Why Becky Hammon’s Success Could Carry Over To The College Game

The final buzzer goes off in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League title game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns.

In typical Spurs fashion, the NBA’s most successful franchise in the last decade won the LVSL title with a 93-90 victory. But, this was more than just “the Spurs being the Spurs.” They were just being the Spurs, but only this time: a woman — not Tim Duncan or Gregg Popovich — led them to a title.

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I remember the first words I said after the game ended in Vegas just under a month ago. I said out loud, “Becky Hammon will coach an NBA team within the next three seasons.”

For those that don’t know much on Becky Hammon: she’s awesome.

But seriously, Hammon was one of the most successful WNBA players in history, and thanks to Popovich and the Spurs, she became the first woman to be full-time, salaried assistant coach in the NBA’s history before the 2014-15 season began.

The six-time WNBA All-Star and bronze medalist for the Russian National Team in the 2008 Olympic Games has become one of the more intriguing names in terms of the coaching ranks.

Could those ranks including a potential jump to the college game? CBS Sports’ trio of college basketball writers — Matt Norlander, Gary Parrish and Sam Vecenie — decided to investigate the thought.

In a poll of 100 Division I head coaches, roughly 75 percent of the coaches declined the thought that Hammon (or any other woman) could be on their staff within the next three seasons.

One coach who voted “yes” in the poll:

"“Absolutely,” one coach in the minority said, per Norlander, Vecenie and Parrish. “No fear of it at all. Look at the business more and more. It’s evolving. There are a lot of good basketball minds out there. I don’t think the men on the female side are having a problem. I don’t think there’s any reason for a female not to be on the men’s side.”(BleacherReport.com)"

Another coach questioned the thought of a woman benefiting a college program:

"“Could a woman recruit 17-year-old boys? I don’t know,” one coach said, according to the survey. “Maybe one could. But that would be my concern. I think a woman can help coach men. But I don’t know if a woman could help recruit men.”(BleacherReport.com)"

To the surprise of no one, most of the college game is denying the thought of the game evolving as a whole. The results shouldn’t surprise anyone, but someone like Becky Hammon will change the college game, and there’s nothing college basketball can do to stop it.

For the 25 coaches that were positive about a woman being on their staffs in the near future, I say thank you. You all understand that women play the sport too, and can provide different perspectives that men simply cannot provide. You also understand that the game of basketball is evolving into places it has never been.

The thought that 17-year-old boys wouldn’t listen to a woman recruiter is valid, until you realize that Hammon was coaching kids in their early 20s during the Las Vegas Summer League, where the Spurs only lost one game in seven appearances.

There is a difference between trying to convince recruits across the nation to come to your school, and coaching established college stars like Kyle Anderson and Shannon Scott at the next level. That’s fair to say.

But, let me leave this one here:

You’re telling me that if a woman can do this, along with coaching on the best staff in the NBA, that she can’t convince some of the best high school kids in America to come to a certain school? I don’t know about that one.

Sure, it may be a little premature to give Hammon the keys to a Rollis-Royce right away, even in the college ranks. “I think she has a chance, but I do think it’s premature,” an agent told CBSSports.com. “She’s been an assistant coach for one year. From behind-the-bench assistant, there’s a pretty long progression before they get a head coaching spot.”

Having said that, I remember watching some random NBA TV coverage during this summer, and I specifically remember what one NBA executive said on Becky Hammon’s success with the Spurs. The exec said, “Who’s the one person that guys listen to the most? Their mothers. Someone like Becky — a brilliant mind and a strong voice — can work at this level.”

With women like Nancy Lieberman being hired as an assistant by the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and Dr. Jen Welter being hired as an assistant coach with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, college basketball might not have a choice but to join the club.

Next: Adam Silver Is Keeping The NBA In Constant Evolution

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