greatest player to become a great coach? (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

I'm confused as to what we're looking for.

A) "Greatest Player" who then went on to become a great coach, or,

B) "Greatest Coach" who was, previously, a good or great player?

Like, if Wayne Gretzky became a hockey coach and led his team to a .501 winning record, would he rank higher than, say, Joe Torre, who was a barely-above average player who became the top coach in his sport for a decade-plus?

I was thinking the player that was best at both? So neither of those guys really hit the mark since they were only great at one of those roles.

 

[Ilov80s]

Rudy Tomjanovich might fall short of greatness but he was a 5x all star, 2x Big Ten 1st Team, number retired at both Houston and Michigan. 2x NBA champ as a coach, won gold and bronze Olympic medals.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Overlooking the obvious here... DUG Pederson

 

[Brony]

Lance Harbour

 

[belljr]

Otto Graham

 

[GroveDiesel]

I'm confused as to what we're looking for.

A) "Greatest Player" who then went on to become a great coach, or,

B) "Greatest Coach" who was, previously, a good or great player?

Like, if Wayne Gretzky became a hockey coach and led his team to a .501 winning record, would he rank higher than, say, Joe Torre, who was a barely-above average player who became the top coach in his sport for a decade-plus?

Come on now, Torre isn't an all time great, but the guy made 9 All Star games, won an NL MVP, lead the league in hits, average and RBIs in 1971 and won a gold glove. That's pretty darn good.

 

[boilerdave]

John Wooden might of been the best player of his era...one of the best any way.

 

[El Floppo]

Zidane 

too soon to tell, IMO. 

Cruyff and Beckenbauer are the first two that come to mind.

yes.

first that came to mind for me was Pep. 

 

[Ed Wood]

I'll put in a vote for my favorite basketball player of all-time, Jerry West.

As a player:

West ended his playing career with 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA Team and five All-Defensive Team selections, and scored 25,192 points, 6,238 assists and 5,366 rebounds in 932 games, translating to an average of 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game.[8] Among retired players, only Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain surpass his 27.0 points per game average.

As a coach and GM:

As a coach, West led the Lakers into three consecutive playoff campaigns, and then went on to win seven NBA championships as a general manager, building the 1980s Lakers dynasty under coach Pat Riley and players Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and the 2000s under coach Phil Jackson and players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

 

[Arizona Ron]

Iceberg Slim

 

[CletiusMaximus]

too soon to tell, IMO. 

yes.

first that came to mind for me was Pep. 

Was Pep a great player? I actually saw him play in ‘94 at Soldier Field, but wasn’t really watching for him. I don’t remember much about him as a player. 

 

[Slapdash]

Steve Kerr is working his way onto this list IMO.  Of course he has had some damn lucky supporting casts

 

[El Floppo]

Was Pep a great player? I actually saw him play in ‘94 at Soldier Field, but wasn’t really watching for him. I don’t remember much about him as a player. 

Top notch player, yes. Cruyff, Beck or Zidane level? No way. But a very good player and obviously an upper elite coach.

 

[Slapdash]

Top notch player, yes. Cruyff, Beck or Zidane level? No way. But a very good player and obviously an upper elite coach.

The Busquets of the Dream Team (Sergio, not his dad Carles who was the keeper)

 

[Judge Smails]

I'll put in a vote for my favorite basketball player of all-time, Jerry West.

As a player:

West ended his playing career with 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA Team and five All-Defensive Team selections, and scored 25,192 points, 6,238 assists and 5,366 rebounds in 932 games, translating to an average of 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game.[8] Among retired players, only Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain surpass his 27.0 points per game average.

As a coach and GM:

As a coach, West led the Lakers into three consecutive playoff campaigns, and then went on to win seven NBA championships as a general manager, building the 1980s Lakers dynasty under coach Pat Riley and players Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and the 2000s under coach Phil Jackson and players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

I'd go with greatest player, greatest GM.  But not coach.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Zidane 

Stopped reading after this. We have a winner. 

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

Steve Kerr is working his way onto this list IMO.  Of course he has had some damn lucky supporting casts

I'm not sure "decent supporting player" qualifies as "great"

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

In 1948 Lou Boudreau was AL MVP and managed the Indians to a World Championship.

 

[Slapdash]

I'm not sure "decent supporting player" qualifies as "great"

He probably holds some NBA records still, but I agree.  Saw enough non greats in gere, thought Kerr is worth noting

 

[Ilov80s]

Come on now, Torre isn't an all time great, but the guy made 9 All Star games, won an NL MVP, lead the league in hits, average and RBIs in 1971 and won a gold glove. That's pretty darn good.

Oh I didn’t know he was that good. Wow- that’s a good call.

 

[Drunken knight]

frank robinson

dusty baker

mike scioscia

 

[flranger]

LeBron......

 

[Mr.Pack]

 Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Knoll, Tony Dungy, Forrest Gregg and Marty Schottenheimer were all players before coaching, I don't know how "great" of players they were or not, I always thought Dungy was pretty decent as were Forrest Gregg and Tom Landry from what I recall from reading about him books.  I'm not certain about the others though.

Forrest Gregg was a terrible, almost worse than terrible coach

 

[Mr.Pack]

Doug Pederson

... too soon?

Great player? Great clipboard holder, sure

 

[Mr.Pack]

In 1948 Lou Boudreau was AL MVP and managed the Indians to a World Championship.

His son moved in across the street from me in the 70s.

 

[Dedfin]

Go easy..

He's crap all around.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

What about Steve Alford.. Not a great pro but very good high school and college player... Plus he went to the same High school as my wife..

 

[Chemical X]

lenny wilkens?

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Cruyff and Beckenbauer are the first two that come to mind.

I think this is the choice.  Cruyff is almost universally regarded as a top 5 player of all time, and as manager he transformed Barcelona from a big name club into one of the true powerhouses of the sport.  He led them to the club's first European championship, 4 straight Liga titles, and won the most trophies of any FCB manager until he was surpassed by his former player, Pep.  He also shaped the club's philosophy and youth program, which was instrumental in the run of success they've had in the 21st century.

 

[RokNRole]

He played to win the game.

 

[Sullie]

Forrest Gregg was a terrible, almost worse than terrible coach

He took the Bengals to a Super Bowl and almost beat the 49ers, I wouldn't call him the worst coach in history or anything.

 

[Bull Dozier]

I'm confused as to what we're looking for.

A) "Greatest Player" who then went on to become a great coach, or,

B) "Greatest Coach" who was, previously, a good or great player?

Like, if Wayne Gretzky became a hockey coach and led his team to a .501 winning record, would he rank higher than, say, Joe Torre, who was a barely-above average player who became the top coach in his sport for a decade-plus?

Come on now, Torre isn't an all time great, but the guy made 9 All Star games, won an NL MVP, lead the league in hits, average and RBIs in 1971 and won a gold glove. That's pretty darn good.

Torre as "barely-above average" has to be Shick.