Former college basketball head coaches bring unique perspective as assistants
SALT LAKE CITY — The first time he was an assistant coach, Norm Roberts of Kansas had a habit of getting tunnel vision.
Like many young, ambitious, aspiring head coaches in the profession, Roberts often thought about things as they related to him and his career arc — his recruits, his scouts, his next opportunity. But now, as a veteran assistant who also has head coaching experience, Roberts sees the bigger picture.
“Once you’re a head coach, what you realize is that everything is about loyalty, commitment and doing what’s best for the program,” said Roberts, 53. “If the floor needs to be swept, I’ll sweep it. If towels need to be picked up, I’ll grab them. Sometimes younger guys who haven’t been through being a head coach worry about that stuff from a perception standpoint — I don’t anymore.”
This week in Salt Lake City, where first- and second-round games in both the West and Midwest Region will tip off Thursday, three teams — Kansas, Auburn and Northeastern — have staffs that include former head coaches now working as assistants.
This is commonplace in men’s college basketball, where fired head coaches often find landing spots as assistants, bringing a unique perspective to programs that might otherwise be staffed with people who have never experienced being the CEO. And as the coaching carousel starts spinning this month, there are likely to be more fired head coaches looking to find work again as an assistant.
Roberts is in his second stint as a KU assistant under Bill Self. He and Self have had a long working relationship; they’ve known each other so long, in fact, Self likes to joke he “helped raise Norm’s two kids.”
Roberts assisted Self at Illinois, Tulsa and Oral Roberts before heading together to Lawrence. Then, after the 2003-04 season, Roberts, a native of Queens, N.Y., got the head coaching job at St. John’s. The Red Storm were on life support when Roberts arrived, as the program had “every problem you could have. Academics, talent, facilities, money, boosters — we didn’t have any of those things.”
In six years, Roberts compiled an 81-101 overall record, but was fired at the end of the 2010 season despite a trip to the NIT. A year later he resurfaced at Florida, working under Billy Donovan, now the Oklahoma City Thunder coach. Then he reunited with Self at Kansas, where he has been ever since.
While Roberts acknowledged that former head coaches often find their way back to the bench, he said it’s not always a slam dunk that a younger, less-established head coach will feel comfortable bringing on a veteran with his own head coaching experience.
“Sometimes as a head coach, it’s a little harder to get in,” Roberts said. “Young guys might think, 'I don’t want a guy who won a little bit (on his own) and was pretty good — what if players look to him?' "
For Self, this wasn’t an issue.
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“I don’t think coaches should be in any way, shape or form intimidated by adding something to their staff that makes them better,” Self said. “Norm is a better assistant now that’s he’s been a head coach. He can see through a different lens. I know when I was an assistant, I saw it through the lens of maybe what’s best for the player or this situation, as opposed to seeing … how this could affect something a year from now, or something like that.
“He brings a maturity that’s very helpful.”
At Auburn, assistant Wes Flanigan spent two years as the head coach of Arkansas-Little Rock before joining Bruce Pearl and the Tigers this season. Pearl echoed Self’s thinking that former head coaches can be great assistant hires.
“One thing you don’t want to do, is you don’t want to be so strong that (your assistants) are intimidated to tell you what they think,” Pearl said. “I want to know what they think. I want them to challenge my thinking. But once we leave a meeting and a decision is made, make my decision work.”
Roberts works now to mentor young assistants, constantly reminding them to think outside themselves. He also tries to explain one crucial lesson you learn as a head coach: “Everybody is gonna be let or fired at some point.”
“Don’t let anybody get it twisted,” Roberts likes to tell young assistants. “It’s about winning. It’s always about winning. You can be the best guy in the world — a lot of the best guys in the world get let go … there are some guys in this business who are great coaches, they do a great job strategy-wise. But if the ball doesn’t go in the basket, you’re not gonna win. And you have to win.”
Another point he harps on: Chemistry is key. And not just in the locker room.
“There has to be chemistry and synergy with your coaches,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you have to be best buds, but if your staff doesn’t have chemistry, your team isn’t going to be any good — and then you’re not helping the head coach. And as an assistant, you have to remember that you’re there to support players, but also support the head coach.”
Though he loves his job at KU and raves about Self, Roberts still has the itch to be a head coach again. But again, he sees the bigger picture.
“You always have that desire,” he said, smiling. “But when you’re older, you think a little differently. When you’re 25, you say, ‘I’ll go work anywhere! It doesn’t matter!” When you’re older and you have a family, you think a little more about the right situation.”