Throughout the day on Friday, rumors swirled that the Indiana Hoosiers were set to hire their next basketball coach. Brad Stevens' name was the one that came up most frequently.
Though many analysts pointed out that Stevens wasn't likely to leave the Boston Celtics, that didn't stop Indiana fans from trying to speak it into existence.
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But now, the rumors can be put to bed.
Before the Celtics' game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday, Stevens was asked about the possibility of taking the Indiana coaching job. He shut down the notion and in his comments uttered one of the funniest lines of his tenure as a head coach.
That's more humor than we usually hear out of Stevens, and Brad captured the area pretty well!
Stevens also spoke well of Danny Ainge, Wyc Grousebeck, and Steve Pagliuca while denying his interest in the Indiana job.
Boston Celtics
This all makes sense. Even despite the Celtics' roller-coaster season and the fact that they're only sitting at .500 right now, the C's ownership group and Ainge have shown faith in Stevens. They haven't shown any signs that they want to move on from him even amid their recent struggles, so it makes sense that Stevens would want to stick around.
This is a good situation for him from an organizational standpoint.
Could that change if the struggles continue? Sure. But is Stevens willing to bail on the team to take a college job, even at a school with a storied basketball program? No. He'd rather stay at the NBA level. And more specifically, he is happy with the Celtics.
We'll see what Stevens can do the rest of the way. For now, his focus is on helping the C's get back on track against the Kings on Friday night.