That Chris Beard did a remarkable job of coaching in Little Rock is undeniable. There were several aspects to his success: getting immediate buy-in to his system, finding a couple of leftovers in the recruiting market who fit exactly what we needed, etc.
However, I do not know but what the best day's work he did was getting Jermaine Ruttley to agree to be a role player in Little Rock. JR had been a big star at a lower level, by far their leading scorer. Evidently he had what amounted to a blank check from the coach to do whatever he wanted to offensively, since they probably did not have anyone else close to as good as Jermaine. Then he comes to Little Rock, starts a little over half the games, averages 3.1 points per game, and becomes a defensive specialist. Granted, for his unselfishness he got to be on a championship team, but how was he to know that at the beginning? Beard had to have done one great sales job, and it worked.
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