Alex Barlow gets his first shot as head coach: Keep an eye on the Maine Celtics

Nearly seven years ago, Alex Barlow was hired by the Boston Celtics as an assistant video coordinator, following his collegiate career at Butler University. This past week, after five years as an assistant on the sideline for the Boston Celtics’ affiliate to the north, Barlow earned a much deserving promotion to the top of the coaching ladder for the Maine Celtics. In the organization’s first season since the name change, Maine finished with a 16-16 record, and in ninth in the Eastern Conference.

With the addition of a promising young guard, JD Davidson, and a determined former first-round pick trying to make his way back into the NBA, the people of Portland are going to have one quality basketball team led by a head coach that has received the stamp of approval from people all over the organization. From a walk-on to a three-year starter under Brad Stevens at Butler, the odds have always been against Barlow, but time and time again, the resilience, and persistence of a person who knew what he wanted to do before he joined Steven’s Bulldogs in the fall of 2011 finally paid off.

The new Maine Celtics head coach went from a 5-foot-11 guard under Stevens with a passion for coaching to sitting under three coaches in Maine, and finally receiving a chance of a lifetime to learn and grow from the mistakes that come with being a head coach. There are only four head coaches in the NBA today that are under 40 years old, demonstrating that it takes time to evolve into someone that a franchise fully believes in.

Just 12 years ago, Nick Nurse won Coach of the Year in the G-League with Iowa Energy, and two years before that, Quin Synder earned those honors by leading the Austin Toros. While becoming a head coach in the world’s most prestigious basketball league is quite difficult due to the lack of positions, the past successes of former coaches in his position provide him a path that he can follow as he progresses year after year. Experience and connections are key to getting to the top of the ladder, and with the amount Boston has believed in Barlow in the past, he is going to have the confidence to set out on a mission to accomplish his goal of creating a seamless transition between the pro game and the developmental one.

Following Barlow’s promotion, Stevens praised the new Maine Celtics coach for his work ethic and basketball know-how:

"“After working under three very good head coaches in Maine, Alex is undoubtedly ready for this opportunity…He’s an excellent young coach, and he understands all that goes into running a successful team in Maine. He works hard, he knows the game, and he is committed to constant improvement.”“He’s a guy that’s always wanted to coach and has put a lot of time into really understanding the NBA game, the G League game, the way that the two need to be connected, that it’s an excellent experience for all and so that it’s an excellent seamless transition for anybody that goes up to Maine and comes back.”"

Maine Celtics head coach Alex Barlow will be an NBA head coach one day

At the age of 30, Maine Celtics head coach Alex Barlow is on track to become a head coach or a reliable top assistant for an NBA team someday, but for now, Boston gets the chance to reap the benefits of his knowledge to teach the Celtics’ promising prospects the path into Mazzulla’s squad.

Part of Barlow’s job is not only to try to win as many games as possible in the G-League, it is going to be to find, and foster a piece that can contribute to a rotation of a championship-level team. The first year as the head of a coaching staff is bound to have plenty of challenges, but due to the belief that Stevens among others gives him for his creativity, and preparation before each game, Barlow has the tools to overcome the obstacles that he encounters at the beginning of his time at the Expo.

For Celtics fans in recent years, Maine has always been that forgotten place where either Tacko Fall went to learn post-moves or Romeo Langford improved his jump shot — but at the end of the day, Maine is the place where Boston has the chance to find those diamonds in the rough that turn from fringe NBA players to rotational pieces.

Barlow is far ahead of the timeline that a coach in the NBA today took to get to where they are at. Nurse was 40 years old when he took his first G-League job while Chris Finch, the Minnesota Timberwolves current head man received a position in the D-League for the first time at age 39. Fans around Boston can listen to the praises that Stevens and many others have said about Barlow, but when you look at the timeline of others, it is clear Barlow has something special in him that allows him to earn a position like this at such a young age.