Sorry Skin if this is getting off your original topic.
Kent, it would have been interesting if Ken had been able to stay- I suppose the beauty of Ken Cole was he was a showman - I mean this in a good way - he had the Lincoln (or was it a Caddy??), wore the cowboy hat and the boots. He was flamboyant - he sold basketball in Adelaide, as did guys like Al Green - his skill,aggression, never say die attitude on the court. As a kid my friends and I would go to the sixers and district games in 85/86 to see the American guys play.While Gary Fox may have been a more "thinking coach" Ken was full of passion - is this perhaps not a sign of a good coach - someone who gets the best out of their list?(even if the 86 sixers were awesome -was it 24-2 ??? - the 2 losses being close)
Now I've never coached at an elite level but having coached school and club soccer and basketball over the last 20 years I know while it's great when kids/teenagers put into play things you've taught them, there are often players who make you as a coach look good. The Sixers of 86 were great but did the dynasty Gary Fox talked of when he arrived fail (before Phil's time)due to some average imports or average coaches? Or did the sixers stand still while other teams recruited people like Scott Fisher (pretty awesome on the court when a Giant).
It would be good to see the NBL getting their imports / Oz players more into schools for clinics. THe Crows and Power do and Adelaide United are the same. United give the kids lots of goodies (stickers, pencil cases, posters etc) The kids take this stuff home and nag their folks to take them. Perhaps we need this in our NBL more?