You gotta hand it to the Celtics. If they want to keep a secret, they can. In a move NO ONE saw coming, the Celtics have announced that they have hired Butler’s Brad Stevens as their new head coach.
BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that they have come to an agreement with Brad Stevens to be the 17th head coach of the team. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.
Stevens, age 36, has served for the past six years as the head coach of Butler University, never winning fewer than 22 games and leading the Bulldogs to two national championship games against Duke and Connecticut. He was the youngest coach to reach the Final Four since Bob Knight in 1973.
In Stevens, the Celtics not only get a guy who looks younger than almost anyone on the team, they get a guy who has won more games over the first six years of his college career than anyone.
Anyone.
He’s gone to two national championship games, and he’s been the target of major college programs. It’s very likely he’ll get a raise from the $1.2 million he was making at Butler, but I’m also sure he’ll fit very nicely into the Celtics budget, even if they double his money.
You know… you gotta be real good to sneak a fastball by Adrian Wojnarowski. Not a single writer out there saw this coming. And because no one in Boston gives a crap about college basketball, I’m sure Stevens waltzed in and out of town without being recognized. He could have worn a sandwich board that said “Hi, I’m Butler head coach Brad Stevens” and I’m betting no one would have caught on.
This is a new era, for sure. A team full of young players being coached by a college guy might be what the team needs right now.
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