To be completely honest, I do not know if college basketball programs are legitimately interested in hiring Lamar Odom as their next head coach or if Lamar Odom is the one floating his interest in being hired as a college basketball coach. Maybe a little bit of both?
Either way, the two-time NBA Champion is a name to watch for multiple openings in the CIAA.
There have been a few former players who got college basketball coaching jobs without any prior coaching experience. The process to hire this specific player might be a little more complicated.
Lamar Odom is a recovering addict who wants to help others.
There are very few players in NBA history more polarizing than Odom. He was one of the most productive power forwards of all-time while doing hard drugs throughout the entirety of his career.
Odom, who was once discovered unconscious at a brothel in Nevada just two years after his retirement from basketball in 2015, never really drank alcohol and is now two years sober from cocaine— but he continues to fight against the biological challenges of addiction. The 46-year-old recently spent 30 days in a rehabilitation program for marijuana after he was arrested for DUI in January.
Sobriety is not easy and Lamar Odom is an example of how difficult it can be. He is also an example that not all hope is lost. It’s not a sign of weakness to seek help!
Odom recently spoke about his hard drug use during his NBA career during a candid conversation with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady on the latest episode of the ‘Cousins’ podcast. It was a lot.
However, for the most part, it only occurred during the offseason to avoid (another) suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Odom admits that his drug use prevented him from becoming the best version of himself as both a player and a person. He has a new perspective.
“I’ve probably been put here to do something more than just play basketball […] With my story, with my platform — I can save people from this crazy disease that’s f—ing America up.”
Lamar Odom is a completely different person today than he was a decade ago. Do other people see him that way? That is a question that has yet to be answered. It could be soon.
HBCU college basketball programs are kicking the tires on a big-splash hire for their next head coach.
With the page turned on a new chapter of life, Odom wants to get into coaching. He first put his hat in the ring for the head coaching job at his alma mater, Rhode Island, back in 2022 but the university went in a different direction. The Rams weren’t ready to hire an unproven coach with a controversial history.
Fair enough.
We have not heard Odom’s name attached to any head coaching jobs in the three years since. Until now!
Liv Antilla first hinted at the potential hire but she did not name any names. A Division-II college basketball program in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association had its eye on a former NBA champ.
According to HBCU Gameday, that candidate is Odom. He was recently spotted at the CIAA Tournament.
Three head coaching jobs in the CIAA are currently open: Winston-Salem State, Bowie State and Shaw.
Would one of those three schools be willing to hire a coach with zero experience and a troubled history? Lamar Odom knows how to play the game of basketball better than most of the world and can teach what not to do if you want to be the most successful version of yourself.
I don’t know whether this is a bunch of smoke or if there is legitimate interest, but any team that chooses to hire Odom would immediately become one of the most interesting stories in college basketball. Is that worth the risk?