When we speak of college basketball in relation to the NBA, it's common to ponder whether the game as it's played in Division I is providing a useful preparation for players who make their way to the professional ranks. Indeed, this is precisely the question that my colleagues at Insider considered so engagingly earlier this week. (Hey guys! Let me chime in next time! I'll bring charts and some chips.)
However, it's rapidly becoming clear that this is only half of the college-NBA story. Another equally relevant question is whether the NBA is providing a useful training ground for coaches who make their way to the college ranks. And as it happens, this second question has never been more timely.
Within the past two weeks, we've seen what can fairly be termed a hiring frenzy for NBA types without any prior college coaching experience. First, St. John's selected Chris Mullin as its next head coach. Then Alabama hired Avery Johnson to take the reins for the Crimson Tide program.
True, this particular frenzy encompasses a grand total of just two hires. Still, when the entire coaching carousel at the major-conference level consists of just six openings (St. John's, Alabama, Arizona State, DePaul, Tennessee and Texas) two guys do in fact represent a sizable share of the talent market. In fact, if we throw in Mark Price at Charlotte, it's fair to say this is a bona fide trend. Who needs Division I coaching experience anymore? NBA credentials are suddenly all the rage.
Why is this happening in 2015?
I'd like to think it's because of a blog post I wrote in 2015 questioning whether the time-honored stint as a mid-major head coach is actually necessary. Alas, the likelihood is that Fred Hoiberg's actions are in fact far more influential on this score than John Gasaway's words could ever be.