Juwan: First Great NBA Player to Become a Great NCAA Coach?
There was an interesting discussion on WTKA this morning about how few big men (6-9 or above) have gone on to become great college basketball coaches. The list currently includes John Thompson and Juwan Howard, and that's about it. (And yes, I realize that Juwan is a work in progress - a spectacular work in progress.) Most of the other big men (Patrick Ewing) have been flops as a coach.
Which got me to thinking: How many good or great NBA players have gone on to become good or great NCAA coaches?
The answer: Juwan might be the first.
As far as I can tell, only four guys who even played in the NBA ever went on to win an NCAA title as a coach: John Thompson, Tony Bennett, Billy Donovan and Kevin Ollie. All of them were role players at best in the NBA. They were not Juwan Howard. Going back to at least the 1970s, there's not a single NBA star who went on to become even a significantly decent college coach. Chris Mullin was 59-73 at St. Johns.
Outside of college, the great NBA player-who-became-a-great NBA coach list is also very small. Jerry Sloan, Billy Cunningham and maybe Larry Bird, although Bird's sample size as a coach was small. A lot of other great players (Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas) had losing records as a coach.
Moral of the story: Great players rarely if ever become great coaches. And they NEVER become great coaches in college. Let's hope Juwan continues to blaze this great trail.
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
From this:
To this!:
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
I guess not Penny Hardaway.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:29 PM ^
He's got potential. Jury is still out, but I think he's worth watching.
February 23rd, 2021 at 5:46 PM ^
The two that came to mind as good player/coaches were Penny and Steve Kerr.
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
Doncha just love a story with a great moral?
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:40 PM ^
I wouldn't call Juwan a great NBA player. He was a good to very good NBA player. I would say he is in rare company anyway. Regardless, the job he is doing at Michigan is really amazing and way beyond what was expected even by the most optimistic people.
February 23rd, 2021 at 9:15 PM ^
I would say goat best. He had one season where he made the all star game. He was starter in the lead for just over 10 years, so points for longevity. But he was er great.
February 23rd, 2021 at 10:48 PM ^
Agree. "Great" sounds like Tim Duncan. Howard was very good, long-running starter... and then a long-running contributor later, which I would guess really helped him transition to coaching, as he spent a year or two mostly on the bench soaking stuff up, and then more time as an assistant with the same organization.
That seems different from some guys that just jump right in to head coaching or a front office spot. Howard learned from Spoelstra and Pat Riley. Hard to think of a better preparatory process.
And now he has forged a dominant team with talent people thought was going to be mid-bracket.
February 24th, 2021 at 10:04 PM ^
Tim Duncan is like top 10 players of all time, best PF of all time -- that's a pretty high bar to set for "great" IMHO
But I agree it'd be a stretch to call Juwan a great NBA player.
February 24th, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
He was the 1st NBA player to get a $100 million contract. So he was a very highly regarded player at that time!
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
Bill Lambeer has won three WNBA titles as a coach and has twice been named the WNBA coach of the year. To the best of my knowledge, I'd say he has had more success as a coach than anyone that has won an NBA championship as a starting player.
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
His resume as a college player is only slightly less impressive, having made it to the final four and the elite eight in consecutive years. Definitely not equivalent to the Fab Five's back to back title game appearances, but impressive, nonetheless.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:14 PM ^
Steve Kerr?
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:17 PM ^
Good point sir. I stand corrected.
February 23rd, 2021 at 5:35 PM ^
Pretty sure Kerr always came off the bench for those Bulls teams. He was a key component of the championship clubs, but not the same as Laimbeer
February 23rd, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^
I thought the game was (1) great NBA player who became a (2) great NCAA coach. Steve Kerr was neither. But it seems like people are taking liberties with the assignment, so Steve Kerr is a good choice.
February 23rd, 2021 at 11:59 PM ^
That was the assignment right up until the third paragraph:
Outside of college, the great NBA player-who-became-a-great NBA...
Steve Kerr might have been a truly great player in today's game, with the greater emphasis on three point shooting. He retired with the record for single season three point percentage and is still the career leader in three point percentage. He never was an all star in his day, but he did win five NBA championships as a player. So, I don't know. He was a pretty damn good role player, who was very consistent over a long career.
February 23rd, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
As to the "great NBA player-who-became-a-great NBA coach list," I would like to add Rudy Tomjanovich.
5 time All-Star as a player, and two NBA championships as a coach.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:10 PM ^
Shame on me (as the OP)! You are correct!
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:16 PM ^
Phil Jackson? K.C. Jones?
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:32 PM ^
Pat Riley was a star at Kentucky and solid pro. He did alright as a NBA coach. Not sure how he'd translate to college.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:09 PM ^
Um....Larry Brown? Unless you got something against the ABA.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:26 PM ^
I go with Larry Brown. And he could coach anywhere!
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:39 PM ^
Logged in to say Larry Brown. His ABA playing and NCAA coaching careers were relatively brief but enormously successful. And if you were to take some sort of harmonic mean of playing ability and coaching ability, I think LB would be at or near the top of the all-time list.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:36 PM ^
Don Nelson
February 23rd, 2021 at 5:46 PM ^
Lennie Wilkins was a good player too.
February 23rd, 2021 at 5:50 PM ^
Lenny Wilkens was a hall of famer as player and coach too.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
*Phil Martelli
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:48 PM ^
Hahaha
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:56 PM ^
The definitive answer to all things Juwan Howard
- MSU Fan
February 23rd, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
Did you forget that other Michigan standout, Rudy T? 5x all-star before the punch. Only won a couple of titles in Houston.
Also, I'm not sure if I would call Juwan a great. Very good yes. We should probably reserve great for the MJs, Bill Russells, and LeBrons of the world.
February 23rd, 2021 at 6:21 PM ^
Phil Jackson is 6’8”, so barely misses the “big man” cutoff used by OP. Definitely was NOT a great player, but in his era was a PF and probably considered big. With all those titles I’ll give him the inch. (I realize you were talking ncaa coaches, but people seem to be coloring outside the lines a bit in the discussion.)
February 23rd, 2021 at 6:25 PM ^
Phil Jackson was definitely NOT a great player, but was a big man in his era.
February 23rd, 2021 at 6:29 PM ^
Its a great 2nd season, but let's pump the brakes on great. He will get his respect as the years go by.
February 23rd, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
Juwan will be the best here. Bank on it. That's a big claim I know but what I've seen so far the team looks as sound as the top team in the country. And with the players he is bringing in....
February 23rd, 2021 at 7:59 PM ^
Danny Manning should be mentioned in this discussion. Great college player. Good 6th man in NBA. Raging tire fire as a coach at Wake Forest.
P.S. When Manning was fired, Chaundee Brown left Wake and transferred to Michigan. Ty.
February 23rd, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
If you consider Larry Bird's sample size as a coach small, wouldn't Howard's sample size as a coach be even smaller?
February 24th, 2021 at 12:02 AM ^
Just declare him the GOAT and go home. What else does he have to prove?