In Brad Stevens we trust
I HAVE A MAN-CRUSH ON BRAD STEVENS. There, I said it. Man, that felt great to get off my chest. If you don’t follow basketball on a consistent basis, you’re probably googling “Brad Stevens” right now. Yes, he’s the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics. Now you’re probably saying to yourself, “I thought that Doctor Rivers guy coached the Celtics. F**k it, who cares. I’d rather go watch Netflix and waste two hours debating what I want to watch before I actually pick something and then go to sleep half way through it anyways.” And you probably won’t be interested to read past this sentence. But, for those of you who do know who Brad Stevens, I advise you to stay put.
Fourteen years ago, Brad Stevens was working for Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company, where he held a fairly high-level position. He had just graduated from DePauw University in Indiana, with a degree in economics, where he was also an all-conference basketball player. However, he was just 23 years old and had an itch to follow his passion of coaching the game he loved. He quit his job at Eli Lilly and Company, moved into his friend’s basement, and got a job at Applebee’s to provide a source of income as he joined the Butler basketball program as a volunteer. Working his way up the ladder, Stevens was promoted to the position of Head Coach in 2007, making him the second youngest active head coach in Division 1 basketball. He turned mid-major Butler into a perennial powerhouse, including back-to-back national title game appearances in 2010 and 2011. His constant success continued to raise his profile, and earlier this year, Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge made a splash by hiring Stevens as their new head coach.
Many people were skeptical that such a young coach with no NBA experience would be able to tame the egos of NBA players. No one doubted his knowledge of the game, but the critics wondered if he could garner the respect of his players. But then again, many people were skeptical that a former employee at a pharmaceutical company could become the head coach at a Division 1 program. Brad Stevens just has something about him that proves people wrong. There’s a special quality about Stevens that makes his player, his peers, and his superiors respect him, even though he looks like a high school kid getting ready for prom. Many coaches, especially at the Division 1 level and NBA level are great politicians. They know all the right things to say and they tell the people what they want to hear. Stevens says all the right things, but in a way where you never think it’s BS. You’re convinced he’s actually that smart and he knows what he’s doing. Many experts doubted whether Stevens would be able to really “coach” Rajon Rondo when he eventually comes back from his injury. Rondo had a history of clashing with former coach Doc Rivers throughout their years together. However, there are others who believe that Stevens might actually be the perfect coach for Rondo because he might be the first guy Rondo believes is actually as smart as him when it comes to basketball. This is in part because, as is well documented, Stevens is very detail-oriented and is a huge proponent of this new-age analytics, which has taken the NBA by storm. There’s too much pressure and money riding on the line for management and coaches alike to take chances using the “eye-test”. Now there are advanced stats for everything imaginable to help influence important coaching and front-office decisions.
A closer look into Stevens’ coaching style reveals that his is of the minority in this day in age in sports where demonstrative coaching is seen as good coaching. Stevens has proven you don’t have to go all Rutgers method on your kids by verbally (and even sometimes physically) abusing them to get the most out of them. He has a lot of Phil Jackson in him, to the point where if you’re a fan of the team he’s coaching, you’re worried and wondering why he’s so calm when things aren’t going right. That’s not to say that he doesn’t get into his players when he has to as a motivational tactic, which I’m sure he does in practice and behind the scenes. But, when he’s in the public spotlight he is always cool, calm, and collected. He realizes that as the captain of the ship, he must never show panic, or else his troops will begin to panic. Look at this clip of the final play from the Butler-Gonzaga game from a few years ago and pay attention to Stevens standing up in front of the Butler bench.
Butler won the game on a buzzer beater and Stevens with his arms crossed, didn’t even react. As mayhem ensued, Stevens just calmly walked towards half-court to shake the hands of the Gonzaga players and coaches. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought he was on the losing end. Yet, he doesn’t lack emotion. Just when you think he’s a robot created with vast and superior knowledge of the game of basketball, put on this earth to revolutionize the game forever, he goes and chest bumps one of his players after Butler beat Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament:
The hardest part for a coach is the finding the fine line between having your player love you and getting the most out of your players. As a coach you want your players to love you but not at the expense of losing. And you want to win, but it doesn’t feel nearly as good when your players despise you. Brad Stevens knows the secret. That’s what makes him so special. It’s not something that can be taught explicitly. As a coach, you either have “it” or you don’t. And whatever “it” is, Stevens has it. And, that is why when the 2016 Presidential Election comes around, I am going to write in “Brad Stevens” as my candidate. “Yes, we can “… “Yes HE can.”
Sam Stapleton is currently an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at West Los Angeles College.