By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:22:45 +0000

With regards to the best coach alive, I think it comes down to Bowman and K (in that order). I see the argument for Jackson, but I don’t think you can underestimate Jordan or Kobe in his success. That doesn’t detract from his 11 titles, but I think he really just discovered the best offense that revolved around elite go-to guys, and used it to dominate the league. Impressive, but I’m not sure it’s “best coach alive.” Auriemma and Summit have also had outstanding careers, but they need to be taken with a grain of salt. For obvious reasons (namely, the WNBA does not pay anything close to what the NBA plays), there is a far narrower talent pool in women’s hoops. Instead of all women growing up focused largely on three sports (football, basketball, and baseball), they are much more spread out, since the allure of lifelong riches is not shining on the horizon. Again, I don’t wish to diminish their accomplishments, but the fact is there is never as much parity in women’s basketball as men’s (which is why the top 5 essentially stay the same year in year out with a few exceptions). This is beginning to change, but I think there’s a long way to go. Big programs are hugely more talented than their opponents (as showcased by the Duke-UConn game this year where the announcers seemed to think Duke, number 7 at the time, had a moral victory at halftime only being down eleven at the half (they went on to lose by 33 points…at home). I think until women’s basketball nears the large spread of talent, it’s hard to put Summit or Auriemma over K.

By: Spike

Spike — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:04:12 +0000

“[H]is own sport”? Hardly.

Comments on: Morning Five: 07.01.10 Edition

By: Matt

By: Spike