made an impressive scoop shot, celebrated energetically, and was met with a huge chest bump from KY. While such displays of enthusiasm are more common in football (think Kalani), seeing it in a basketball setting felt unusual to me. It stood in stark contrast to the professional demeanor I associate with coaches like Rose and Pope, who typically maintained a more measured and composed interaction with their players.

This moment led me to reflect on KY’s coaching style. Coming from an NBA background, KY is likely accustomed to working with professional players—grown adults who are proven both physically and mentally. In that environment, treating players as peers and engaging with them on an equal footing can be effective. However, the college game presents a different dynamic. College players, typically between 18 and 22 years old, are still developing both physically and emotionally. They often lack the maturity, discipline, and life experience of their professional counterparts. After all, they don’t even have fully developed frontal lobes yet!

For this reason, I believe KY may need to adapt his coaching style. Rather than approaching the team as a peer or equal, he could benefit from embodying a “pack leader” or “pride of lions” type of leadership—someone who provides clear guidance, models professionalism, and establishes himself as a strong, authoritative figure. College players need more than camaraderie; they need a coach who can hold them accountable, instill discipline, and foster both their personal and athletic growth.

If my hypothesis is correct, this shift in leadership style would help KY get much more out of this team. He’s not managing players here like he was in the NBA—he’s managing a team of young inexperienced guys who can’t hit threes or FTs