MVN - Most Valuable Network

Who’s going to hire Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a player who could have averaged 50 points a game if he wanted to, in High School, College or the pros. Many call Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player ever, but how many basketball GM’s would take Michael over Kareem if that were truly their choice in a draft. Many of us have forgotten how dominant Kareem was as a player. Born as Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor and the son of a New York City policeman; Kareem topped the charts his first day on the earth. As a former basketball coach, I couldn’t even imagine having a baby that’s 12 pounds 10 ounces and 22 and half inches long. At 13 years old Kareem was 6”8

It didn’t take him long to become a man and when he did he would set all kinds of records everywhere he went. While at Power Memorial (High School) in New York, Lew Alcindor helped Power win 72 consecutive games, while going 96-6 overall, and winning three city championships. At UCLA he played varsity ball for three years and won three NCAA titles. Milwaukee of the NBA drafted him first overall after winning only 27 games the previous year. In year two of Kareem’s career, they would win an NBA championship. While with the Lakers Kareem would win 5 titles and I could go on and on.

Some of the principles Kareem had, went vastly un-noticed as he constantly did things the right way or his way. For example, Kareem was drafted first overall in the NBA draft (Bucks) and first in the start-up ABA league (Nets). Kareem told both teams that he would choose the better offer in a sealed bid, and that he would not get into a bidding war. Keep in mind that the Harlem Globetrotters had already offered a 1 million dollar contract, which Kareem turned down. Also, this was 1969, where a million dollars was a lot of money. To put it into perspective, Roy Boe would purchase the New York Nets for 980,000 dollars months later.

In His book “Giant Steps” Kareem had this to say about the Nets, “All things being equal, I would have been more than happy to play for (the Nets),” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “The ABA was a new league, without the tradition and composure of the NBA, but I was no great fan of tradition and composure. I had wanted to sign with the Nets, 30 second clock, three-point shot, multi-colored basketball and all but I was offended to be taken so lightly. If they hadn’t taken me seriously when I was calling the shots, how would they treat me once I was under contract? The Nets had had the inside track and had blown it.”

Anyway, The Bucks made a substantial offer of over a million dollars and the Nets made a weak offer, afterwards the Nets told Kareem that they would increase his offer and Kareem said, “No thanks”. Real men do not go back on their word for financial gain and I respect Kareem for that. He told both teams he would not get into a bidding war and was willing to accept less money to prove his point.

Another great tale was when Kareem was a freshman at UCLA, the varsity was defending national champions and Kareem wasn’t allowed to play, as freshmen were ineligible then. However, every year UCLA would have a pre-season game labeled the Blue Gold game. It was the varsity vs. the junior varsity and of course the defending national champions would win, right? Not a chance as they were the number one team in the country, but number two on campus. That’s the kind of player Kareem Abdul Jabbar was!

After Kareem retired he had an interest in coaching, but no one seemed to think he was a fit. Sometimes I think this country is run by the media as a lot of perceptions of people are based on what we read in newspapers and see on TV. As a player, Kareem had gained a reputation as an introvert. Kareem is not introverted as much as he dislikes the fanfare that came with being a star. Many reporters are looking for stories that don’t exist and miss the ones that do. I heard Kareem last year on the radio with TJ Simers, and could understand his reasoning for not liking the media.

It’s simple; TJ had gotten a gig on the radio with his daughter Tracey and Fred Roggin. Kareem does them a huge favor and grants them an interview. Lets remember, that TJ had the worst sports radio show in Los Angeles and then proceeds to agitate, annoy and insult Kareem for his own personal enjoyment. If it were me I probably would have hung up on him, but had Kareem done that he would have hurt his career even more.

I remember another coach in football who wasn’t good with the media and was very gruff with his players; his name is Bill Belichick. Bottom line, since when does the media decide who works and who doesn’t. Phil Jackson was looking for a coach a few years back, who could help develop a young lottery pick for the Lakers named Andrew Bynum. Phil, who was blackballed as a coach early in his career gave Kareem a shot and is looking like a genius because of it.

So the question looms, would Kareem be an effective coach n the NBA? I believe he would be and here’s my reasoning. X’s and O’s and motivation are important in the NBA and having been coached by Jack Donahue at Power Memorial, John Wooden at UCLA, Larry Costello at Milwaukee and Pat Riley with the Lakers, the X’s and O’s should not be a problem. With the right group of players, Kareem would be a very effective coach in the NBA.

Kareem would need a Bynum like protégé in the middle and would also need players of a high integrity, who doesn’t? There are a few guys in the draft this year that fit that profile, one is Hasheem Thabeet of UCONN and the other is Deandre Jordan of Texas A & M. Kareem is a little different in personality then the norm, but so were Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick.

Kareem’s resume is not deep enough to compare with other coaches in waiting, but he does have an unblemished record. He coached one year as a head coach and won a championship. This happened in the USBL in 2002 when Kareem coached the Oklahoma Storm. Kareem accepted a position with the Lakers shortly thereafter.

Kareem’s championship year proved a few things. Number one, Kareem definitely coached these guys up to a championship level. Here’s what tournament MVP Ira Clarke had to say about Kareem’s coaching: You can already tell just by listening to him in practice that he has great knowledge. Every time he talks, we’re open ears.” Doug Gottlieb, currently an ESPN analyst, added this about Kareem’s abilities as a coach: “Now that he knows who he wants and what he wants, he’s making his points very clear, you can tell his basis is somewhere in between NBA basketball and John Wooden basketball. He has an incredible feel for not just basketball in general, but spacing, fundamentals, ball handling. I’ve played for several different coaches at high levels of basketball who don’t have a feel for that.”

To me, the key component to hiring a coach is one thing, winning. When Kareem went to the USBL he wasn’t handed a team of top players, but he does get credit for molding what he was given into a championship team. Kareem understands the sacrifices and hard work that is needed to deserve success, but the key is, how he feels about winning “When I played in the playgrounds of New York I wanted to win, that was important,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “It doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t matter what level you are in, winning is a great accomplishment and is gratifying.”

Early in his championship year, the team was floundering at 4-8, and Kareem made the necessary moves to win a title. Storm owner James Bryant added his reference to Kareem: “This is wonderful. When this team started it was brand new, the players didn’t know each other, the coaches didn’t know each other, we began to rebuild, and that is the way Kareem wanted it. We struggled early, but we began to play well late and the rest is history,”

The point I’m trying to make is that Kareem would be an excellent choice for a head coaching position in the NBA. He would command immediate respect, clearly understands the game, and is the best big man coach in the game today. In a recent interview with Mary Schmitt Boyle of the Cleveland Plain Dealer Kareem was asked, what prompted your decision to enter the coaching ranks?

Kareem said, “I think a lot of the fundamental skills of the game aren’t really being transferred over the generations. People who played in my generation learned the game a certain way, and it’s not being taught that way now. As everybody has observed, the game has suffered because of it.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 6:24 pm and is filed under Andrei Kirilinko, Amare Stoudamire, Pacific, Greece, Brian Cook, Georgia, Rony Turiaf, DJ Mbenga, Valdosta Daily Times, Police, NBDL, Elton Brown, Chris Mihm, Charles Oakley, Colorado, Gambling, Jerry Buss, Portland, ed ziti, Kings, Oden, Rick Mahorn, Wes Unseld, Stu Lantz, Aaron Jay Sapiro, Javaris Crittenton, Jordan Farmar, Dallas, Mavericks, referees, fouls, free throws, Don Marbury, Vladimir Radmanovic, Church, The Winner Within, Lee Riley, Maurice Lucas, Bob Nightengale, Willis Reed, line, Betting, Bets, Coby Karl, Trevor Ariza, Larry Bird, Knicks, Smush Parker, Leandro Barbosa, Sacramento, Larry Brown, Pau Gasol, New York, NCAA, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Eddy Curry, Isiah Thomas, Rockies, Mike Dunleavy, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Grant Hill, Andrew Bynum, Pat Riley, DJ Strawberry, Jackie Butler, St Johns, Reggie Theus, Rick Adelman, Mitch Kupchak, Lakers, Sasha Vujacic, Derek Fisher, Shawn Marion, Jerry Sloan, Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Don Nelson, Baron Davis, Raja Bell, Devean George, Avery Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.