This is the first in a series of profiles of potential candidates for Indiana’s open basketball head coaching position.
Candidate: Brad Stevens
Age: 48
Current position, tenure: Boston Celtics president of basketball operations since 2021
Previous Jobs: Celtics head coach 2013-21; Butler head coach 2007-13; Butler assistant coach 2001-07
Accomplishments: Stevens compiled a 354-282 regular-season record with the Celtics and a 38-40 postseason record. He led Boston to seven consecutive playoff appearances after missing out during his first season on the job. His team went to the Eastern Conference Finals in four straight seasons, from 2017-20. At Butler, Stevens stacked up a 166-49 record, with back-to-back national championship games in 2010-11. His Bulldogs went to the NCAA Tournament in five of his six seasons at the helm, and all but one of those five teams won at least one game in March Madness.
Why it might work: If Indiana was able to finally lure Stevens back to the college ranks, it’s hard to imagine a better candidate for the job. He’s been extremely successful with the Boston Celtics, both as head coach and as president of basketball operations. While Mike Woodson entered the IU job with a lot of NBA experience, Stevens’ record in Boston far eclipses what Woodson did in Atlanta and New York. And — most importantly — Stevens performed very well in his six-year tenure up the road at Butler. He came inches away from leading the Bulldogs to a national title in 2010, and then took them back to the same stage in 2011, becoming one of just four programs since 2000 to reach back-to-back national championship games.
There is no doubt about Stevens’ ability to coach. He’s one of the brightest basketball minds in the sport. And at just 48 years old, only three Big Ten coaches are younger than him — and one of those is Washington’s Danny Sprinkle, who was born a mere 10 days later.
The Zionsville native knows what IU basketball means to the state. He grew up watching the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall. It’s hard to definitively say whether or not coaching in Bloomington is a lifelong dream for Stevens, but it’s fair to assume the thought has crossed his mind at a few points along the way.
For IU, bringing in someone like Stevens would maximize fan excitement heading into next season. The season-opener would become one of the more highly-anticipated Indiana basketball games in quite some time.
Why it might not work or happen: If Stevens set out in his career to climb the ladder in the profession, it’s pretty hard to ascend any higher than he has. He’s succeeded both in college and the pros, and the team he helped put together in Boston won a championship last summer. Sure, some people get the itch to bounce around different jobs, constantly seeking a new challenge. But Stevens has held only four positions over the last 24 years — that’s pretty uncommon, and says a lot about his mindset. While his son is on the Notre Dame basketball team, his daughter is a sophomore in high school this year — if he did yearn to return to coaching and move out of Boston, he may prefer to wait until his daughter graduates.
And while Indiana may have financial advantages over some college programs it may try to recruit a coach from, it seems fair to assume he’s being compensated handsomely by the Celtics. Stevens turned down a seven-year, $70 million offer from IU in 2021.
There’s also another side of the concept of hiring Stevens at IU which many aren’t discussing. He was undeniably successful at Butler, but he’s now been at the professional level for more than a decade. Stevens hasn’t ran a college program in 12 years. No one will question his ability to coach basketball, but college sports are in an entirely new world than they were when he last graced the sideline at Butler. It’s no guarantee that Stevens would be able to seamlessly adapt to and succeed with the transfer portal and NIL, and with the way they’ve changed recruiting.
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