Jan 27, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Whether or not Ty Corbin will be the coach of the Utah Jazz in the future has been a debate among fans and media since Ty got the job. The feeling I get from most fans is no he should not be. The thing that kills me and many fans is the Jazz passed on Jeff Hornacek and let him walk to be the coach of the Suns. Even before Jeff started coaching it seemed to me and to many others that Hornacek would be the better coach. After watching this year it definitely seems the Jazz missed out but in all honesty I think Ty has gotten a bad rap for the situations he has been in.
2010-11 Record 8-20
The Jazz were already headed in a downward spiral as Jerry had just quit the Jazz in a surprising moment which was then followed up by Deron Williams being traded one week later to the Nets. This year in no way could be on Ty as it would be tough on any coach to enter into that situation.
2011-12 Record 36-30
The season didn’t even start til later due to the lockout. Ty was not able to implement anything without a training camp and had to do it on the fly. The problem with doing it on the fly was the Jazz had next to no practices as teams played 5 times a week. The Jazz did make the playoffs before getting swept by San Antonio.
2012-13 Record 43-39
Another winning season for the Jazz and Ty’s first full year to do what he wanted. The Jazz fell apart at the end and the Lakers ended up grabbing the spot (I’m still convinced that was the rigged refs doing). Ty had to deal with vets and young guys that both felt they should play and with the everyone knowing the young guys were the future. Ty kept a civil locker room but was unable to really advance the team. The real problem according to people that are close to Ty was Al Jefferson and the inability to implement his real offensive plan. Al’s one dimensional play really hurt the Jazz’s ability to grow as a team.
2013-14 Record 16-31 currently
The Jazz go young and were without Trey Burke for the first 15 games of the season. They also were missing Marvin and he has been a big piece this year. The Jazz with a full lineup are above .500 and the young guys have really grown. Alec, Gordon and Derrick are all showing they have huge potential and they have had the time do show what they can do. Every game has been progress for the core and starting next year the Jazz will be much better. Those fans that have complained that Enes and Burks haven’t had enough time need to realize that A. Marvin is a part of the future and him spreading the floor is huge for the bigs progression, and B. RJ has helped coach the young guys through every game and the core will turn out better because of him.
Conclusion
I have seen a lot of growth with Ty this year and have seen him progress as the young guys are progressing as well. Ty has made mistakes along the way but has improved drastically in my eyes from year to year. Is he the future? Not sure, but I think judging him is harder than the average coach has he has had to deal with many different situations to start his career. That may be a huge bonus moving forward as he will know how to handle each situation better and maximize his players . On a side note the players on the team love playing for Ty which needs to be taken into consideration as well.