Collins says "it is not the right fit." At least he looked into it.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/story/11041085/
I understand that they've got about the best gigs as assistants in all of college basketball. That being said, I also assume that one, or both, would like to be considered to be Ks replacement whenever that day comes. I would hope that both would want to actually be head coaches, and I would hope that Duke wouldn't consider guys who don't have head coaching experience. Hence, I'd think, as perfect as Duke may be, both gets that they need to cut the cord and make out on their own.
I also don't think, at this point, either is going to get offered a position that's "perfect" as they seem to define it and that for Chris, Illinois State is probably as close as he's going to see.
Collins says "it is not the right fit." At least he looked into it.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/story/11041085/
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Yes. I would edit ever so slightly to make the bolded part say "UNTIL a golden oppty arises." "Unless" seems to imply they'd be comfortable staying as assistants forever if an oppty never arose...but these guys want to be head coaches and they wont be fine sitting on the bench forever. They are waiting for the right oppty, and it will come, eventually.
I've suggested this before, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are more flexible in what job they go for after the Olympics.
The Olympics offer such an amazing experience - both in developing personal skills and in professional networking. Hard to skip when you can be in the thick of it.
-jk
I'm thinking this would be a 'step down' or however it was described for Collins. He is currently the associate head coach at one of the greatest basketball programs. Chris is right hand man to the greatest coach of all time and is right in line to take over when K retires.
We will see, but I just don't see it...
Are we sure of that though? Some guys are content being lifetime assistants. I do think Collins wants to be a HC one day, but not sure if Wojo wants that or not. Nothing wrong with being a career assistant if you love your job and your pay. I think it is going to take a very perfect situation for either to leave until the day K retires. Whether either wants the Duke job one day is another matter altogether.
With Collins removing his name from this job, the staff will stay intact for at least one more season.
With each passing season, "when K retires" draws nearer. Now it still may 10 years or more away, but I'm like many other posters that would like to see whomever takes the reigns also have some head coaching experienc himself. And by that I also mean more than one year; I'd like to see what his successor does with his own recruiting class like we've seen Amaker, Brey, Capel and Quinn Snyder do. (This isn't an advocation for any of those, they are just examples.) So time is potentially running short for either Collins or Wojo to be able to do that. Hopefully neither picks some school that never plays in the tourney or that isn't a basketball powerhouse. Like Army.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
I don't think a head coaching job in the MVC is a step down from being an assistant at Duke. Being in charge of your own program is a massive jump in responsibility and prestige.
I too think that Chris should have HC experience is he wants to be considered as Ks replacement. Duke's too big a job to hand it over to someone who's never run a program on their own before. Part of the reason I think this was such a great opportunity is that Chris would be well positioned to succeed quickly at ISU, making his candidacy to replace K very strong.
Right now, we don't have a candidate from the K coaching tree, in my opinion, who has shown to be a viable replacement when retirement comes. I'd like that to change, since I think it highly unlikely we hire outside the K family tree, and this was a great chance for Chirs to make it change.
Doesn't matter. He's not interested, whatever the reason.
In my opinion, we do have a viable replacement from the K coaching tree when retirement comes: Jay Bilas. Former Duke player, multiple Duke degrees, highly praised (by K) serious b'ball mind, tremendous exposure to other ideas and systems via media work, cachet of espn job, could handle the media, could be a star-power "face" of the program ... The infrastructure of Duke basketball is there (facilities, endowed scholarships, history, media exposure) ... there is no program building required ... what's required is the star wattage/serious basketball mind/honesty to reel in the talent, mold it, and keep doing things the right way. I think Bilas provides that.
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
Seems fair. I'd approve that edit.
Hmm. Either way, it is reassuring to think that both Collins and Wojo are in positions of strength, from which they can carefully consider their next step. There is nothing pushing them out the door, so whatever their ambitions, they can be sure that when they do finally get around to making their choices, they will be doing it for all the right reasons.
This is an idea that we haven't seen floated around much, but I'm not sure if I would buy into it. Jay may have been an assistant at Duke for a few years -- and he sure picked some good years to be around for -- but I don't think that he has the coaching pedigree our program would be looking for. I'm not saying he wouldn't be a good coach, but if he was ultimately selected over the more proven members on the family tree, it could be viewed as a gimmick hire.
Now if we brought Jay back as an assistant (post-K), with Dawkins or Amaker or somebody else at the helm... could be interesting.
Serious question: what do you mean by "coach." Seems the skill set and job requirements to lead the Duke program are varied: be honest, recruit elite talent, motivate, implement systems, diagram plays, teach...
Bilas was a coach under Coach K for three years. I imagine K has an idea if he can coach. That's what planted this seed in my mind -- reading a quote by K from probably a decade or so ago, speaking glowingly about Bilas' coaching and what might have happened if he had stayed with coaching. Per wikipedia, Bilas speaks at camps and clinics -- don't know the substance of those presentations.
I believe you look for qualities you want in a head coach -- identify what you believe it will take to be successful, and find someone with those qualities. A coaching pedigree can be a proxy for those qualities: a whole laundry list of boxes need to be checked to get a major program to win at a certain level, and if someone has gotten a program to win at that level, then we can conclude they possess the qualities we want. Having that coaching pedigree, of course, is not the only way to demonstrate one has the needed qualities.
In 2003, I advocated Jim Harbaugh be looked at for Duke's football coaching opening. I thought he had the qualities that Duke wanted. At the time, he was the Raiders QB coach (only his 2d year coaching full-time; he had helped his dad part-time before that). Duke didn't hire him or even consider him that I know of. The University of San Diego (I-AA school) hired him, and he did very well there (and since w/ Stanford and 49ers).
I'm with you to an extent, but ultimately I can't agree. You're certainly right that Jay has all the qualities you might want in a head coach. He has a spotless record, character-wise. He is well spoken. He is clearly smart and knows basketball in and out. But there is a lot more to being a head coach than simple coaching: in a certain sense, he would also be running an organization. And no matter how many of the coaching qualities a man may possess, if you don't have any experience in running such an organization, you aren't going to magically be good at it.
It is so much more than just X's and O's + recruiting. It's picking your staff. It's managing various institutional interests (ADs, commissioners, boosters, etc.). It's about having an army of reliable contacts, anywhere and everywhere. There is probably so much more to it that I (an outsider) could not even begin to paint a realistic picture of the job. As much as I love Bilas, I just can't imagine that 3 years as an assistant and his time at ESPN could fully prepare him for the logistical and organizational aspects of being a head coach.
K runs a very tight ship. Whoever follows him will need to have a proven ability to do the same.
Last edited by Jderf; 05-01-2012 at 10:33 AM.
Yup. In theory, Bilas has all the tools to be a good head coach. But that's all in theory. To be the head coach at Duke, you need some track record. We got very lucky when Coach K worked out despite a lack of proven pedigree. But that is not a model that lends itself to continued success. It makes more sense to hire someone with a proven ability to coach, not a theoretical ability to coach.
I'd also add that I wonder if Bilas has any interest in coaching. He could have had any number of opportunities at this point, but seems very comfortable in the analyst's chair. He's probably well-compensated and has a fairly cushy gig at ESPN. No reason to give that up for the tougher coaching lifestyle and pressure unless you really want it.
Don't forget that Bilas also has another career: attorney. I don't know how much time he spends there since he's "of counsel", but he's still listed as an attorney with Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte.