Kurdelmeier to Gable, Douglas to Cael?

[AgaveMaria]

Iowa had never won an NCAA title before Gary Kurdelmeier took over. He brought in Dan Gable from Iowa State. Actually, recruited him & got the commitment before ISU made an offer. Then Iowa took off and the rest is history.

Cael was at ISU as an assistant coach under Bobby Douglas. Then make head coach. Did well and moved on to Penn State and the rest is history.

How much credit for Danny & Cael as great coaches to Gary and Bobby?

 

[SocraTease]

  On 3/17/2025 at 11:16 PM, AgaveMaria said:

Iowa had never won an NCAA title before Gary Kurdelmeier took over. He brought in Dan Gable from Iowa State. Actually, recruited him & got the commitment before ISU made an offer. Then Iowa took off and the rest is history.

Cael was at ISU as an assistant coach under Bobby Douglas. Then make head coach. Did well and moved on to Penn State and the rest is history.

How much credit for Danny & Cael as great coaches to Gary and Bobby?

 

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They likely deserve more credit than they actually receive.

Giants often stand on the shoulders of (semi) giants.

We tend to attribute causality in simplistic ways.  Complex causality often (maybe even usually) governs the world (e.g., rises and falls in the stock market, crime rates, health matters, personal happiness, etc.) but too much of the time we give credit or blame to individual agency and singular events or triggers.

It's usually less "the hero" in history at work and more the larger processes, many of which are unseen.

Not only is Cael, for example, successful because of his precursor (Douglas) and his lineage but also the wealth of other talented coaches at Penn State (Cunningham, Cody S, Varner, etc.), including apparently the older psychologist (Bonnie Epstein) who helps the team, the trainers, and the larger institutional support.

Sanderson clearly recognizes and regularly acknowledges these people, too, which reveals his own wisdom.

Perhaps the earliest expression of the idea that one stands on the shoulders of giants (nani gigantum humeris insidentes) is the following by William of Conches (circa 12th century)

The ancients had only the books which they themselves wrote, but we have all their books and moreover all those which have been written from the beginning until our time.… Hence we are like a dwarf perched on the shoulders of a giant. The former sees further than the giant, not because of his own stature, but because of the stature of his bearer. Similarly, we [moderns] see more than the ancients, because our writings, modest as they are, are added to their great works

 

 

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Edited Tuesday at 12:00 AM by SocraTease

[JimmyCinnabon]

I think Douglas should get 62% of the credit. For both Gable and Cael.