom some major love.
I know that might be difficult for some USC fans to do after the last couple of seasons, but the future of the program could be depending on it.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
Right now, I have no idea who the next men’s basketball coach for South Carolina will be.
I’d have better luck trying to pick the nominees for both major political parties for the general election in November.
And we probably won’t know that key piece of information for at least two months considering we’re still weeks away from the start of March Madness.
But I do know the characteristics I want USC’s new coach to possess.
Young.
Aggressive.
Great recruiter.
Good X’s and O’s.
Excellent communicator.
That’s a lot to ask, but today’s college basketball environment demands someone who can handle all five of those chores. The coaches who succeed in these five areas are the one that lead their teams to championships.
So, who are the coaches who possess those five characteristics? I think two of the names we’ve heard the most – Anthony Grant and Jeff Capel – possibly come the closest.
But there are others too. Some we know, some we don’t.
Make no mistake, this is a critically important hire for athletics director Eric Hyman. Frankly, it could be his legacy at USC.
I always thought Mike McGee’s tenure was tarnished a bit by the poor decision to hire Brad Scott as head coach in 1994. It’s clear, in retrospect, he wasn’t ready to become a head coach for the first time at the SEC level.
Hyman doesn’t want to fall into that trap.
Think about it. Hyman may not have to hire a new football coach for another five or six seasons at least. Steve Spurrier appears to be committed through the duration of his contract, which expires after the 2012 season.
And with the new ballpark finally under construction, it looks like Ray Tanner will stick around for awhile.
So, for Hyman, this is it. This hire is how he will be judged by USC fans for the next five years or more.
Here’s the catch: Hyman has to roll the dice a little bit with this hire.
Florida did just that a decade ago when AD Jeremy Foley rescued Billy Donovan from oblivion by tabbing him to be the next Gators head coach.
Where was Donovan coaching at the time? Marshall. Yes, that school. You know, “We are. . .” Okay, so you didn’t see the movie. A lot of people didn’t.
But that doesn’t obscure the fact Florida took a huge gamble on Donovan. But Foley did his homework and concluded he was the guy. It turned out to be a gutsy but great call, as we all know.
Hyman, hopefully, will do the same thing. I think I know him well enough that I can confidently say he’ll perform meticulous research on every serious candidate.
So, when the moment comes to pull the trigger, he’ll hit the target right through the center.
However, contrary to what my family and friends may tell you, I’m not dumb enough to predict the new basketball head coach for USC will win back-to-back national championships.
A conference championship will do just fine, thank you very much. It’s been over a decade since the Gamecocks won one of those.
Whoever ends up with the job, there’s something possibly unique about this coaching search. The fans might actually play an important role in who eventually gets to stand up at the pres conference and smile for the cameras.
As I mentioned in my article posted late Sunday night, a couple of people I spoke with this weekend informed me there is a lot of consternation in the coaching fraternity – and that’s what it is, a fraternity – about the way Odom is exiting after a 22-year head coaching career.
In short, many coaches on the national level feel he was forced out by a large group of unappreciative fans. Believe it or not, Odom is very well respected and held in high esteem by his fellow coaches. He’s been a major figure in the coaches association for a long time.
As a result, many coaches will be monitoring closely how Odom is treated by USC fans in the final seven regular season home games.
Simply, if Gamecock fans want to secure the best coach possible, they need to show Odom some major love.
I know that might be difficult for some USC fans to do after the last couple of seasons, but the future of the program could be depending on it.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.