Coack K Wants to End Season


No doubt there are bigger weasels than Oats, and perhaps the biggest one resides in Durham. But, I still don't think he's wrong. The father of the Gopher's Men's Basketball Coach was saying the same things back in October.

Also, K did not bring this up unsolicited, it was in response to questions at a post game press conference.


Are the players really suffering as much as K is saying? Would players prefer to postpone/cancel the season? I have no idea and i suppose the answers to those questions are key. But personally is difficult for me to buy that he would be expressing similar sentiments if he had a top team. Bad optics at the least.
 

Are the players really suffering as much as K is saying? Would players prefer to postpone/cancel the season? I have no idea and i suppose the answers to those questions are key. But personally is difficult for me to buy that he would be expressing similar sentiments if he had a top team. Bad optics at the least.

Players want to play. However, I think Jay Bilas made a good point on SportsCenter to the effect, if there is a lightning storm at a football game do schools/officials ask the players if they should continue? No, they just get them out of harm's way.
 

Players want to play. However, I think Jay Bilas made a good point on SportsCenter to the effect, if there is a lightning storm at a football game do schools/officials ask the players if they should continue? No, they just get them out of harm's way.


The danger from lightning is measurable. How is it determined that players are undergoing significant emotional/mental distress playing bb in this sanitized environment? Because K (who may have ulterior motive) and Bilas say so?

If the situation is dire, how come only crickets from the other 300+ coaches in response to K's words? Bilas worships Jay Wright as a coach of unmatched character, yet Wright is good with playing ball as well. All coaches talk about being concerned with player welfare, but would think if the situation was truly dire that we would start hearing coaches support K's position, at least would hope so.

 
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The danger from lightning is measurable. How is it determined that players are undergoing significant emotional/mental distress playing bb in this sanitized environment? Because K (who may have ulterior motive) and Bilas say so?

If the situation is dire, how come only crickets from the other 300+ coaches in response to K's words? Bilas worships Jay Wright as a coach of unmatched character, yet Wright is good with playing ball as well.

Well as far as evaluating the health (mental & physical) he could rely on the Duke medical support staff.

As for other coaches, I already alluded to Rick Pitino and K's response for that matter was because he was agreeing with his former Asst Jeff Capel at Pitt. DePaul has not even played 1 game yet!

As for Jay Wright, I understand his point of view, and Oats for that matter. There's no easy answer here.
 


Well as far as evaluating the health (mental & physical) he could rely on the Duke medical support staff.

As for other coaches, I already alluded to Rick Pitino and K's response for that matter was because he was agreeing with his former Asst Jeff Capel at Pitt. DePaul has not even played 1 game yet!

As for Jay Wright, I understand his point of view, and Oats for that matter. There's no easy answer here.

Fair points, but will agree to disagree with your last sentence. (See my previouspost). I think the monkey wrench in all of this is that Duke lost. Would have been easier to believe K's words were coming from a good place had they come after a victory. This is all Illinois's fault :) .
 
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Fair points, but will agree to disagree with your last sentence. I think the monkey wrench in all of this is that Duke lost. Would have been easier to believe K's words were coming from a good place had they come after a victory. This is all Illinois's fault :) .

As for the Illini giving the Dookies a beat down, I was all for that. Quite giddy in fact.

From the SI Article:

“Again, Illinois killed us,” Krzyzewski concluded. “We’re not that good. God bless everyone.”
 

Players want to play. However, I think Jay Bilas made a good point on SportsCenter to the effect, if there is a lightning storm at a football game do schools/officials ask the players if they should continue? No, they just get them out of harm's way.

I just can't envision a scenario where COVID is more dangerous for these young athletes than the potential unseen costs associated with not playing/quarantine: loss of structure in their life, mental health, weight gain, etc. I don't know what the answer is but I hate conversations that don't fully balance the pros and cons of playing.
 

I just can't envision a scenario where COVID is more dangerous for these young athletes than the potential unseen costs associated with not playing/quarantine: loss of structure in their life, mental health, weight gain, etc. I don't know what the answer is but I hate conversations that don't fully balance the pros and cons of playing.

All valid points, except Coach K was not advocating a complete stop to the season, nor was anyone else.
 



Just watched PTI, comforting to know I am not alone with my thoughts on the subject.

 


I'm a big Coach K fan.

Obviously, the only reason he would risk even bringing up such a topic in which he could be looked as a whiner after a bad loss is because he cares so much about the kids.

Good on Coach K to defend the health of players.
 




K is a hypocrite.
He hides behind the academic aura of Duke to field teams of 'student athletes' who have little or no plans for an education.
Calipari is a sleaze but he does not hide it.
U of KY is a school that has no academic aspirations and were open about making a pact with the Devil to get recognition using the basket ball team.

Agree 100%, There was a time that K decried the one and done rule and the way it was being used by schools like Kentucky, at some point he decided that winning was more important than beliefs and norms and went all in on it when he knew damn well he was embracing cheating and turning a blind eye to it. Disingenuous to try and play both sides of the coin to me.
 

All valid points, except Coach K was not advocating a complete stop to the season, nor was anyone else.

I think he was arguing for a complete stop but not a cancelling of the season. I think if those guys are sitting at home from now until March it would have the same ramifications that I talked about. It would also have the effect of a lot of the teams better than Duke losing players to opting out.
 

I think he was arguing for a complete stop but not a cancelling of the season. I think if those guys are sitting at home from now until March it would have the same ramifications that I talked about. It would also have the effect of a lot of the teams better than Duke losing players to opting out.

The linked article has the video of K's comments. "Pause" and "reassess" don't equate to a full stop. There could still be Team Activities to provide structure and avoid the ramifications you referred to.

 

Jay Bilas spoke really well on this issue...unfortunately it was during the waning moments of Illinois convincing win at Duke. He made the point that we're treating these college kids like essential workers while our goverment is asking others not to travel over the holidays. Unfortunately, when this point is coming from a Duke grad while Duke is losing their 2nd home non conference game for the first time in forever, it's hard to take it at face value. When Coach K wants to stop playing after he's previously stopped coaching in a rare instance where his team was not a contender, it's also tough to take his comments at face value.

I think Bilas and Coach K have good points, they just would have been much more effectively argued before the season and/or after a good Duke performance.
 

The linked article has the video of K's comments. "Pause" and "reassess" don't equate to a full stop. There could still be Team Activities to provide structure and avoid the ramifications you referred to.

Did he mention fraud as influencing the outcomes of the games, or demand a recount of the scoring? 🤔
 

I'm a big Coach K fan.

Obviously, the only reason he would risk even bringing up such a topic in which he could be looked as a whiner after a bad loss is because he cares so much about the kids.

Good on Coach K to defend the health of players.
If he is so worried about the kids, why is willing to play the conference schedule. What’s going to change in 10 days.
 

The Duke women's basketball team just canceled the rest of their season, the first Power 5 conference team to do so. I wonder if this sets up Coach K to do the same?

 

The Duke women's basketball team just canceled the rest of their season, the first Power 5 conference team to do so. I wonder if this sets up Coach K to do the same?


Tough debut season for Kara Lawson. I would guess a positive case or 2 for the men, they would do the same.
 




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