I read and hear many comments made about coaches.
“He screams too much.”
“He’s too easy on them.”
“The coach is too hard on his players.”
“That coach is too soft on his players.”
“He’s not the right fit for this team.”
It’s all bull!
Speaking of ‘Bull’, yesterday I heard some sports talk guys out of Chicago complaining about the Chicago Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro. It seems like a couple of Bulls players were fined by the head coach. The Chicago Tribune has the story. The radio guys said Del Negro was too easy on the players, that what the team needed was someone to grab them and shake them up.
Del Negro felt the same way when he fined Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Larry Hughes for conduct detrimental to the team. The fines, presumed nominal to remind players who’s in charge, stemmed from the Bulls’ road victory Monday in New Jersey, when Del Negro reminded players of a rule in the team handbook prohibiting pregame eating in the locker room.
Some players grumbled, saying they were unaware of the rule. From there, Del Negro dealt with Thomas, Noah and Hughes, for what he viewed as either improper language or disrespectful behavior toward him.
It’s conduct similar to what former coaches Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan dealt with, and how Del Negro handles it presents a true test for him. After all, losing a locker room is far worse than losing a game.
Wasn’t Scott Skiles their coach before Del Negro and people complained that he was too hard on them?
So tell me, how should a coach act towards a team? Should they be strict or soft? Can it be cut down the middle? Handle things as they occur? Is every situation different? How come the Bulls players didn’t know the team rule? How did they respond when told they weren’t allowed to eat in the locker room?
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
Filed under: Scott Skiles, Vinny Del Negro | Tagged: Basketball, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Tribune, Coach, Discipline, Sports, Sports Talk Raadio
