"¿Un genio del baloncesto oculto? Los grandes de la NBA alaban a este entrenador de D-II que pocos conocen" - The Athletic

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Erik Spoelstra siempre está en busca de pensadores innovadores. Hace cuatro años, el entrenador en actividad con más victorias en la NBA encontró uno a tan solo 45 minutos al norte de las instalaciones del Miami Heat. Desde entonces, Spoelstra ha visitado regularmente la Universidad Nova Southeastern para observar de cerca los singulares enfoques de Jim Crutchfield, el entrenador de baloncesto de 69 años de la institución de División II.

Nova Southeastern plays faster than anyone in college basketball — the Sharks’ 85.8 possessions per game this season are nearly 10 more than the fastest-playing Division I team — applies a full-court press constantly and plays every possession like it’s game point, while the man calling the shots is as quiet as a librarian on the sideline. Crutchfield, a former math teacher who never played college basketball and coached tennis before getting his big D-II break at West Liberty University, sees the game like a math problem and has created his own calculations.

“He’s not swayed by conventional wisdom,” Spoelstra said. “He’s just a really unique, innovative thinker. He can get to a conclusion in such a more simple way than the majority of us would.”