C.L.Brown

Several College Coaches Have Made The Jump To The NBA， With Mixed Results. Now It Appears The Trend Has Reversed.

一些大學教練曾選擇進入NBA，結果有喜有憂?，F(xiàn)在，這個趨勢好像反了過來。

Avery Johnson thumbed through a roster book at a recent recruiting stop， searching for a players biography while the nights final game began. Tipoff was close to 10 p.m.， a time when many of the players perform like theyre in a hurry to get it over with， and bleary-eyed coaches are only staying courtside for appearances sake.

最近一次招募球員時，艾弗里·約翰遜翻看著一本陣容手冊，在當晚最后一場比賽開始前尋找著一名球員的介紹。比賽開始時間接近晚上10點，這個時間，很多球員表現(xiàn)得好像迫不及待地希望比賽結束，而睡眼惺忪的教練呆在場邊，只是為了表明自己還在場。

Johnson knew very well there would be nights like this. He just sat through them two years ago while his son， Avery， auditioned for college coaches during the summers live recruiting periods. Now he sits through them as the new head coach at Alabama.

約翰遜清楚地知道會遇到這樣的場景。兩年前兒子艾弗里在夏天的現(xiàn)場招募階段為大學教練試訓時，他就經歷過這些?，F(xiàn)在，他以阿拉巴馬大學新任主教練的身份再次參與到這個環(huán)節(jié)。

"People talk about the grind of being on the road for July with these AAU tournaments，" Johnson said. "Theres nothing like the grind of an NBA season when youre playing four games in five nights -- and thats consistently all during the season. Were up for the challenge， and were excited about it."

“人們談過7月參加AAU比賽時打客場的艱辛?！奔s翰遜說，“但沒有比NBA賽季里五天打四場比賽更辛苦的了——這會持續(xù)整個賽季。我們要迎接挑戰(zhàn)，對此我們很興奮?！?p>

Fred Hoiberg continued the flow of college coaches trying their hand in the NBA when he left Iowa State for the Chicago Bulls. But theres been a bit of a reversal in the pipeline.

當弗雷德·霍伊博格離開艾奧瓦大學前往公牛時，他延續(xù)了大學教練跳槽到NBA的風潮。但現(xiàn)實中也存在一股逆向的潮流。

Eric Musselman （Nevada）， Mark Price （Charlotte） and Chris Mullin（St. Johns）， like Johnson， returned to campuses as first-time college head coaches after long careers in various NBA roles.

埃里克·穆瑟爾曼（內華達）、邁克·普萊斯（夏洛特）和克里斯·穆林（圣約翰）和約翰遜一樣，在漫長的NBA生涯及多份相關工作之后，返回大學，第一次擔任大學主教練。

"In the past， at least in my experience， colleges have been a little reluctant to hire NBA guys simply because its such a different deal，" Price said. "Im excited to see more schools are starting to look because I think youre getting really quality basketball people."

“過去，至少在我看來，大學不太愿意聘請NBA的人，僅僅因為兩者存在很大差異?！逼杖R斯說，“我很高興看到更多的學校開始向這方面考慮，因為我覺得你能得到非常優(yōu)秀的籃球人才?！?/p>

Price， who had his No. 25 jersey retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers， served most of his time as a shooting coach in the NBA before becoming an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets last season. Price has never been a head coach， and spent all of one season in the college ranks -- as an assistant coach for his alma mater Georgia Tech in 1999-2000.

25號球衣被克利夫蘭騎士退役的普萊斯上賽季成為夏洛特黃蜂助理教練前，絕大多數(shù)時候在NBA擔任投籃教練。普萊斯從未做過主教練，他只在大學工作過一年——也就是1999-2000賽季在母校喬治亞理工大學擔任助理教練。

Mullen answered the call of his alma mater having never been on the sidelines. He spent all of his post-playing career in front offices， in stints with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

穆林在接受母校的邀請前從未做過教練工作。退役后他大部分時間做的都是球隊管理工作，他曾分別為金州勇士和薩克拉門托國王工作過。

These coaches got an authentic college welcome when they had to take and pass the NCAA compliance test before they were cleared to recruit. And as Price would attest， the recruiting experience is far different from what he remembered when he went through the process.

大學先給了這些教練一個下馬威，開始招募球員前，他們必須接受并通過NCAA的符合性測試。普萊斯可以證明，現(xiàn)在招募球員和他記憶中自己經歷過的那套程序有著很大區(qū)別。

"It used to be call the parents， call the high school coach，" Price said."A couple of kids that weve called， they give you this list of like five guys to call."

“過去是打電話給父母，給高中教練?！逼杖R斯說，“我們給幾個孩子打過電話，他們給了我們一份名單，我們差不多要給五個人打電話。”

The list can include AAU coaches， personal trainers and other advisers， many of whom are cultivating players NBA dreams. That brought Price to another big difference in recruiting.

這份名單包括AAU教練、個人訓練師和其他顧問，其中很多人培育了球員的NBA夢。這讓普萊斯想到了招募環(huán)節(jié)的另一個區(qū)別。

"Everybody thinks theyre going to be a pro now，" he said. "It doesnt matter who they are."

“現(xiàn)在所有人都覺得自己能成為職業(yè)球員了。”他說，“不管他們到底是誰?！?/p>

Despite being inexperienced in the college game， theres a noted advantage for the former pros in college coaching： instant credibility and recognition. Most of the players theyre recruiting werent born when Mullin played on the Dream Team in 1992 or when Price was still in uniform， but their parents know their credentials， and the players respect their NBA resumes.

盡管沒有執(zhí)教大學比賽的經驗，但是前職業(yè)球員擔任大學教練卻有著一個明顯的優(yōu)勢：他們立刻就能得到信譽和認可。當穆林1992年參加夢之隊或者普萊斯還在現(xiàn)役打球時，很多被他們招募的球員還沒出生，但他們的父母知道這些人的名氣，而球員則尊重他們在NBA的經歷。

"Having an NBA background is impactful to high school players， to transfers -- its been a huge benefit，" Musselman said. "The big thing for guys like Avery and guys that have been NBA head coaches -- that completely separates you from someone who has just spent time in the NBA."

“有NBA的背景，對高中球員或者轉校生來說是有影響力的——是特別大的利好。”穆林說，“對于像艾弗里以及其他有NBA主教練背景的人，最重要的、讓你脫穎而出的，就是你在NBA的那段工作經歷?！?p>

Johnson and Musselman increased the list to 12 current college head coaches who are former NBA head coaches. The majority of that list --including Louisvilles Rick Pitino， Kentuckys John Calipari and Florida States Leonard Hamilton -- established themselves at the college level before taking an NBA opportunity.

約翰遜和穆瑟爾曼讓擔任過NBA主教練的大學教練人數(shù)增加到12人。這份名單中的大多數(shù)——包括路易斯維爾的里克·皮蒂諾、肯塔基的約翰·卡利帕里和佛羅里達州大的萊納德·漢密爾頓——進入NBA前已經在大學成名。

Musclemans approach was a bit different from his peers. From 1989 to 2012 he coached in an assortment of pro leagues， including the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Rather than jump right into the college head coaching ranks， the former Warriors（2002-04） and Kings （2006-07） head coach first returned to campus as an assistant in 2012 with Arizona State. He spent last season at LSU before being hired at Nevada in March.

穆瑟爾曼和他的同行有些不同。1989年到2012年，他在各類職業(yè)聯(lián)賽擔任過教練工作，包括大洲籃球聯(lián)賽和NBA發(fā)展聯(lián)盟。他沒有直接成為大學的主教練，這位前勇士（2002-04）及國王（2006-07）主帥先是在2012年前往亞利桑那州大擔任了助理教練。上個賽季他又前往路易斯維爾，直到三月被內華達大學聘為主教練。

"Without having been an assistant coach， I think it would be really， really difficult -- at least for me -- to have gone from the pro game to the college game，" Musselman said.

“如果沒做過助理教練，至少對我來說，我覺得從職業(yè)聯(lián)賽轉到大學會非常非常困難?！蹦律獱柭f。

For starters， paperwork is almost a daily part of being a head coach in college. So is compliance， a word rarely heard in NBA front offices. Some coaches who have spent the majority of their careers on NBA sidelines might not be up for that challenge.

首先，對大學主教練來說，文書幾乎是日常工作的一部分。還有“服從”，這是一個在NBA管理層幾乎聽不到的說法。很多職業(yè)生涯大部分時間在NBA做教練的人，也許無法應對在大學球隊里的這些挑戰(zhàn)。

The NBA is about business. Nowhere is that more evident than in the relationships between players and management.

NBA的重心是商業(yè)，沒有比球員和管理層的關系更能說明這個問題的證據(jù)了。

"Obviously in the NBA I think some coaches can get close with the players， but oftentimes you land in a city， everyone goes into their own hotel room in the Ritz-Carlton，" Musselman said. "You see guys at practice， you see guys at games and then they go home. So the personal relationship is so much different in college when a person is going from a young man to an adult."

“顯然在NBA，我認為一些教練能夠和球員關系變得更好，但一般來說，你到了一個城市，每個人都躲進自己在利茲卡爾頓的酒店房間?！蹦律獱柭f，“你能在訓練中見到球員，在比賽里見到球員，然后他們就各回各家了。在大學，當一個人從年輕人成長為成年人時，人和人之間的關系非常不同?！?p>

Thats why Johnson figured the trend of professional coaches returning to the college ranks can only get so big. He said the supervision and guidance unrelated to basketball is a challenge not everyone wants.

這也是約翰遜認為職業(yè)聯(lián)賽教練返回大學的趨勢不會繼續(xù)增長的原因。他說并不是每個人都愿意接受與籃球無關的監(jiān)管和指導。

"Not everyone wants the responsibility of having to recruit and check up on the academic side of things. Thats why going from the NBA to college is all about finding the right fit."

“并不是所有人想要承擔招募球員、檢查他們學業(yè)成績這方面的責任。這就是從NBA到大學的教練規(guī)模恰到好處的原因。”