High school coaches joining college coaching staffs is nothing new — it’s a practice that’s been going on for a while, and it’s usually related to recruiting. For instance, in order to secure a commitment from a top-level recruit, programs sometimes feel that if they extend ar job offer to the recruit’s coach, it will increase their chances of landing a prospect. According to CBS Sports, that’s exactly what is going on with John Reese.
Reese is the head coach at Bryan High in Texas and his son, J-Mychal Reese, is a top recruit. As a result, the elder Reese reportedly has coaching offers from Texas A&M, Texas Tech and LSU in what could be a package deal. Why are those schools making such an offer? They believe that J-Mychal, a point guard, is the type of recruit that can mean tremendous success for the program.
Additionally, J-Mychal is being recruited by programs such as Kansas, Texas, Louisville, Memphis and Baylor, so the three aforementioned schools may feel that offering a package deal gives them a better chance of landing him.
The practice may seem unethical — and it is illegal based on the NCAA — but it’s not always a bad move. Not only does it help the program to have a quality player (think Mario Chalmers and DaJuan Wagner whose fathers also got jobs at their respective schools), but the father may actually turn out to be a good coach.
Back in 2005, Springdale High coach Gus Malzahn got a job as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. It may have seemed like a package deal considering his high school players came with him (known as the Springdale five), but Malzahn turned out to be one of the most innovative coaches in the country. Because of the legitimate success of coaches like him, it’s difficult to prove that coaches like Billy Gillispie, Trent Johnson, and Billy Kennedy aren’t simply trying to improve their staff by hiring coach Reese.
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