Brad Stevens is a stickler for the rulebook.
I have a feeling Brad Stevens is going to be put up on a big, big pedestal very soon. I have a feeling it is starting already.
However, one rule needs to be broken with regards to the Bulldogs' 34-year-old coach.
They need to put him in the Hall of Fame.
Yes, if he continues his great coaching for an extended period of time pursuant to the rules of when a coach is allowed to be placed in the Hall of Fame, that is where he should go. He has coached 124 games in his coaching career so far, but if he keeps this up, I think he will go in the Hall of Fame.So let's wait a few years, shall we?
Now.
I think we have a misprint because it seems that Jeff Goodman just stated Brad Stevens should be in the Hall of Fame, right now. I mean, that would just be crazy and really stupid to do. I am sure he didn't mean it.
They need to put him in the Hall of Fame.
Now.
Or maybe Jeff Goodman did mean it. Somebody has Stevens Fever! Does this mean Jeff Goodman is going to cut his hair like Brad Stevens and start wearing glasses? I hope so.Let’s waive the Hall of Fame’s protocol of 25 active years or five years in retirement and just send Opie Taylor, I mean Stevens, to Springfield, Mass., immediately.
Of course, it makes complete sense to put Brad Stevens in the Hall of Fame after he has coached 4 years of college basketball when the standard is currently 25 years. The reason it seems Jeff Goodman thinks this is smart is because Brad Stevens looks SO NORMAL! Looking normal and coaching well over four years should be the ONLY criteria for making the Hall of Fame.
Why waste time?
Other than the fact it is the rules concerning inducting coaches into the Hall of Fame? Because it makes sense to make sure Stevens ends up being one of the greatest coaches of all-time before inducting him as one of the greatest coaches of all-time. It's a pretty logical move. The Hall of Fame isn't going anywhere and there is no specific need to induct him right now, so why rush it? So rather than "why waste time?," I would ask "why hurry it?"
Why don't we induct Tom Izzo in the Hall of Fame right now, if Jeff Goodman is so eager to screw all the rules and just go apeshit inducting coaches into the Hall of Fame? Izzo had a national championship, a Final Four appearance, and a Sweet Sixteen appearance during his first 5 years at Michigan State. If we are going to say "fuck it all" to the Hall of Fame system, why not induct guys who have been coaching longer than 4 years and had early success? How about inducting Bo Ryan, who went 93-37 over his first four years at Wisconsin in a tougher conference than the Horizon League and with a more difficult schedule than Butler's? Or would that make too much sense and go against the Stevens Fever that is developing among college basketball analysts? Does it really make sense to start waiving rules to induct a guy after 4 years and less sense to induct coaches who have been coaching for over 15 years who deserve induction?
Here's a dream scenario for college basketball analysts. Brad Stevens coaches Jimmer Fredetter and Gus Johnson calls the game. There wouldn't be a dry pant in the house if that happened.
Stevens has already earned it among the game’s greats.
Yes, after just four years.
I'm not going to fall for your silly logic over whether Stevens one of the games greatest coaches yet. The bottom line is the rules are set up for a reason. If Calipari and Izzo can't have the 25 year rule waived than Brad Stevens doesn't deserve it either. Hell, Brad Stevens would agree with this because he's so damn classy like that. He would shake his head and smile all sweet-like and say he doesn't deserve it.Stevens has an 11-3 overall mark in the Big Dance, and his winning percentage tops all active coaches. It’s not all that far behind the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden.
Sample size alert! Let's give the guy a chance to have a bad year or two. He may be in the Hall of Fame at some point, but why the hell does he have to be inducted now? Because he's a nice guy and answers all of Jeff Goodman's questions?
I’m not ready to say he’s going to be more successful than Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski or even Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, but I'm not sure Coach K or Izzo could have done what Stevens has at Butler.
I hate arguable points like this. They serve no purpose. I don't know if Brad Stevens could do what Tom Izzo and Coach K have done at Michigan State and Duke. It is nice to recruit players who you can coach up and get the best out of, but it is also difficult to coach players who are highly recruited and think their shit don't stink. I know, it sounds crazy, but sometimes having big-time recruits can be a bad thing.
He's won 117 games in his first four years — a number surpassed by no one at the Division I level.
Other than the other coaches who have won more games because they have coached longer. See, the point is they have coached longer and have earned the Hall of Fame induction by sustained success over a long period of time.
However, Stevens has proved he’s one of the master coaches in this game at the tender age of 34.
No one is disagreeing. Everyone wonders why the hell he should be inducted in the Hall of Fame immediately. It makes not of sense! Is Stevens dying or something? Why must this induction occur right now?
And he does it the right way.
Oh Jesus, here we go. He's a saint in a world of cheaters. This is another reason Stevens' Hall of Fame induction ceremony should wait, talk to me in 15 years and see if he still does it "the right way." He probably will, but he isn't the lone saint in a world of sinner coaches.
Goetz got a text from Stevens earlier this year while he was in St. Louis recruiting. He was standing outside the arena at Saint Louis University after a high school tournament concluded and was unable to get a cab.
He texted Goetz to see if it was a violation to hitch a ride from a man and his son, who had come up to him after seeing him standing alone on the street corner.
He is so freaking precious! Don't you just want to shrink him and put him in your pocket for safe-keeping so that no mortal man as wonderful as Brad Stevens ever comes to harm in the big, bad world? He's the Jimmer Fredette of coaches, the Tim Tebow of the Midwest."It was about 11:30 and he wasn’t in a great area," said Goetz, who is from St. Louis.
(whispers) "There were minorities all around Mr. Goodman. It was a TOUGH neighborhood Brad was in."
"I didn’t get the text until the next morning and called him back. He didn’t get in the car because he couldn’t get a hold of me."
I wish Butler would sponsor a hugging booth where we all could go and just hug Brad Stevens. He's like an anorexic, glasses-wearing teddy bear.
His seniors couldn’t come up with anything out of character, either, except for maybe when he jumps them in practice on occasion.
So, I ask politely, what the hell does this have to do with him needing to be inducted in the Hall of Fame RIGHT NOW? Unfortunately, being a really nice guy doesn't allow you to skip all the requirements for consideration in the Hall of Fame. So I can't back reasoning for Stevens to be in the Hall of Fame right now, and I really can't back it based on 50% of the reasoning having nothing to do with his coaching prowess.
Even Stevens had a difficult time trying to recall the most trouble he ever got into when he was a kid growing up in Zionsville, Ind.
"I got grounded a couple times when I was late coming home," he added without a hint of sarcasm.
Oh yeah? Well, I NEVER got grounded for coming home late because I always met my curfew! That makes me a saint and I should immediately be inducted in the Blogger Hall of Fame.
Seriously though, who even answers a question like this with a story about he got grounded when he was younger for coming home late? I like Stevens, but this is just trite and overly cutesy for a grown man to say without sarcasm in his voice.
Stevens is a different breed, almost the antithesis of his adversary Monday night: UConn’s 68-year-old coach Jim Calhoun.
Jim Calhoun sucks so that's not a hard coach to be the antithesis of. No, he doesn't suck at coaching, he just sucks.
Stevens is young and has no ego, and you could scour the entire coaching fraternity without hearing a single negative word.
This is impressive, but he has only been coaching for four years. That's barely enough time to make any solid enemies. Give him some time to be hated and see if this is still true before you induct him in the Hall of Fame. Not that whether Stevens is hated or loved should matter on whether he makes the Hall of Fame or not.
But he’s now making his second consecutive appearance in the national championship game.
That’s difficult to comprehend.
It is very impressive, as is winning the national title. I don't think this accomplishment is criteria for induction to the Hall of Fame. It's crazy to really believe it is.Villanova’s Jay Wright has just one more NCAA tournament victory and he’s been at this for 17 years since he first took the Hofstra job in 1994.
I think it is pretty much well-known that Jay Wright's teams tend to wear down at the end of the year, at least lately. I like how Jeff Goodman cherry picks a coach like Jay Wright that is seen by the general public as successful to compare Brad Stevens to. It really goes to show us how Jay Wright really hasn't been that great of a coach in terms of tournament wins and possibly may be a bit overrated by some people. Basically, I think this says more about Wright than it does Stevens.
Jamie Dixon just completed his eighth season at Pittsburgh, and he and Stevens are deadlocked with 11 NCAA tournament victories.
Ditto. Dixon's teams underperform in the NCAA Tournament and Stevens' teams overperform. Yet again, this is not criteria for Stevens to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.
Amazing enough to put him among the greats.
At some point, if he keeps this pace up.
Yes, even after just four years.
No, not after four years. Put down the crazy pills Jeff. You clearly have lost your damn mind. Brad Stevens is a great coach, but there isn't any more reason to waive the 25 years of coaching requirement for him over other coaches who have coached longer.
This column was a result of Stevens Fever and a columnist beginning a slow descent into madness.
4 comments:
Wow. Just wow. If Don Nelson still hasn't done enough to make the Hall of Fame, and if Tex Winter only just now got in, and Phil Jackson had to wait until after winning 9 NBA Titles...why should we waive the rules for Stevens? As someone who also is impressed by what Stevens has accomplished, the idea of him being a Hall of Famer never once crossed my mind. I don't mean at this very instant, either, I never even had a reason to think ahead at all as to where he might be 20 years from now.
I agree that with any college coach we really should wait before painting the "he does it the right way" argument. You'd think sportswriters would have learned by now...I remember one a few years ago was asked who he thought was the most stand-up coach in college basketball, and he sheepishly admitted "Well before last year I would have said Dave Bliss." I'll assume that Stevens won't ever do anything as heinous as what Bliss did, but the point is that there's a good reason we shouldn't jump the gun when handing out halos.
Back to the main point: Rick Majerus isn't in the Hall of Fame, and neither is Dick Bennett or Gene Keady. Herb Magee is joining Winter this season, after breaking countless NCAA wins records. Those are merely the accomplished Midwest coaches off the top of my head, so they're probably not even the best examples of coaches not yet in the Hall. There is simply no reason to leap-frog Stevens ahead of so many other candidates, or really any others, since he's not even eligible. This is an article that should have had a different thesis...one that made a bit of sense.
Sun, it wasn't terribly written, I will say that. I don't even see how the thesis could have been defended at all really. Why put Stevens in NOW when there are other coaches that deserve induction who have had to wait? Simply because Stevens has had a fantastic four years?
There is a reason coaches are required to wait 25 years because they are inducted and that is because long-term success and his career as a whole is what should be judged to be in the Hall of Fame, not a fantastic four year run.
So just having the idea out there that Brad Stevens, over the other great coaches who aren't eligible yet, should make the Hall of Fame fails on two counts.
1. Why should Stevens leapfrog other quality coaches who have a larger overall body of work?
2. Why must Stevens be inducted now before the whole reason behind HoF induction (a great body of work over a long period of time) can be judged?
And to think if that guy from Pitt doesn't foul on that last FT this may have never happened...
Anon, very true. When Jeff Goodman inducts Brad Stevens in the Hall of Fame one year from now, Stevens can send Nasir Robinson a special invite to the event.
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