There is no bigger proponent or fan of Twitter than me but I will say that this fantastic tool (that I spend way too much time on every day) has taken one thing away from my obsession with sports: surprises. Whether it be player moves, coaching hires or anything else involving my favorite teams, it has been almost impossible to pull a fast one on me since I first logged on to Twitter a few years ago. I have to say that today's huge news shocked me: Brad Stevens has been named the new head coach (17th all-time) of the Boston Celtics. Through all the rumors since Doc Rivers left, I had never heard Stevens' name mentioned even once. For instance, the Boston Globe had a story today listing 13 possible candidates and he wasn't one of them.
Yes the same guy that led Butler to the NCAA Tournament championship game in back-to-back years (2010 and 2011) where they lost to Duke and UConn respectively. As a college hoops fanatic, I love it way more than the flawed NBA, I am bummed out because in his six years with the Bulldogs I came to love Stevens and his style of coaching. Who couldn't root for this young guy (36, youngest head coach in NBA) with marginally talented players at a small school in Indiana that kept making insane runs in the NCAA Tournament?
Butler has always been into basketball but Stevens put them on the map by going 166-49 and 12-5 in the NCAA Tournament with the Bulldogs. Nothing better illustrates that then looking at how they've upgraded conferences three years in a row: from the Horizon League to the Atlantic-10 and two days ago they began life in the new look Big East. They were always one of those teams that nobody wanted to play in March/April. How that translates to the NBA is impossible to say. We all know how badly Rick Pitino (with the Celts) and John Calipari (Nets) fell on their faces when they came to the NBA. Then they went back to the college game and reached the top of their professions. In college you are a teacher more than a coach whereas in the NBA you are just trying to reach the stars on your team and hoping that they're on your side.
On the surface Stevens seems like the perfect guy for the Celts since they are already underway on a serious rebuilding/tanking effort at least for the next season. I'm really pleased that Danny Ainge didn't go with a nameless assistant coach or one of the veteran NBA coaches that had been fired recently (Lionel Hollins or George Karl). This is a fresh start and a big name (for basketball fans, not NBA people) that the team can build around. Yes I realize that the NBA is all about the players but having Stevens who is so energetic, smart, well-spoken and normal (thank you Midwest) will help them stay sane between all the losses that are sure to pile up.
All I know is that the next few seasons (he's reportedly getting a six-year deal worth $22 million dollars at Friday's introductory press conference) for the Celtics are about to be way more interesting than any of us could have reasonably expected. By thinking outside of the box and doing some FBI level work behind close doors and away from the media/cameras, Ainge has hit a home run in my humble opinion. This is a great moment for the Celtics as they now employ one of the best minds in basketball (any level) from around the globe.
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