Would You Coach Your Son?

by **Ace Dad** » February 11th, 2012, 11:34 pm

If you were a college basketball Head Coach and your son was good enough to play in your conference and on your team, would he?

It must be tough on the McDermotts to flash back and forth from dad/son to coach/player.

Coach Simmons' son may be good enough to play in the MVC and at Evansville and he may be faced with this dilemma.

I would not want the pressure. What about you?
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http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... hton-89-68

"At one point, Greg McDermott was so frustrated with the play of his son that he berated him relentlessly on the sideline during a timeout. There appeared to be contact between the McDermotts, as Greg’s face was centimeters away from Doug’s as he yelled.

“Sometimes, to light a fire under your team, you need to light a fire under one of your best players,” Greg McDermott said. “That was an attempt to do that. It obviously didn’t pay many dividends.

“I don’t do it with many of our guys very often. But we were getting our tail kicked and they were scoring whenever they wanted. As a coach, you have to try everything. I know Doug can handle it. He’s as big of a critic on himself as anybody else.”"

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by **Wufan** » February 12th, 2012, 6:59 am

That's a tough call. It really depends on the relationship you have with your son. I know when I got out of college and couldn't find a job, my Dad let me move home, but he wouldn't hire me to work for his company. He thought it would be bad for the "team" since I was inexperienced.

by **iSASO** » February 12th, 2012, 7:10 am

I coach my son, although he's 7 and not in college, but even at that level it's tough to balance out your criticism of your kid versus the others. You are extra sensitive to favortism or of holding your son to a higher standard. It helps that my son is one of the better players on the team but at times that fact only complicates matters.

I think the only way you could coach your kid in college is if you have such a strong relationship that you could set aside basketball after you walk off the floor.

by **glm38** » February 12th, 2012, 9:13 am

No I couldn't do it nor would I want to. Most businesses (including the one I work for) have a policy that states that person can't be the immediate supervisor of someone they are related to. I think it's a good policy and very necessary. You could make the argument that college basketball is a business.

I have 2 sons that I have very good relationships with. I can't imagine coaching either of them in the high pressure world of D1 basketball.

by **bleach** » February 12th, 2012, 1:01 pm

Both asked for this!
I think it's great if.....you can treat your son like he's not your son. Yesterday, I saw Greg treat Doug like he wouldn't treat any other player.

by **pafan** » February 12th, 2012, 4:22 pm

bleach wrote:I think it's great if.....you can treat your son like he's not your son. Yesterday, I saw Greg treat Doug like he wouldn't treat any other player.

Yup.

A guy jawing at me like that is going to get a nice reminder to back off, then a nice shove to the ground.

Which would have been embarrassing on national TV. Good thing I'm not 6'7 220 playing college basketball for my dad.

by **BirdmanBB** » February 13th, 2012, 10:19 am

Next year we get Anthony Beane Jr, where Anthony Beane Sr. is an assistant coach for the redbirds. It is my undertstanding that because of this relationship, the son has always been around redbird basketball and has basically had a key to our gym. The local high school he plays for I believe runs a similar system that we do as well.

This is likely a lot different since Jank is making the final call, but it can only be seen as a positive in my mind.

He probably could have gone somewhere else and gotten a scholarship, but there has also been talk of him paying his own way the first year too (ISU employees do get discounted tuition for family). Right now we are over the limit with 2 guys coming in (beane included). Bryant Allen was on football scholarship, but was dropped from the team so we also have to factor in one going to him as well. With no seniors this year, 2013 is going to be a big signing year for us and it comes at the right time since that class in Illinois is supposed to be one of the better ones we have had in a while.

by **PantherSigEp** » February 13th, 2012, 1:28 pm

Ace Dad wrote:"At one point, Greg McDermott was so frustrated with the play of his son that he berated him relentlessly on the sideline during a timeout. There appeared to be contact between the McDermotts, as Greg’s face was centimeters away from Doug’s as he yelled.

Did anyone else see this/watch a replay? Really didn't think much of it or consider it a big deal. The above section seems blown way out of proportion.

by **shockem** » February 13th, 2012, 1:35 pm

I've seen Marshall chew some shocker butt many times. The fact that it was his own son probably made it more newsworthy. When it happened, I didn't think much of it other than "coach is not happy right now with Doug's defense". I can tell you this, the locker room has a heck of lot more yelling going on than what we saw on tv. If you can't handle it as a player, you need to find something else to do.

by **Comin' Up Aces** » February 13th, 2012, 3:26 pm

A quick question while we are on this topic: Does anyone know if Doug McD counts as one of Creighton's scholarship players? I know at some universities (maybe most or all even, not sure) children of university employees get free enrollment. Since his dad is b-ball coach, is he on a free ride regardless of his status with the team, or does he take up one of their scholarship spots on the roster?