Could Stevens Have Become the Next Coach K?

The basketball world has had 36 hours now to digest the surprise of former Butler Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens becoming the Boston Celtics head coach, and I am left still in shock and disappointment for his departure. I am not only surprised, but have also began pondering what could have been in Indianapolis.

Could Stevens have become the next Coach K?

Brad Stevens had one of the best starts to a coaching career, going 166-49 through his first six seasons at Butler and as a head coach for a .772 winning percentage.  Stevens went to four NCAA Tournaments, two Final Fours, and two national championships but without a title.

Through his first six seasons at Duke, Coach K had a 122-68 record with a .642 winning percentage. Krzyzewski had three tournament appearances, one NIT, and went to one Final Four and title game in 1986 where his 37-3 team was the runner-up to Louisville. Unlike Stevens, Coach K had prior coaching experience for two seasons at his alma mater, Army.

Through his career, Coach K has 29 NCAA Tournaments, eleven Final Fours, and four national championships, including a 62-59 rout of Stevens’ Cinderella story Bulldogs in 2010. Coach K has a career record of 884-238 and winning percentage of .788.

Duke and Butler both had made seven tournament appearances each before Krzyzewski and Stevens took over as head coach. Coach K and Stevens also started as a coach with their teams returning from a Tournament appearance.

Stevens ultimately turned around his entire program, making Butler a legitimate threat in March. Krzyzewski made a good team great, as the Blue Devils had been to four Final Fours and two National Championships prior to his arrival.

Aside from the their statistical comparison, Krzyzewski and Stevens have similar coaching styles. Unlike the coaches using as much energy as the players from jumping up and down in their designated coaching boxes, arguing calls with refs, and yelling at players, Coach K and Stevens are calm on the sidelines. Both coaches believe in the John Wooden philosophy coaching is done in practice, and in the game it is up to the players.

Speaking of John Wooden, he is one of the few coaches who has been able to match Stevens’ early career success. Ironically, Wooden has the same record and winning percentage through his first six seasons at UCLA of 166-49 and .772 as Stevens.

Like Stevens, Wooden did not win a championship early on. Wooden only made two NCAA Tournament appearances in his first six seasons with a 0-4 record.

By the end of his career, Wooden had an .804 winning percentage with ten national championships.

With Stevens becoming an NBA coach, it makes me wonder, what could have happened at Butler. Stevens had a record better than Krzyzewski and a better tournament history than the immortal Wooden through their first six seasons.

Whether it was their similar coaching philosophies as a “good” coach or his early success, I always envisioned Stevens to stay at Butler forever and lead them to multiple national championships and am left wondering, “Could Stevens have become the next or better than Coach K? Could Stevens have passed John Wooden?”

Of course, Stevens could join other great coaches who went between college and the NBA like Rick Pitino of Louisville and Kentucky’s John Calipari. However, Stevens does not have Pitino’s in game intensity and rage, nor will he never be the villain of college basketball like Calipari.