Let me say I would not want to be at the final table of the World Series of Poker with Brad Stevens. I'd rather take my chances with poker legend Phil Hellmuth than have to sit across from Stevens. The reason? He does things nobody expects. Leave a marketing job at Eli Lilly and Company to become a volunteer coach at Butler University. Become Butler's head coach and take the Bulldogs to two NCAA national championship games. Go through the offseason recruiting and camps and transition into the Big East Conference only to become the coach of the Boston Celtics. Wow, bet nobody saw the last one
Jordan 3 Doernbecher coming did they? Perhaps, hard work does pay off? Perhaps, good guys truly do finish first? But, the NBA and the Boston Celtics? As a Celtics fan and native of Boston, let me be clear here - I love the hire, but I do have some mixed feelings.
Like many, I thought the
Jordan 4 Military 36-year-old Stevens was a college basketball lifer. I fully anticipated seeing the guy who my family had a casual conversation with a few years back at the Indianapolis Zoo would stay around Hinkle Fieldhouse for decades. But, something happened. Something only Stevens and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge knew that the rest of us didn't. In a stunner, Stevens has left everything behind for the glitz, glam and headaches of the NBA. As a Celtics fan and Stevens fan, I wish him well, but I honestly do not get this hire or his decision to leave. I get wanting to reach the highest level of your profession. I get that Stevens, arguably, did the best he could do at Butler, especially considering the brutal conference the Bulldogs are entering. But, the NBA? I know all about his 166 victories in his first six years as a coach. I get the fact that he leaves the college ranks with a .
772 win percentage and I get that he only endured 49 losses. But here's two other things I know - Rick Pitino and John Calipari. As a Celtics fan, I remember the Pitino failed experiment all too well. However, there is a feeling that something will be
Jordan 6 Carmines different this time. Stevens is coming to win. He's not going to keep the bench warm for a few years until the Celtics go out and get a "high profile coach" to bring the 18th title to Boston. With nine first-round draft picks in the next five years, this will be a rebuilding job for Stevens.
Let's be honest, if, by some chance things don't work out, Stevens can always follow the path of Pitino and Calipari and return to the college ranks. Perhaps, Indiana University after Tom Crean wears out his welcome and doesn't win a title? I wish Stevens nothing but the best, and I hope he can spread some of that "Butler Magic" around TD Garden. Hey, the guy's got a kid named Brady, and that already scores him some points in this Boston guy's heart.
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