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Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder connections Part 2

This dude has also coached a lot of dudes

Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

In the last post (here, if you are lazy) we looked at the powerful personal connections new Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has from his days as a player and assistant. Who you know is one thing. What you know is another. The missing piece of the puzzle is applying what you know and getting results from them. Ideally, a coach does what? A coach is supposed to instruct, game plan, inform, and teach his players so that they become BETTER. The tricky thing is trying to gauge improvement. Is a player better because he doesn't get any more silly fouls, or was he better when he was more aggressive on defense?

Better is subjective here. But what's not subjective is that Coach Snyder is a somewhat connected head coach. Some of the following names are important, others are less so. All of these guys are players that Coach Snyder has coached before (either as a head coach at the NCAA or NBA-DL level, or as an assistant coach at the NBA and NCAA and European levels). He was a part of their lives for at least a season. They had to listen to him. Some guy better. Some did not. Some guys learned. Some tuned him out.

Who did what? I don't know. But who they are is something I do know. (Here are the most notable 60).

Name Where Level Name Where Level
1 Al Horford Hawks NBA 16 DeMarr Johnson Toros NBA-DL
2 Allan Ray Toros NBA-DL 17 DeMarre Carroll Hawks NBA
3 Alonzo Gee Toros NBA-DL 18 Derek Fisher Lakers NBA
4 Andre Iguodala 76ers NBA 19 Dwayne Jones Toros NBA-DL
5 Andres Nocioni 76ers NBA 20 Elton Brand Duke, 76ers, Hawks NCAA, NBA
6 Andrew Bynum Lakers NBA 21 Evan Turner 76ers NBA
7 Anton Ponkrashov CSKA Euro 22 Grant Hill Duke NCAA
8 Arthur Johnson Missouri NCAA 23 Ian Mahinmi Toros NBA-DL
9 Blake Ahearn Toros NBA-DL 24 Jeff Capel III Duke NCAA
10 Chris Collins Duke NCAA 25 James White Toros NBA-DL
11 Cherokee Parks Duke NCAA 26 Jason Kapono 76ers, Lakers NBA
12 Clarence Gilbert Missouri NCAA 27 Jeff Teague Hawks NBA
13 Corey Maggette Duke NCAA 28 Jrue Holiday 76ers NBA
14 Danny Manning Clippers NBA 29 Kareem Rush Missouri NCAA
15 Darius Washington Toros NBA-DL 30 Keyon Dooling Missouri NCAA

Name Where Level Name Where Level
31 Kobe Bryant Lakers NBA 46 Rickey Paulding Missouri NCAA
32 Kyle Korver Hawks NBA 47 Rod Benson Toros NBA-DL
33 Linas Kleiza Missouri NCAA 48 Ron Harper Clippers NBA
34 Loren Woods Toros NBA-DL 49 Roshown McLeod Duke NCAA
35 Louis Williams 76ers, Hawks NBA 50 Sasha Kaun CSKA Euro
36 Marcus Williams Toros NBA-DL 51 Shane Battier Duke NCAA
37 Mark Jackson Clippers NBA 52 Shelvin Mack Hawks NBA
38 Metta World Peace Lakers NBA 53 Sonny Weems CSKA Euro
39 Milos Teodosic CSKA Euro 54 Spencer Hawes 76ers NBA
40 Nenad Krstic CSKA Euro 55 Thaddeus Young 76ers NBA
41 Pau Gasol Lakers NBA 56 Thomas Gardner Missouri NCAA
42 Paul Millsap Hawks NBA 57 Trajan Langdon Duke NCAA
43 Pero Antic Hawks NBA 58 Troy Bell Toros NBA-DL
44 Pops Mensah-Bonsu Toros NBA-DL 59 Viktor Khryapa CSKA Euro
45 Ramon Sessions Lakers NBA 60 William Avery Duke NCAA

What jumps out? Well, that he's coached Brand three times before jumps out to me. There are two other guys he has coached before who are still currently in the NBA. One guy he has coached once, and is a big fan, is DeMarre -- who also went to Missouri for ball. Though, it should be noted, that Snyder was no longer at that school when Carroll was there.

Sometimes players feel more comfortable going to a team that has a coach that they like, have had good prior experiences with, or have heard good things from. I know Jazz fans wouldn't mind seeing some of these guys on our squad in the next few seasons.

Which ones are going to be on the free agency market in the next month? Well . . . Brand is available. So is Hawes. So are Gasol and Battier. And NEXT year things go nuts with Carroll, Millsap, and Lou all being Unrestricted Free Agents. Heck, even Pero will be a Restricted one. If the team wants to add a bunch of Hawks players to reunite them with Snyder they could do so.

Of course, one of the criticisms of Snyder back in his Missou days was that he was unable to handle the management aspects that a NCAA coach has to perform -- basically recruiting players. It's not his job to really do that at the NBA level when we have an actual General Manager in place. But these connections that he has cultivated over the years will help establish the types of players we can add in the future.

It's still up to the GM to make the big moves. But it's the little things that count too.

And yeah, I'm kind of rooting for the Jazz to sign Elton Brand now. I'm almost certain that Snyder got a call from him today to say congrats on the new job. I'm not against Brand being used as a mentor for our young guys. He could REALLY help Rudy Gobert figure out how to play defense with your arms and not your body.