There’s no way to really nail down just how many wins or losses a coach is responsible for, regardless of the sport. It’s one statistic that there’s no true metric for, but there’s certainly not a shred of doubt that the guy in charge will play a major role in determining the success or failure of his team.
If you want a great example of what a difference a coach can make, Oregon State basketball is an excellent illustration in progress. The Beavers bid farewell to Craig Robinson after last season, and brought in Wayne Tinkle to try and turn things around in Corvallis. The results to date are close to miraculous.
Oregon State is probably going to struggle once conference play gets underway. But beating the Beavers isn’t going to be as easy as most anticipated prior to the start of the campaign.
The Beavers throttled DePaul last night to raise their record to 8-2. After being the consensus last place pick for this year’s PAC-12 race, it’s now looking like Oregon State will be better than at least a couple of teams, and I’m actually beginning to think this team could find its way to an NIT invite come March Madness. If that happens, Tinkle should be a national Coach of the Year candidate.
The difference is defense. In spite of the fact the Beavers were a fabulous shooting team last season, they couldn’t stop anyone and that cost them several winnable games. Do a comparison on the defensive stat profile from last year to this one, and the transformation is nothing short of incredible.
From a spread standpoint, my thoughts are that laying points to this Oregon State squad could be a very dicey proposition as we head into league play. The Beavers might not have the skills to win lots of league contests, but the grit this team plays with is going to keep them in games.
The conclusion is that coaching changes need to be incorporated into the analysis of any team, and knowing which coaches are most likely to have an impact one way or the other can result in plenty of trips to the winner’s window when it comes to the wagering aspect of the game.
What CBB coach do you think is making the biggest difference this season?