I would assume or hope the Thunder after the conclusion of this second season of tanking begin the process of finding their next head coach. The kid Presti has put in charge of the tank has done a nice job for I’m sure what is a league low salary, but it’s time to start getting serious again. I’m not dissing the tank coach, but like I’ve written on here before I can’t imagine one team in the Big 12 would hire Mark D as their head coach.
You know, actually hiring a proven successful head coach who might be a fit with all these young players and Nick Collison in the front office might be a logical next step once we see who the Thunder draft this summer.
My first interview was with Bill Self of Kansas. I’ll put Bill Self down again below on this post below. My second interview is with Jay Wright from Villanova. Like Self at Kansas, I like the manner in which he communicates with his players. I like the manner in which he runs his teams.
Both of these guys have been at their current jobs for a long time. Maybe one of them is ready to take the next challenge. Every coach has an ego which needs to be fed. Don’t ever miscalculate that doctrine of coaching.
For Self it makes total since. He graduated from Edmond Memorial. He played for Eddie Sutton at O State. He head coached at Tulsa University and Illinois before taking on the Kansas job which is just like feeding the OU football monster.
So…my short list so far is two as in Bill Self and Jay Wright.
I doubt you’d ever read something like this at the Daily Thunder. You know why? They wouldn’t have Sam Presti’s written permission.
That’s why.
Truth hurts.
This is Bill Self after his top ranked Jayhawks didn’t get a chance to play in the Covid cancelled NCAA Tournament. Great coach. Straight from the Eddie Sutton tree, yet unlike Sutton’s run at Kentucky, Bill Self has carved out a hall of fame coaching career at Kansas. Whereas Coach Sutton’s Hall of Fame resume basically came from his stints at Creighton, Arkansas, and Illinois.
What I’m saying is that under the brightest lights in Lawrence…Bill Self has emerged and survived as an elite coach known for his strong relationships with his players.