So Long, Sloan....

So, I had another blog topic planned, but with the recent chain of events in Utah, any basketball fan will understand why I feel the need to chime in on this issue.  And the issue is Jerry Sloan’s abrupt end to an amazing coaching career, following an altercation with Deron Williams at half time on Wednesday. 

Now, it’s only been two days, and I’ve already heard a few variations on the dismissal.  I’ve heard that Sloan felt like the organization undermined his credibility by supporting the player more than him and he resigned.  I’ve heard that Sloan made the decision to leave, saying that it was just his time to go, and that this had been brewing for a while. I’ve heard those suggest that he had grown weary of the long NBA season and felt that he wanted to move on to life after basketball, as he no longer had the passion for the game.  I've heard those suggest that he wanted to spend more time with his ailing wife who has a terminal illness.

I have my opinion on what really happened, but the purpose for this blog post was not to speculate.  And I’m definitely not here to indict D-Will on charges of ousting one of the best coaches ever to roam the sideline!!!  The purpose of this post was to give one of the all time coaching greats his due. 

First let me start by saying that Jerry Sloan has been coaching the Utah Jazz since I was 3 years old.  Three!!! I never got the opportunity to see Sloan as a player due to my youth.  But I will say this, if Sloan played anything like he coached, then there was HELL, ahem, HELL to pay when you were on the floor with him.  We will never see another scenario where one guy is able to stay with one franchise for 23 years, and have a winning record for at least 20 of those seasons.  The level of consistency that Sloan brought to the Jazz on a day to day basis was simply uncanny, unparalleled, and unheard of in the world we live in today.  We’re talking about a guy whose coaching career outlasted the playing careers of his team’s two best players (Stockton and Malone).  We’re talking about a coach who no matter how great the talent level was in the West Conference (and over his career, the West was notoriously more talented than the East), he had his team right there in the thick of things come playoff and winning time. You be hard pressed to find a machine that operated more efficiently and consistently then Jerry Sloan. 

Coach Sloan was always able to get the most out of his players. From Tyronne Corbin (Jazz New Head Coach), Jeff Hornacek, Greg Ostertag, Howard Eisley, and my favorite Byron Russell - Sloan had all these guys overacheiving.  Say what you will about these players, but irregardless of who they played for before or after Sloan, the truth is that no other coach got more out of any of these players. (For proof, see “Howard Eisley signs bloated contract with the Knicks after years of productivity with the Jazz, then his game commits suicide” or "Byron Russell after Utah").  Sloan was an excellent coach, in that his teams competed nightly, and they were physically and mentally tough, excluding this last bunch of course ( this current group of Jazzmen are about as tough as medicated cotton balls). Think back for a moment, to my most memorable part of the Sloan era, the mid-to-late 90’s.  Everyone lauded John Stockton for his basketball IQ, his playmaking ability and his leadership, but they overlooked two of the best parts of his game: His rebounding and stingy defense.  If you watched Stockton play, you know he was good for coming up with a timely, important rebound, and if you weren’t looking, he was quick to pick your pocket.  The career statistics for the rebounds (2.7 RPG) aren't as telling as the career statistics for steals (2.1 SPG) are, but anyone who watched this guy would agree.These are all characteristics of a tough minded basket-ball player, and it is always said that the point guard is an extension of the coach.  Sloan must’ve enjoyed waking up and looking in the mirror for the 19 years that he had Stockton on the point. 

When I watched the Utah Jazz orchestrate Sloan’s offensive schemes, I thought I was listening to Mozart play.  It was simply beautiful.  From the pick and roll, to the pick and pop, to the way that the players backdoor cut you as soon as you blinked and eye.  It was poetry in motion.  And while the names and faces of the players changed, the plays and the mindset stayed the same.  And barring the awful season that netted them D-Will in the draft (When Sloan had Carlos Arroyo as his starting point guard), the Jazz kept winning. 

I could go on and on with superlative after superlative about Jerry Sloan.  But Sloan, I’ve got one word for you my man: RESPECT!!!.  Thanks for all you’ve given us REAL basketball fans.  And even though my gut tells me it is, I truly hope this isn’t you’re last stand as a NBA coach.