Tuesday marked the official announcement. Not that it left anyone suprised. Toronto Raports Coach Sam Mitchell, won in what basically a two-horse race his first Coach of the Year Award. Utah's Jerry Sloan finished second. Again.
This year Sloan led Utah to a 51-31 record, and it's first division title since 2000. The 51 wins was a ten win improvement from 2005-06, which was a 15 win improvement from 2004-05. Sam Mitchell led Toronto to 47 wins and the 4th best record seed in a very week Eastern Conference.
So no one picked Toronto to do much of anything. Why? Because they haven't in Sam Mitchell's previous two season, where he won 37% of his games, alienated Vince Carter (who claimed Mitchel tried to fight him in the locker room), and was believed to be in danger of losing his job had Brian Colangelo had a suitbable replacement available. So since the expectations were so low, having a winning basketball team suddenly looks alot better, so much so that 47 wins in the morebound Eastern Conference outdoes 51 wins in a conference with 6 of the leagues 7 best teams.
In his 19 years coaching the Jazz and 22 years coaching in the NBA, Sloan has never once won coach of the year. Although many other curius names have. Doc Rivers won one for leading his Magic to a 41-41 record and a first-round exit in the playoffs. Sloan won 55 games that year. Mike Dunleavy, Del Harris, Larry Bird are among the other winners during Sloan's tenure. Are they better coaches than Sloan. All Sloan has done with the Jazz is win 940 games, lead them to the playoffs in 16 of his 19 seasons and take them to the Finals twice. Mike Dunleavy has coached three different teams in that span, fired from two of them.
What makes Jerry Sloan so great has also kept him from winning the award. He epitomizes old-school. Basketball is simple to him. He doesn't believe he does anything special. He draws up plays (he remarkably calls every set play, even when John Stockton was his PG), expects his players to run them and then fight and compete as hard as they can to keep the other team from scoring. Simple right? But definitely not flashy, nor tremendously popular in small-market Salt Lake City.
Which has helped the new-millenium Jazz find a new annual national media-tradition. Ever since losing to Portland in the Conference Finals in 1992, the Jazz were constantly counted out as a Western Conference contender, yet surpassed expectations by the end of the decade Jazz fans stopped listending to the "experts and Peter Vescey" because they knew they would be in the playoffs.
Now the media has found a new game to play, called the "Let's Make It Sound Like Sloan has been done an injustice, then continue to do an injustice to him." At first it was funny, now it's becoming repetitive. Every announcer or national media member who covers a Jazz game always says "how has Jerry Sloan never won coach of the year?," yet five minutes later will say "I think (Insert Name of any NBA Coach who's last name is not Sloan Here) deserves to win it." Guys like Marc Stein, Greg Anthony, John Hollinger, Mike Tirico and Mike Breen will use the "How has he never won it" ploy to give them material to talk/write about, but when it comes down to it, they are largely the reason that Sloan has never won it.
It's getting to the point that I hope Sloan never wins it. It would be much better to retire having been snubbed for 20+ years than to win it in your last year and have everyone forget about the previous 19 yrs of snubbage.
For a guy who is all work and no hype, it would be a fitting way to be remembered.
Sooooo I guess what you're saying is that you know more about basketball than all the people who voted OVERWHELMINGLY for Sammy the Mitch...but wait, you work for FOX, so you MUST know what you're talking about!
Well why don't you just say what you want to say, "He got snubbbed because he is white"? Sam Mitchell did a great job, not every one can get it and anyone who really knows basketball knows how great a coach Sloan is, get over it.
As a longtime fan of Jerry Sloan and Utah Jazz basketball, nobody wanted him to win Coach of the Year honors more than me. But I can't argue that Mitchell was also deserving.
All of these individual awards are subjective by nature anyway, so I can't get too worked up about "snubs". I agree that at some point during his career, Sloan should have been given the honor at least once. But in my opinion, it doesn't really mean much. They don't hand out MVP or Coach of the Year Awards to bums off the street. And every year, you could make a case for handful of guys.
I have no problem with Mitchell winning the award this year, even though Sloan would have been my sentimental choice. Quite honestly, I think Utah's late-season skid is what cost him the award. It's almost like a political campaign, which is another reason I don't worry too much about it.
But since Sloan never was one for the spotlight, it's almost fitting that he never received Coach of the Year recognition. I believe very strongly that he deserved at least one trophy, but I bet he's just fine with it.
Hardware or not, Sloan is one the game's greatest coaches.
In my humble opinion, Race had a good deal to do with it. Sloan is an older white guy who isn't friendly or chummy with a lot of the eastern reporters. He's not loquacious and he isn't from the right parts of the country (LA or East Coast) like Phil Jackson or Larry Brown. George Karl hasn't won coach of the year either and he's a far better coach than Mitchell.
For those of you who have never seen a Sam Mitchell interview - he's not exactly friendly with reporters. He did the best job this year and deserved the award. End of story.
Athletics have become so politically correct that there is non deliberate bias against white males. Maybe someday the voters will notice the unjustified neglect of Sloan, do the 'courageous' thing, and vote Jerry coach of the year.
Since when does winning 47 games in a very weak Eastern Conference make Mitchell the best coach? I could have "lead" Toronto to that many wins! Even though I have gotten tired of Sloan, he did an incredible job this year. Between all of the injuries, new players, and being in the Western Conference, Sloan deserved to win this year. In years past, other less deserving coaches won instead of Sloan because "the Jazz have 2 great players and should win." That never seems to stop the media and voters from giving it to Phil and others. Time to admit what the real problem is: Utah is a small market and Sloan is not a marketable guy.
Exactly, Robin. Mitchell coach of the year? I don't see how. Not only was Sloan more qualified for the honor, but about a hal####ozen other coaches were more qualified too.
Dude you are totally right. If Sloan never wins he will be remembered as one of the greatest coaches ever who got #### every year by the media. I hope he wins his NBA Finals ring and doesn't get COY so he will be remember as the guy who got constantly #### for someone mediocre like Mitchell or Dunleavy. Mitchell doesn't deserve it because he was in an easy east conference, especially since they are in the Atlantic div., ha ha. 47 wins in an easy EAST conference vs. 51 wins in the WESTERN conference with the Suns, Mavs, Spurs, etc. Why does every one have to bring race into it, "you guys are just pissed because a black guy won it." If Avery Johnson won it 10 times I would say good for him because he is a good coach, not saying that Mitchell isn't but he is not as good as Sloan, Avery, Jackson, etc.
Last edited by jazzrthegreatest on April 25th at 4:55 PM.
Kirilenko a six-year, $86 million contract extension. Does he have a reason to complain to Sloan about his playing time when his game is as bad as it has been and he is still making that much money? I wouldn't be playing him either, as a coach. And guess that I, like Sloan, don't care about never being chosen as coach of the year. He has the respect of the league and the players, so why would the media matter to him? It hasn't up to this point. He is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and I just don't think they would give it to him, even if he won every game during a season AND took the title. Doesn't subtract from the fact that he is one of the all time greatest coaches in professional basketball history, and until Andre Kirilenko gets over himself and his Greg Ostertag syndrome and get back to his game, he will continue to warm wood on the sidelines, as he should.
Last edited by beachbumm8 on April 26th at 12:01 PM.
It is called Coach of the Year, not Best Coaching Career having been snubbed.
There is no space for sentimentality for an annual sports award. Granted, Sloan has a superior resume, however, Mitchell (Whom I am convinced you guys obviously haven't watched coach) has done a great job with unproven players. I would think that Van Gundy should have been voted this year before Sloan.
Van Gundy??/ Thats crazy! I don't agree with the black/white coach issue, thats been used to death everywhere. Ask Kirilenko? What other coach would have the sac to sit a player with his salary. Mitchell may be a GOOD coach in a weak league but bring the Raptors out to the Western Conference and Mitchell may be packing up. I definitely think Sloan got snubbed but I think its fitting. Jerry dont care man! he loves hoops for what it is not what it has become. Give the COY to Mitchell he needs something on his shelf. Besides, Coangelo turned them around not Sammy boy......
How did kirilenko start looking like Kwame Brown under the Great Jerry Sloans watch.He did not stink this bad his first few years.
I actually agree that I would have given it to Van Gundy before Sloan as well.Van Gundy won the bulk of his game with his#1 or #2 player sidelined.Also the Jazz stunk it up down the stretch of this season.Regardless of what conference,Toronto finished on a high note.
Also,quite a few east teams beat Utah when they were stinking it up down the stretch.
Sloan is a good coach but COY went to the correct person.IMO-I look at Van Gundy,Avery Johnson,Don Nelson or D'antoni before I even think about Sloan.He was expected to have this record last year but was given a pass because Boozer was injured;so really he did nothing special based on the level of talent.
Lastly I never heard a COY having his teams ability,desire,etc questioned by their owner more than I care to remember.
Sloan is a good coach. Not a great one and not one that deserves that honor. He has done remarkable things with the team since Stockton and Malone era. Yet it seems they start off good and fall apart. If he was a great coach or the coach of the year he would have learned to stop that by now. He also needs to get his team to beat the bad teams while they keep beating the good ones. especailly when it counts
Yes, Jerry Sloan is a great coach and appears to be a great person. He has consistently competed effectively against teams with superior talent for two decades. His attitude of hard work, hard-nosed style of play, and respect for the game has transcended the current trend of "practice?", me-first team play, and disrespect for everything and everyone. He gets the job done with the very small percentage of the player pool who will even play in Utah. I have followed Sloan's career since he was a player with the Bulls and he has never dissappointed me. He is and always will be exactly "what he is."
Jerry benefited from superior talent as well he just hasn't gotten it done in the last 2 decades.
He is a good coach but let's not act like he didn't have talent to work;he's had just as much talent as Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.Phil and Pat have been able to get it done and Sloan hasn't.For that matter,Popovich has more rings than Sloan on a shorter tenure.
jerry has not had nearly the talent that phil or pat has had. no one on the jazz comes close to jordan pippen and rodman, nor kobe, nor shaq, and definately not wade. and def not the trio of duncan, manu, and parker. jerry does not have great talent. but he makes it seem that way, and makes the players come closer to greatness. yet with his technique they won't ever become superstars. he was blessed with stockton which made even malone look good but a player like stockton may never ever be seen again in the NBA. and if one does show up Sloan will be long gone
For those of you who are caught up in wins and losses. The Jazz won 51 games but were still 16 games out of first for best record while the Raptors with their 47 wins were only 5 games from having the best record in the East. Sloan is a decent coach but did he do anything unexpected? The Jazz has a pretty good team.
Sliceman is an under the radar closet sports writer and sportsjunkie. Read his blog now before it becomes the next big thing and there's no room left on the bandwagon.
