Spartan Profiles: Scott Skiles

SCOTT SKILES:  BULLISH ON NBA COACHING

            He has always been described as competitive, and feisty.  Now, you can start to whisper “coaching genius.”  The fact is, Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles, former MSU All-American point guard, has been the architect of perhaps the most surprising turnaround season in the NBA this season. 

            Skiles has led the young Bulls to their first playoffs in seven seasons, since Michael Jordan retired.  USA Today calls it “the biggest surprise of the NBA season, particularly after their 0-9 start.”  Indeed, since mid-December, the Bulls went 43-20 and entered the playoffs with the third-best record of the Eastern Conference. 

            Scott achieved the feat with four rookies—Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Ben Gordon, and Andres Nocioni—and second-year player Kirk Hinrich.  And they’ve continued to win even after season-ending injuries to Eddy Curry and Deng.  “This is an amazing team,” says Scott, who emphasizes teamwork and defense.  “We get outshot from the line every night, we lead the league in turnovers and still we win.  I don’t know that a team with this kind of youth and (lack of) size in the backcourt has ever led the league in defensive field-goal percentage (42.2 percent).  I think that’s probably unprecedented.” 

            A native of Plymouth, IN, Skiles knows about achieving the unprecedented.  He led his small high school team to an Indiana state championship, much in the tradition of Hoosiers.  A prolific scorer and playmaker, Scott led MSU to the NCAA “Sweet 16” in 1986, even though Jud Heathcote had cracked that “Skiles may be short and not able to jump, but he makes up for it by being slow.” 

            After 10 years with the NBA, he ranks fourth all-time in free throw percentage, at .889.   In 1990 he set the all-time NBA single game assist record of 30 and averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 assists for the Orlando Magic.  After his playing career, Scott coached in Europe and in Phoenix, as both an assistant and head coach, prior to moving to Chicago—where murmurs of “Coach of the Year” keep surfacing.