The Give and Go: College Coaches

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The Give and Go is a quick back and forth between Paul Mitchell and Chris St. Jean about a relevant subject in the NBA at that moment.

Paul: John Calipari “desperately” wants to coach again in the NBA, per a front office executive to NorthJersey.com’s Steve Popper. Popper speculates as to a return to the Nets organization for Calipari, where his renowned recruitment abilities could be an attractive option for a Brooklyn team that will depend heavily on future free agencies to replenish their roster. It was barely a year ago that Calipari reportedly turned down a multi-year contract to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers to return to the University of Kentucky, but could this offseason be any different? If you were an organization looking to make moves in free agency, would you consider investing in John Calipari, and how much control over personnel would you be willing to cede?

If not Calipari, are there any other current college coaches that you think are realistic options to jump to the NBA?

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Nerlens Noel

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There was almost a chance in 2012 that Nerlens Noel would choose to play for my local Division 1A college basketball program. It was an unlikely rumor at the time that, in retrospect, would have resulted in lost scholarships or vacated wins had it all actually come together, but the very thought of Noel and his flat-top blocking shots for the Providence College Friars almost had Chris and I scrambling to split season tickets. Alas, Ryan Gomes’s place as the “Greatest Friar of the Last 50 Years” was safe, as Noel committed to the reigning-NCAA champion University of Kentucky Wildcats instead, but he could have single-handedly changed the direction of a young and rebuilding men’s basketball program at PC, had he chosen to. Although his sole season with Kentucky was cut short by an ACL tear, Nerlens Noel now has the opportunity to change the direction of a young and rebuilding professional basketball franchise when he makes his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers.