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Men's Basketball

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Harris: Coaching in NBA different

By Gary Bedore

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Del Harris, who served as an NBA head coach for 12 seasons and assistant for 21 campaigns after working on both the high school and college levels, says it takes a certain breed to lead a pro team.

“The biggest thing is all the relationships are different,” said the 72-year-old Harris, featured speaker at Bill Self’s Kansas University basketball camp in Allen Fieldhouse.

“As the coach (of NBA team) you move to the bottom of the totem pole and you’ve got to deal with that with confidence and authority, knowing ahead of time you are the low guy.

“Here it’s your program. Everybody knows you are going to be here. You’ve got control of the scholarship and all that. (In NBA) the only control you have is what you can garner up through your personality and being effective,” added Harris, head coach of the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, who retired after the 2008-09 season, one in which he worked on Vinny Del Negro’s Chicago Bulls staff.

“Those guys (pros) will listen to you if they think you can help them.”

Harris — he’s authored three books on basketball — was asked if he thought Self could coach in the NBA.

“I mean, I don’t know why not,” Harris said. “I don’t know why he would want to change. It’s not for one guy to say some guy can or can’t. I will say this ... not speaking of Bill, or Joe or Bob, anybody who has not coached in the NBA needs to become an assistant in the NBA first because everything is different in the NBA,” he added, referring to “the pace of the game, style of the game, rules of the game,” as well as the afore-mentioned relationships with players, who make more money than the coach.

Several college coaches — most notably Rick Pitino, Lon Kruger, Mike Montgomery, Jerry Tarkanian, P.J. Carlesimo, Tim Floyd, Leonard Hamilton and John Calipari — all failed as NBA mentors. Four coaches have gone from college and won NBA titles: KU’s Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, Chuck Daly and Bill Fitch.

“The first thing all the guys that make the changeover say, ‘We had no idea,’’’ Harris said of all the coaching that takes place in NBA games. “You coach more in the NBA than college or high school. The games are longer. The scouting is deeper. This is all the pros do — they just do basketball. They don’t have class, this or that and have so much experience. An NBA team ... they have to know 60 plays. No college team is going to know 60 plays. You can’t. They’re not ready for it. It has to do with maturation.”

KU coach Self, who hasn’t ruled out a possible jump to the NBA someday, is a big fan of coaching legend Harris, who along with former Kentucky and Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie, served as guest speakers at his annual coaching clinic, which attracted several hundred high school, small college and juco coaches.

“I’ve known Del for three years. I was recently with him doing a clinic. He just retired and is looking for stuff to do, to go watch ball. He asked if he could come watch practice. I said, ‘You can if you come speak at our clinic,’’’ Self said with a smile. “He’s been an NBA coach 33, 35 years. There are few guys who have done it longer than him. He’s a basketball junkie, who has given our profession 50 years. He’s a defensive guru, a living legend.”

Harris’ career is a testament to the craziness of coaching in the pros.

“He won a ton of games. He got let go after winning 61 games in a season,” Self said, shaking his head. Indeed, the Lakers fired Harris in 1999 after leading L.A. to a 61-21 mark in 1997-98.

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Comments

kansasbasketball (anonymous) says...

when is head coach bill self contract up?

October 25, 2009 at 1:27 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

...knew it...someone for sure will freak out about Self leaving someday...Let him control his own destiny. I think he is pretty happy at KU. Gillispie says he will be here "many, many, many years". As Del Harris said: why would he want to change? He can exert total control of a program at the college level. Im not worried. Bill Self will do whats best for him, as any man would.

October 25, 2009 at 2:16 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Aligned (anonymous) says...

Actually, assuming Gary got the quote right, Gillispie said "many, many, many, many, many years". Of course that may be in dog years...

October 25, 2009 at 6:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Matt1958 (anonymous) says...

I think Bill is just using the old saying, never say never. He's happy right where he is.

October 25, 2009 at 8:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Brock (anonymous) says...

NBA coaches are more like nannies. NBA player speaking to his coach: "Make sure that you put the mint on the pillow before you tuck me in tonight, Foo..."

October 25, 2009 at 9:25 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

Frankly I lost interest in the NBA after MJ, although I am very excited for the KU players in the League. I appreciate the awesome individual skills of Kobe, DWade, LeBron, but as insinuated above, it seems the coach is less important than the collective will of the players. I like the purer college game. I did appreciate what Coach K was able to get accomplished with the Olympic gold medal team. This year I may actually watch Cavaliers games just to see LeBron+Shaq+DJax+RussRob(if he sticks...). I will try to follow Chalmers and Rush also...

October 25, 2009 at 11:15 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

"[Harris is] a defensive guru, a living legend."--Bill Self

Phil Jackson has Tex Winter.

While it is not hard to imagine Bill Self one day coaching the OKC franchise with Del sitting beside him, Self has, in any case, just vastly enlarged his council of mentors and his web of basketball connections. 50 years of coaching, 25-30 at the NBA level, and still sporting his own hair? Though often called Dul Harris when he coached, Del knows the game as only a few do.

Good for Bill Self.

October 25, 2009 at 11:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says...

I find it disgusting Billy Clyde was in attendance. The guy is walking disaster.

October 25, 2009 at 5:24 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

drgnslayr (anonymous) says...

Except for money, I don't see why any college coach would want to jump to the NBA. The NBA is strictly "corporate lifestyle"... all about winning and money only (winning brings more money to the franchise).

College ball allows coaches to help young players develop into men and women. They have a perfect opportunity to make a difference in the character of the young, while still being paid well. What other opportunity in sports could offer more?

Plus... the college arena encapsulates the spirit of sports whereas the pro arena encapsulates the business of sports.

October 25, 2009 at 5:25 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

honeyiscool (anonymous) says...

Are we naive enough to think that the college game is the pure version of the corrupted sport that is played in the NBA? Please, NCAA became corporate a long time ago, and half of the job of a head coach in the NCAA is pleasing AAU coaches and trying to see how far you can bend the rules, all in the name of amateur sports. Might as well be in the NBA and give up the pretension and make the big bucks.

Now, I don't think Self will go because I think he's happy at Kansas and he's getting paid very well and has a system that's working like clockwork, but if Rick Pitino can jump, so can anybody.

October 25, 2009 at 11:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Has anyone else noticed that Del Harris and Bill Self share gun slit eyes, when smiling?

October 26, 2009 at 12:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

keithmiles05- who is Billy Clyde?
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drgnslayr- great post! Well said. I still cannot comprehend why the Bulls owner dismantled the Bulls after MJ's 2nd 3peat. He wouldnt have retired perhaps and then tried to come back with Wizards. If the business is money + winning, then why dismantle a winner...
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honeyiscool- I disagree with your contention alleging naivety. I never said the college game was "pure", but rather "purer" when compared to the NBA. Keep it in context-I used that in a highly relative manner. And seriously, everybody at least on this site ought to know: you want to see i.n.t.e.n.s.e. basketball, watch a Bill Self team. You want to see the pro guys play hard, wait for the playoffs. (Understandable because of the long, long pro season--nobody would be left standing by the playoffs). True there is a lot of 'commercialism' and merchandising and other facets of business evident in NCAA sports (case in point: KU Athletics), but buddy, that's just the new paradigm perhaps...Come on, you make me feel like I'm talking "down" to the level of people who just take things literally, like children, or miss the not-so-subtle connotations of language. I am certain the majority of sports experts would call the college game closer (not an absolute term, biff...) to the ideal than is the NBA game. I expect a little more sophistication & insight from fellow posters here, but then no way to know who is alumni and who maybe still a young student...

October 27, 2009 at 2:46 a.m. ( | suggest removal )