The photo is of legendary NC State basketball coach Everett Case—the father of ACC basketball—cutting down the nets after winning a championship. Today’s JIM TALK! has nothing to do with that. However, the photo was nice and here’s a link to a blurb from the NCAA as to when and how cutting down the nets became a tradition. Now, here’s today’s story about two nameless coaches, comparing their records in an effort to hire one or the other.
Tale of two basketball coaches
It’s mid-February and the madness of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and the NCAA title bracket is approaching quickly, a “duh” statement if there ever was one. But, please, keep reading.
This is a statistical story about two college basketball coaches, comparing their records and accolades. During part of their coaching career, they coached the same school but, obviously, not at the same time.
Each coach had his own special personality and methods for coaching; both coaches were embraced by some and despised by others.
Who do you hire?
So, you’re the athletics director at a major college with a historical basketball program, and you are tasked with hiring a new men’s basketball coach, selecting from these two. It’s up to you to decide which coach is the better of the two and the choice to lead your program. All things being as seen in the stats and accolades, if they both applied to be your head coach, if your selection came down to these two, which would you hire?
Read the stats—which are taken from their Wikipedia profile so some of the numbers and percentages may be slightly off but that really doesn’t matter that much—and then take part in the survey at the end, choosing your candidate!
Here goes:
AGE IN FIRST YEAR AS COLLEGE HEAD COACH
Coach A: 23
Coach B: 24
YEARS AS COLLEGE HEAD COACH:
Coach A: 19
Coach B: 37
NUMBER OF COLLEGES AS HEAD COACH:
Coach A: 4
Coach B: 4
OVERALL RECORD AS COLLEGE HEAD COACH:
Coach A: 346-210 (62.23% wins)
Coach B: 627-395 (61.14% wins)
CONFERENCE RECORD AS HEAD COACH:
Coach A: 83-85 (49.40% wins)
Coach B: 276-230 (54.55% wins)
AGE WHEN HIRED AT SAME SCHOOL AS OTHER COACH
Coach A: 34
Coach B: 40
SEASONS AS HEAD COACH AT SAME SCHOOL:
Coach A: 10
Coach B: 14
OVERALL RECORD AS HEAD COACH AT SAME SCHOOL
Coach A: 209-110 (65.52% wins)
Coach B: 266-127 (67.68% wins)
CONFERENCE RECORD AT SAME SCHOOL AS OTHER COACH :
Coach A: 71-69 (50.71% wins)
Coach B: 103-77 (57.22% wins)
CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON TITLES:
Coach A: 2
Coach B: 3
REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE TITLES AT SAME SCHOOL AS OTHER COACH:
Coach A: 2
Coach B: 2
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLES:
Coach A: 2
Coach B: 3
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLES AT SAME SCHOOL AS OTHER COACH:
Coach A: 2
Coach B: 3
CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Coach A: 1
Coach B: 5
CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR AT SAME SCHOOL
Coach A: 1
Coach B: 3
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Coach A: 1
Coach B: 1
Coach “A” Summary
Coach A got his first basketball head coaching gig at age 23 and was a head coach for 19 seasons at four different colleges. His overall record as a head coach was 346 wins and 210 losses, a winning 62.23 percentage. His lifetime conference record was 83-85 (49.40% wins).
At the age of 34, Coach A was hired at the same school where Coach B was head coach. In his 10 seasons there, he had an overall winning-percentage of 65.52% and a conference winning percentage of 50.71 percent. He won two conference regular season titles in his career, and he won two conference tournament titles at the same school as Coach B.
Coach A was named conference coach of the year one time in his career, and that was when he was at the same school as Coach B. Both Coach A and Coach B won national titles coaching at the same school, but obviously at different times.
Coach “B” Summary
Coach B got his first basketball head coaching position at age 24 and was a head coach for 37 seasons at four different colleges. His overall record as a head coach was 627 wins and 395 losses, a winning 64.14 percentage. His lifetime conference record was 276-230 (54.55% wins).
At the age of 40, Coach B was hired at the same school where Coach A was head coach. In his 14 seasons, he had an overall winning-percentage of 67.68% and a conference winning percentage of 57.22%. He won two conference regular season titles in his career, and he won three conference tournament titles at the same school as Coach A.
Coach B was named conference coach of the year five times in his career, and he was named conference coach of the year three times at the same school as Coach A. Both Coach B and Coach A won national titles coaching at the same school, but, obviously, at different times.
Your Time to Hire
So, there are the two candidates for your head coaching position. Which resume looks the best? Who would hire? Before answering, one extra note to consider: 10 players on Coach B’s last team (20-8 overall; 9-5 in the conference) at same school as Coach A were also on the roster for Coach A’s first team (14-13 overall; 4-10 in the league) at the same school as Coach B.
If you can’t get to the poll, please leave a comment and tell us which one you would hire and why you made your choice