Can someone make me feel at ease

[FIN-IN-RI]

and tell me that Saban won't be another Rick Pitino. A Great college coach and a superior recruiter only to be mediocre/bad in the pros because he can't get the players he wants.

 

[KB21]

He won't be like Pitino, or Spurrier, because his system is based upon the system, not the talent within the system. He doesn't have to have a certain type of player, and he's not rigid with what he wants to do.

 

[phunwin]

Relax. The biggest problem that Spurrier and Pitino both had was that neither of them had a whiff of pro experience. They had systems that were predicated on the inherent advantages they had over other college coaches and teams.
Pitino, for example, thought that his approach of chucking a bunch of 3s and running a full court press for a whole game would translate to the pros. Anyone who knows anything about pro basketball knows that won't work because: 1. the opposing ballhandlers are better, 2. the opposing players are smarter and more experienced (I'd venture that half of all full court press turnovers come because some panicked frosh or soph has the ball), 3. the three-point line is 4 feet farther away, thus making it a much more difficult shot.
Saban had four years as a defensive coordinator, and another 2 as a DB coach in Houston. He had brainstorming sessions with Bill Belichick every offseason (I'm fairly sure those came to an end recently ). Moreover, the guy turned down probably half a dozen head coaching jobs in the NFL before this. If we're suckers, we're certainly not the only ones.

 

[KB21]

Relax. The biggest problem that Spurrier and Pitino both had was that neither of them had a whiff of pro experience. They had systems that were predicated on the inherent advantages they had over other college coaches and teams.
Pitino, for example, thought that his approach of chucking a bunch of 3s and running a full court press for a whole game would translate to the pros. Anyone who knows anything about pro basketball knows that won't work because: 1. the opposing ballhandlers are better, 2. the opposing players are smarter and more experienced (I'd venture that half of all full court press turnovers come because some panicked frosh or soph has the ball), 3. the three-point line is 4 feet farther away, thus making it a much more difficult shot.
Saban had four years as a defensive coordinator, and another 2 as a DB coach in Houston. He had brainstorming sessions with Bill Belichick every offseason (I'm fairly sure those came to an end recently ). Moreover, the guy turned down probably half a dozen head coaching jobs in the NFL before this. If we're suckers, we're certainly not the only ones.

Pitino was actually an assistant on Hubie Brown's staff at one point.

 

[phunwin]

Pitino was actually an assistant on Hubie Brown's staff at one point.

That's right, and he coached the Knicks briefly around 1990. I forgot about that. Well, in any event, the larger point remains: he refused to adapt his style to the pro game, due in large part to his lack of experience (though he obviously had more experience than I originally gave credit for). I seriously doubt Saban will make the same mistake.

If anything, I think he's proven that he is above those pitfalls. Many college coaches tend to be a little too rah-rah in the early going. Obviously, that's not Saban's problem.

 

[FIN-IN-RI]

Thanks guys

 

[xiidaen]

I can't compare this to Pitino, but from what I've been reading one of the biggest things Saban brings to the table is an intense work ethic -- he puts in the time necessary to do his homework and keep an eye on the little things. I think this especially was a downfall of Spurrier.