Whether it was Rick Pitino and John Calipari, Tim Floyd and Leonard Hamilton, or Fred Hoiberg and current Cavaliers coach John Beilein, life in the pros hasn’t exactly been kind to college coaches.
That inspired us to poll 25 NBA executives, including multiple general managers, for their list of the five college coaches that they’d currently want to hire in the Association.
Here are the results, including anonymous quotes from NBA executives.
1) JAY WRIGHT, VILLANOVA – 64 points (6 first-place votes)
“I’m not sure he leaves for anything except for the Sixers job, but obviously he’s proven he can really coach and develop young guys. Look at what he has done over the years with guys like Josh Hart, Ryan Arcidiacono, Jalen Brunson. He gets guys ready and that’s important.”
NBA Execs Say These College Coaches Are Perfect for the Pros
