Gordon Hayward Compares Stevens To Mike K And Thibs

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2014/09/gordon_hayward_compares_boston.html



Gordon Hayward compares Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens to Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Thibodeau


Print Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com
on September 14, 2014 at 12:45 PM





During a recent blog post for his personal website, Gordon Hayward joined the masses hailing Brad Stevens' attention to detail.

Hayward, who starred under Stevens at Butler, offered two lofty comparisons: Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Thibodeau. The two coaches -- widely regarded among the best in the world at any level -- guided Hayward through Team USA camp earlier this offseason and have since taken the national team to the World Cup finals.

"It was great being able to work with some of the talented players and coaches on the team," Hayward wrote. "Coach Krzyzewski and Coach Thibodeau are very detail oriented — very similar to Brad Stevens, my coach at Butler. They make sure you’re focused on everything being sharp and precise. When we practiced, they weren’t necessarily long practices, but it was intense. I like that. When you practice, it should be focused and tough training."

Obviously, that's an exciting comparison for Celtics fans. Coach K's the winningest college coach ever and Thibodeau has proven himself year after year as one of the NBA's brightest minds. Together they have Team USA, which is missing a bunch of superstars, crushing every opponent and on the verge of a gold medal.

But we've known about Stevens' attention to detail. The Celtics players needed less than a week to notice it. At training camp last year, former Butler player Ronald Nored, now with the Celtics in a player development role, tried to describe what Stevens wants to control.

"Everything,” he said. “I literally think it’s like, every little thing is detailed and scripted to flow the way he wants it to go.”

In Year 2, Stevens should have a better grasp of what he can control, and how he wants to control it. If there's one reason to think the Celtics could exceed expectations this season, it's probably Rajon Rondo's health. But Stevens holding one year of experience should have a big impact, too.




bob



.

Brad has the opportunity to have a great influence on the performance of every single player...and a year of pro experience to help hone his natural coaching skills.  While I wouldn't want to see him wear himself into a frazzle, I hope he will be very judicious about delegating lesser duties to assistant coaches and handling the person-to-person relationships himself.

Sam

I like Stevens, but get back to me when he comes up with another 800 or so wins before we make any type of Coach K comparison.