Where Brad Stevens is Willing to Learn

http://redsarmy.com/2013/10/05/your-morning-dump-where-brad-stevens-is-willing-to-learn/


The Boston Celtics’ new head coach Brad Stevens joined Jim Rome Friday morning on CBS Sports Radio. Rome started off by asking Stevens about what it’s been like working with Rondo so far. Stevens’ reply was that Rajon “is clearly a guy that the other guys look up to, he clearly is excited about the challenge of stepping into being the central leader of the team.” Stevens went on to say that Rajon “has made it so accommodating to me, to come in, that I haven’t had to go out of my way at all.”  The C’s coach then took the leadership topic a step further in saying “and we’re gonna lean on him even when he’s out to lead for us.”

Rome asked Stevens about Rondo’s recent “best friends” quotes as well.  Stevens said that he’s shared “some of things that have always inspired me” with Rondo. Including “different articles about leadership, some of the books that I like the most.” He didn’t give specific titles, but said that he shares these things with “all of our guys and if they want to throw it away they can throw it away, if they want to read it they can read it.” Sounds like Stevens introduces things that have helped him, but does not force them upon his players. He finished the Rondo “questioning” by saying “he’s a very intelligent guy that is seeking answers. I mean he’s not the kind of guy that always says he’s got all the answers. That’s a neat thing and I think we share that.”

Jim Rome then brought up the topic of NBA coaches making the jump from college to the league and simply not being successful. Stevens once again stressed the importance of being teachable in saying, “No matter what, when you go to a new arena (nice pun Brad whether intended or not) there’s a lot of learning to do. I think the biggest thing is control what you can control, coach your team to the best of your ability and never stop learning.“

Near the end of the interview, Rome got into Stevens’ relationship with Ainge. He asked him how close he and Danny were as far as evaluating players went and how that process would work. Stevens said that he’s heard Danny say that he “loves guys that play the game with integrity-I’ve heard that quite a bit since I’ve been here.” Stevens continued, “that resonates with me“. He described players that “dive on a loose ball, do difficult things and encourage their teammates to do difficult things and do them all together.” He says that he never would have left Butler if he did not think he was going to be “surrounded by great people.” Overall he seems quite comfortable with the Celtics organization and it’s staff.

Rome got Stevens to let us in on his personal life just a tad with his final question. He asked him who his “mentor” is or he goes to as a coach & leader when he needs someone to lean on. Stevens said that he looks for inspiration “anywhere“-not just from other coaches. He said,  ”I’ve reached out to some of the specialists in the world of sleep, I’ve reached out to nutrition specialists, to people that are writing about new ways to educate and new ways to teach..” I found the sleep comment interesting, as did Rome who told Stevens he wants to talk about it more next time Brad’s on the show.

I have to admit that Stevens has impressed me so far. Despite not even having coached a preseason game yet, I like what I’ve heard/seen. He comes across as a very intelligent, humble and genuine guy. It’s going to be very interesting to see how he handles the pressure and adversity that will no doubt come during the 2013-14 season. Check out the entire interview via CBS Sports’ site-it’s definitely worth a listen.

If you’re craving some NBA this morning, you can catch the first preseason game of the year over on NBA TV. The OKC Thunder visit Istanbul to play Fenerbache Ulker. Tip-off is at 9am EST. Bulls-Pacers and Clippers-Lakers are also on NBA TV’s schedule today. The Celtics’ first exhibition game is this coming Monday vs Toronto at the Garden.




bob
MY NOTE:  If there's one area I can think of where Brad Stevens has an advantage over Doc right from the get-go, it's in his open-mindedness which comes from his recognition that he is new to the NBA and doesn't think he knows everything already.  I think, perhaps, part of Rondo's reputation as a "coach killer" (truly, a Grand Canyon leap of journalistic bloviating considering that Rondo had only had one coach his entire career before this.  Show me where all those dead coaches are buried!) is that Doc had a very strong, dominating personality who felt that he knew what Rondo needed to do to become a world-class NBA point guard (listen to what he's telling CP3, who already is a world-class NBA point guard), while Rondo is more of a "there's more than one way to do things" type of guy.  Stevens' personality and approach seems to be more in line with Rondo's.  I don't want make any board members puke, but Stevens seems a lot more like Phil Jackson than Doc Rivers.  Kobe Bryant is not exactly a wall-flower, but nobody was a bigger supporter of Phil Jackson than him.  That's because Phil didn't demand Kobe do it his way, he just showed how/why his way worked and let Kobe talk himself into it and, when it actually did work, Kobe was 100% sold and backed Phil to the hilt.  I sense that happening with Stevens and Rondo.  He's letting Rondo feel like he has some ownership of the process and that often produces superior results. regardless of the field of endeavor.



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The knowledge Rondo is soaking up from Brad and the techniques Brad is using to dispense that knowledge are intriguing.  I'd be interested in how the flow in the other direction is going.  What (if any) useful words (or thoughts) of wisdom is Rondo sending Brad's way?

Sam

This is probably the most intriguing player-coach relationship I've ever seen, simply for the fact that they're two highly intelligent, analytical, and perceptive individuals.

BobH

As for the Jackson reference, I can see where you're coming from. He certainly had his way of getting Bryant to buy into his philosophies.


KJ