Tim Legler Lobbies for a D1 Coaching Job While Trashing La Salle in the Process
I did not see La Salle being the talk of college basketball Twitter right after one of the biggest sports weekends of the year. But here we are after Tim Legler trashed his alma mater and vouched for a D1 job on JJ Redick’s podcast:
A call to our fans: Legs should absolutely be running D1 program. Let's will this one into existence. pic.twitter.com/IksQPYN4eP
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) May 9, 2022
“To this day I’ll never understand how I didn’t get the La Salle job, and it might be a blessing because it’s a really bad job” – Legs
A couple things on this:
I agree with Legs that it’s important to be recognized when you walk into a gym. I’m not saying him debating Stephen A. Smith a couple days a week on ESPN is going to translate to a top-10 recruiting class, but it at least opens the door for a conversation with a recruit or someone in his family at an AAU tournament. It gives a new coach a leg up (no pun intended) on the competition most first-time coaches wouldn’t have.
On the flip side, openly trashing your alma mater is a pretty weak look because you didn’t get a job. I know its tough to take the high road when you feel spurned, but if you really want a D1 job, openly broadcasting how bad the program is after you weren’t picked sounds like sour grapes (even if the program and the school are on the brink of extinction). Let’s say you interviewed for a Deloitte role and didn’t get it. You’re not going to go on SquawkBox or Varney & Co. and talk about how shitty the hiring processes at that firm are. Not to mention there are a ton of former NBA players who are coaching at their alma maters, and didn’t or aren’t currently working out. Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, and Avery Johnson are just a few while Penny Hardaway and Aaron McKie could join that list in a couple of years.
I don’t think you need to spend 10 years working your way up through the college ranks anymore if you have a proven basketball track record as a player and analyst. It doesn’t hurt that JJ vouched for how much of a basketball junkie Legs seems to be as well so I don’t know why Legs would be frozen out. Maybe it’s true or maybe these ADs have years of relationships they’ve built up and they already have their mind made up or boosters have their guy in mind and its just never been him.
How about we do this –
For Legs to prove his worth and show that he can recruit in the Philadelphia area, Temple hires him because the first top-100 recruit from Philly that Aaron McKie keeps home will be his first. Now Legs is showing his chops and sticking it to La Salle at the same time. It’s a win-win for me. I promise to bring this idea up to Legs when I see him at The Princeton this summer in Avalon.