The Detroit Pistons should take a look at the college coaches available to fill their head coaching vacancy. They might find a solution to their problem.
The Detroit Pistons are currently looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Stan Van Gundy.
An option for filling this role is dipping into college basketball for their next head coach. Look at what Brad Stevens is doing in Boston.
I’m not saying that every college coach brought up is going to be a home run. I think fresh blood and a face that the players aren’t used to would be a great start.
Here are some college coaches that I believe are worthy of a an interview with the Detroit Pistons.
Jay Wright
Jay Wright has led the Villanova Wildcats to two national championships in the last three years. He’s been the head coach there since 2001 and done nothing but succeed.
The Wildcats have won at least 29 games in each of their last five seasons. This is a group that never lacks any offensive fire power.
The Wildcats averaged 86.6 points per game last season. That was first in all of Division I college basketball. The Pistons are in need of a coach that can bring some creativity to the offensive side of the floor.
The Detroit Pistons were in the bottom half of the league in many major offensive statistics. They were just 22nd in the league in points per game. Wright could help with this problem.
He’s not known for producing NBA quality talent year after year. He finds guys that buy into his system and I think there are a lot of advantages to that.
Mark Few
Since 2000, Few has been the head coach at Gonzaga. He has a career .819 winning percentage with the Bulldogs.
They haven’t missed an NCAA tournament since he’s been the head coach. They’ve won 17 regular season conference championships, 15 conference tournament championships. and have made a final four appearance.
They don’t exactly play big-time competition in the West Coast conference but it’s hard to ignore this much success. Few has made Gonzaga a household name in college basketball.
Few isn’t exactly known for pumping out NBA talent either. Kelly Olynyk and Domas Zabonis are two players that are worth noting that have come from Gonzaga.
Gonzaga is another team that is efficient on the offensive end of the floor. I would love to see the Detroit Pistons reach out to Few for a job.
Tom Izzo
What? It’s not like it would be the first time the Pistons have reached out to Izzo for a head coaching job.
Izzo has built a brand name at Michigan State University. He’s had a ton of success and produced some fine NBA players in the process.
Draymond Green and Gary Harris are two that come to mind right away.
With all of the investigations surrounding the athletic programs, tensions are a bit high at Michigan State.
It’s hard to see Izzo leaving the Spartan program, but at the same time it wouldn’t be that surprising.
At the end of the day, he’s a great coach with a lot to offer. He’s lead teams that have lacked talent all the way to the final four. His team is consistently sitting at the top of the Big Ten conference year after year.
What’s not to like about a guy like Izzo going to the Detroit Pistons?