Priceless stuff from Coach K

[SelectionSunday]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...-coach-duke-blue-devils-least-five-more-years

Mike Krzyzewski will remain synonymous with Duke for the foreseeable future, as the coach said Wednesday that he plans to coach the Blue Devils for at least five more seasons.

"I'm looking forward to the next five years," Krzyzewski said during his end-of-season address to reporters. "What do we do in the next five, not just what do we do next season. What are the decisions? The first thing is, I look at me. I'm going to be here.

"This past year I had a few setbacks, and I had an episode with health at the Wake game. I wanted to clear the air that I'm good. I'm going forward."

Translation: I wasn't myself health-wise this season; that's why we lost to a scrub team like Wake Forest, and then got bounced by a mediocre Mercer team (did anyone notice how all of a sudden the media said Mercer was a really good team AFTER they beat Duke? No they weren't. Mercer then got their a*s kicked by Tennessee).

The 67-year-old Krzyzewski, who leads all Division I men's coaches with 983 wins, was hospitalized after feeling light-headed during a loss at Wake Forest on March 4.

Among the items on his agenda going forward is developing on-court leadership, especially after the third-seeded Blue Devils' 78-71 loss to 14-seed Mercer in the NCAA tournament's round of 64.

"I try not to look at how we run our program in one-year periods or based on one game, whether that means you've won the national championship or you got eliminated like we did this year," Krzyzewski said. "I really don't think that's the way to run a program."

Translation: I hope nobody has noticed that with all our talent and favorable seeds we've been to 1 Final Four in the last 10 seasons.

Krzyzewski called this season's team, which finished 26-9, streaky and said he does not know whether freshman Jabari Parker or sophomore Rodney Hood will return to the Blue Devils or enter the NBA draft.

"Yes, we could play defense better, but fundamentally the thing that we missed was on-court leadership play after play," Krzyzewski said.

Translation: It's the players fault, not mine. There was no leadership.

Coach K also voiced his unhappiness Wednesday with ACC officials after no conference officials backed him up when he said that more conference teams should have made the NCAA tournament when bids were announced this month.

"I won't be doing that anymore," Krzyzewski said. "I am not going to do that again because I get all the stuff and nobody has my back. It's funny to you. But you're not the ones [hearing], 'He's an idiot. I hate him. He's low-level.'

"The only thing I said is I love my conference and I think this is better. And that's not happening again unless other people are doing it."

Translation: I'm a liar. I flat-out dissed the Atlantic 10 during the ACC Tournament on my own, and now I see they have as many teams in the Sweet 16 as the ACC does. But the ACC offices should support me and kiss my lily white a*s because I'm the King of College Basketball.

Since when does K need the backing of ACC administrators? He's the most powerful person in the ACC, and college basketball as a whole, bar none (see ESPN, et al, refusal to make him do halftime interviews just like every other head coach). He's one of those people who is moving ever closer to that critical mass stage where people will just get tired of his act. He's enjoyed a double standard for a long time and, no doubt, just like the pampered AAU stars he recruits, he's sounding more and more like someone who feels entitled.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Haha. Thanks for that SS, especially the translations. You are fluent in whatever language Coach K speaks

 

[Section201]

It is really hard to like this guy sometimes

Even Roy Williams, who often makes me spit up, was the epitome of class at the end of he Iowa State game.

 

[BarnBurner]

It is really hard to like this guy sometimes

Even Roy Williams, who often makes me spit up, was the epitome of class at the end of he Iowa State game.

Williams didnt have anything to complain about. The clock didnt start, as anyone watching the game clearly recognized.

 

[Winnipegopher]

Tyus Jones was retweeting that stuff ad nauseum.

Tyus might have the most self-serving twitter personality of anyone, and that is saying a lot.



 Retweeted by Tyus Jones


Blue Devil Nation ‏@BlueDevilNation · Mar 26
K hinting he expects better focus next season. Kids coming in will help, have character. Talking @BigJah22 @Tyusjones06 @Chief_Justise etc

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Translations were spot on, can you do that for Wren? Whether it is a team or a conference, the way to show that your school or conference got less respect than it deserves is not to go out and lose games you are favored in. If a bubble team claims they should be in the NCAA, and then loses to an 8 seed in the first round of the NIT, they've shown they don't belong. Just like the ACC getting one team (with the easy path that a 1 seed gets) to the Sweet 16. The ACC was overrated, not underrated.

 

[Mulligan]

Haha. Thanks for that SS, especially the translations. You are fluent in whatever language Coach K speaks

I believe it's the whiny, self-serving tongue of the Coachspeak language.

 

[Section201]

Williams didnt have anything to complain about. The clock didnt start, as anyone watching the game clearly recognized.

Agree 100%

That doesn't mean a coach will handle the moment well, and I thought Roy did.

 

[Dano564]

I like Coach K.

I'm in the minority, but when you have to go into splitting hairs over what he said and attribute your own thoughts on how to interpret that from comments he made at a given point in time to find something to dislike about him to post to a message board and this is the best you can come up with, that's quite a testament to Coach K.

 

[SelectionSunday]

I like Coach K.

I'm in the minority, but when you have to go into splitting hairs over what he said and attribute your own thoughts on how to interpret that from comments he made at a given point in time to find something to dislike about him to post to a message board and this is the best you can come up with, that's quite a testament to Coach K.

With all due respect, he's an a*s. A great coach, yes, but also a pompous a*s, just like his mentor Bob Knight.

 

[60's Guy]

Agree 100%

That doesn't mean a coach will handle the moment well, and I thought Roy did.

All true. In addition, any coach at that level realizes you can't take multiple dribbles with 1 point anything left on the clock and somehow have time for a shot. Let alone fit a timeout in after the dribbles and have time left, but certainly not time to shoot. He knew that. They needed the timeout before they inbounded. There was no communication, and worse, no decision pre determined in William's mind what to do.

 

[Dano564]

All true. In addition, any coach at that level realizes you can't take multiple dribbles with 1 point anything left on the clock and somehow have time for a shot. Let alone fit a timeout in after the dribbles and have time left, but certainly not time to shoot. He knew that. They needed the timeout before they inbounded. There was no communication, and worse, no decision pre determined in William's mind what to do.

I found Roy's comments annoying on this. Seemed as if he thought he had another 22 seconds to play according to how he acted.

I also found ESPN's defense of it ridiculous as well as they were defending one of their favorite ACC teams.

 

[minnyrules11]

Way over the top, not sure why you dislike the guy so much. Kept a fairly clean program for 30 years, kids don't get in trouble off the court and graduate. I wish the Gophers could make a final four once in ten years.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...-coach-duke-blue-devils-least-five-more-years

Mike Krzyzewski will remain synonymous with Duke for the foreseeable future, as the coach said Wednesday that he plans to coach the Blue Devils for at least five more seasons.

"I'm looking forward to the next five years," Krzyzewski said during his end-of-season address to reporters. "What do we do in the next five, not just what do we do next season. What are the decisions? The first thing is, I look at me. I'm going to be here.

"This past year I had a few setbacks, and I had an episode with health at the Wake game. I wanted to clear the air that I'm good. I'm going forward."

Translation: I wasn't myself health-wise this season; that's why we lost to a scrub team like Wake Forest, and then got bounced by a mediocre Mercer team (did anyone notice how all of a sudden the media said Mercer was a really good team AFTER they beat Duke? No they weren't. Mercer then got their a*s kicked by Tennessee).

The 67-year-old Krzyzewski, who leads all Division I men's coaches with 983 wins, was hospitalized after feeling light-headed during a loss at Wake Forest on March 4.

Among the items on his agenda going forward is developing on-court leadership, especially after the third-seeded Blue Devils' 78-71 loss to 14-seed Mercer in the NCAA tournament's round of 64.

"I try not to look at how we run our program in one-year periods or based on one game, whether that means you've won the national championship or you got eliminated like we did this year," Krzyzewski said. "I really don't think that's the way to run a program."

Translation: I hope nobody has noticed that with all our talent and favorable seeds we've been to 1 Final Four in the last 10 seasons.

Krzyzewski called this season's team, which finished 26-9, streaky and said he does not know whether freshman Jabari Parker or sophomore Rodney Hood will return to the Blue Devils or enter the NBA draft.

"Yes, we could play defense better, but fundamentally the thing that we missed was on-court leadership play after play," Krzyzewski said.

Translation: It's the players fault, not mine. There was no leadership.

Coach K also voiced his unhappiness Wednesday with ACC officials after no conference officials backed him up when he said that more conference teams should have made the NCAA tournament when bids were announced this month.

"I won't be doing that anymore," Krzyzewski said. "I am not going to do that again because I get all the stuff and nobody has my back. It's funny to you. But you're not the ones [hearing], 'He's an idiot. I hate him. He's low-level.'

"The only thing I said is I love my conference and I think this is better. And that's not happening again unless other people are doing it."

Translation: I'm a liar. I flat-out dissed the Atlantic 10 during the ACC Tournament on my own, and now I see they have as many teams in the Sweet 16 as the ACC does. But the ACC offices should support me and kiss my lily white a*s because I'm the King of College Basketball.

Since when does K need the backing of ACC administrators? He's the most powerful person in the ACC, and college basketball as a whole, bar none (see ESPN, et al, refusal to make him do halftime interviews just like every other head coach). He's one of those people who is moving ever closer to that critical mass stage where people will just get tired of his act. He's enjoyed a double standard for a long time and, no doubt, just like the pampered AAU stars he recruits, he's sounding more and more like someone who feels entitled.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Way over the top, not sure why you dislike the guy so much. ... I wish the Gophers could make a final four once in ten years.

Rubs me the wrong way, has for quite some time. We all have folks who rub us the wrong way.

I would take a Final Four every 10 years at Minnesota, absolutely. Somehow I think Duke probably is held to a little higher standard than that, especially when its seed most every season falls in the #1, #2, or #3 ballpark. Seeds last 10 seasons:

05: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
06: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
07: #6 (1 & done)
08: #2 (dumped in Round of 32)
09: #2 (dumped in Sweet 16)
10: #1 (NCAA champs)
11: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
12: #2 (1 & done)
13: #2 (dumped in Elite 8)
14: #3 (1 & done)

Would be pretty difficult to find a bigger underachiever relative to seeding than Coach K the last 10 seasons. Don't hear that from anyone at ESPN or CBS/TNT, etc., for some reason (I can't hear you, Dukie V). Why is that? Instead we get to hear how wonderful it was that Coach K went into the Mercer locker room and congratulated Mercer. That makes him special? Coaches do that stuff all the time, but evidently it's only noteworthy when King K does it in front of the TV cameras.

These numbers would lead me to believe one of two things. Either (A) Duke has incredible talent every season but by & large massively underachieves in the postseason, or (B) the talent K acquires every recruiting season is consistently overrated by those who evaluate those type of things. It's one or the other, and I'd lean toward (A).

 

[60's Guy]

With all due respect, he's an a*s. A great coach, yes, but also a pompous a*s, just like his mentor Bob Knight. In other words, he's a perfect fit for Duke.

I agree. I felt both were mentors in coaching at different points in my life. However, both while great coaches, I do think they both changed to entitled and pompous from confident and arrogant. Confident and arrogant works when you deliver. Entitled and whiney behavior doesn't, publicly blaming players and others doesn't. There is a line there. "Bobby" Knight spiraled and one final four in 10 years is not an ascending line for Coach K, despite his support and favors received for an advantage to succeed. He earned the perks but he can't seem to take advantage of them. Just as Knight couldn't. Both feel and demonstrate far too much self importance. (imo)

Everybody has different coaching styles. These guys both scream and yell. That can work but not if you don't win it all at their level.
Kind of sad to watch. Grace and charm don't come to mind for these two guys. When they attempt it, it does not seem genuine to me.
JMO

 

[BballJones]

Way over the top, not sure why you dislike the guy so much. Kept a fairly clean program for 30 years, kids don't get in trouble off the court and graduate. I wish the Gophers could make a final four once in ten years.

Translation: SelectionSunday no like Coach K.

Obviously he's arrogant, but it's tough to argue with his coaching resume. Widely considered one of the top college bball coaches of all-time and doesn't get asked to coach Team USA just for the heck of it.

 

[WanderingGopher]

Way over the top, not sure why you dislike the guy so much. Kept a fairly clean program for 30 years

1. You can't say with certainty that he's kept a clean program, only that Duke hasn't been punished by the NCAA. At best, we don't know, and at worst, you can infer quite a few things over the years based on reports (the jewelry thief, the kid that should've caused them to forfeit a championship...Maggette IIRC, and there's more).

2. If you truly are "not sure why" anybody outside of NC dislikes Duke or Coach K, you've got your head in the sand, my friend.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Way over the top, not sure why you dislike the guy so much. Kept a fairly clean program for 30 years, kids don't get in trouble off the court and graduate. I wish the Gophers could make a final four once in ten years.

So do I. But, I'd be disappointed with 1 final four in 10 years if we had a program that recruited for itself like Duke has. Duke basketball is just like Gopher hockey, there are plenty of schools that would like to have the success we have had recently (3 consecutive conference titles, back-to-back years entering the tournament as a 1 seed, one Frozen Four appearance since 2006). However, when we have an elite program like that there is still grumbling when we don't have the postseason success we want.

 

[maliksealy]

I liked how he went into the Mercer locker room after the game and congratulated them on pulling the upset.

 

[GoodasGold]

With all due respect, he's an a*s. A great coach, yes, but also a pompous a*s, just like his mentor Bob Knight.

All true. AND...he uses lots of naughty words.

 

[shickmyjanski]

I personally dont like Duke at all and i cheer for their opponent 99% of the time. I kind of look at them the same way I do the Yankees. However I also understand that when you've achieved the level of success he has for the past few decades the man deserves to have an ego. I find it hard to believe anyone who reaches his level of success would be loved by everyone.....Haters gotsta hate I guess.

 

[Dano564]

Rubs me the wrong way, has for quite some time. We all have folks who rub us the wrong way.

I would take a Final Four every 10 years at Minnesota, absolutely. Somehow I think Duke probably is held to a little higher standard than that, especially when its seed most every season falls in the #1, #2, or #3 ballpark. Seeds last 10 seasons:

05: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
06: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
07: #6 (1 & done)
08: #2 (dumped in Round of 32)
09: #2 (dumped in Sweet 16)
10: #1 (NCAA champs)
11: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
12: #2 (1 & done)
13: #2 (dumped in Elite 8)
14: #3 (1 & done)

Would be pretty difficult to find a bigger underachiever relative to seeding than Coach K the last 10 seasons. Don't hear that from anyone at ESPN or CBS/TNT, etc., for some reason (I can't hear you, Dukie V). Why is that? Instead we get to hear how wonderful it was that Coach K went into the Mercer locker room and congratulated Mercer. That makes him special? Coaches do that stuff all the time, but evidently it's only noteworthy when King K does it in front of the TV cameras.

These numbers would lead me to believe one of two things. Either (A) Duke has incredible talent every season but by & large massively underachieves in the postseason, or (B) the talent K acquires every recruiting season is consistently overrated by those who evaluate those type of things. It's one or the other, and I'd lean toward (A).

I like your posts, but this is absurd.
First, if you want to compare coaches and their under achievement start with Tenure.

You have four current coaches that can even been in the conversation with Coach K who coach at major programs.

Coach K (34 years)
Coach Boeheim (38 years)
Coach Izzo (18 years)
Roy Williams between Kansas and UNC.

Anybody not on that list has underachieved compared to Coach K.

What teams have been known better for early exits for years than Syracuse?

Even with Izzo's incredible job at MSU, Coach K still has more Championships and probably conference titles than Izzo has during that time frame. Maybe the fact Coach K wins a lot during the regular season is a reason why he gets a higher seed.

The 3 National titles speak for themselves.

 

[Rouser]

With all due respect, he's an a*s. A great coach, yes, but also a pompous a*s, just like his mentor Bob Knight.

+1. Great coach. But he is ridiculously pompous.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I like Coach K.

I'm in the minority, but when you have to go into splitting hairs over what he said and attribute your own thoughts on how to interpret that from comments he made at a given point in time to find something to dislike about him to post to a message board and this is the best you can come up with, that's quite a testament to Coach K.

Oh trust me, I can come up with a lot more.

1. The perception that he runs a squeaky clean program. Sure he probably doesn't run a dirty program, but so do a lot of others. Yet he is put on some kind of pedestal like he does everything the right way.
2. How Coach K and Duke get special treatment by the NCAA and media. How about Reggie Love? Or as already mentioned, look back at Corey Maggette. Both the media and NCAA pretty much let this slide without hardly a mention. Check out this old article from back in 2004. As expected, there is nothing to update: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/does-ncaa-play-favorites-044600227--ncaab.html
3. The fact that he went out of his way to make sure the last 19 games of the 94-95 season were not counted on his career coaching record. He just happened to need back surgery and have "extreme exhaustion" during a season where the talent on his team was horrible.
4. The free pass he gets for his foul mouth. Yes all coaches cuss. But Coach K takes it to another level. And I've experienced this first hand, never heard a coach swear that much during a game. Don't take your kids to a game with Duke playing if your seats are even close to their bench.

I guess a lot of these have a lot to do with the media and special treatment he gets compared to others, even compared to other great coaches.

 

[coolhandgopher]

I've been a dedicated and vocal Duke hater since the days of Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, so I will acknowledge that my objectivity leaves the room anytime Duke is brought up. There are no saints amongst college basketball coaches-Wooden, Izzo, Boeheim, Dean Smith...you name the coach and there's questions behind the surface as to how things are done, criticisms lobbed willingly from all directions. But for years Coach K has received the sanctimonious treatment and for about 20 years (roughly 1985 to 2004) he had arguably the best run a college basketball coach has ever had, this side of Wooden; he ruled college basketball in the regular season and post-season. While defeating the likes of UNLV and Michigan, the story lines were easy for the sportswriters-scrappy, good kids from good homes (does anyone remember the old line that would be trotted out during every telecast involving Duke, where we were told that when Coach K was recruiting a player, first the players would vote if they wanted the player on the squad?) versus the brash, baggy-shorted, trash talking miscreants. And Duke would win, time and again, and the media lapped it up. Bobby Knight's warts were starting to overshadow his "doing it the right way" approach and Knight's protege surpassed him in results and polish. A saint was born and fed to us.

And while Duke kept winning, what could the critics do? Certainly roll our eyes at the non-stop lapdoggery that was lead by Dukie V and his merry band of sycophants. Blind eyes never allowed the questionable situtations-Maggette & Myron Piggie; Chris Duhon's mother and Carlos Boozer's father getting set up with jobs; William Avery and his academics-to be ignored when other programs would be raked over the coals. Were the transgressions at Duke worse than what was occurring elsewhere? Not necessarily, but the collective national media had no interest in examining the pristine program of Duke.

But over the last ten years, the worm has turned a bit-Duke still has wonderful regular seasons in the ACC, still rakes in highly ranked recruiting classes, and steps into the tournament every year with a high seed; and save for 2010 have consistently underachieved in the NCAA tournament, relative to their reputation. As the internet continues to churn out countless blogs, message boards, sports websites, etc., a more critical eye is turned towards Coach K, but seldom, if ever, from the sports media establishment-evidently you don't bite the hand that feeds you, and the Duke brand currently surpasses any other program in college basketball, due to those 20 years which coincided with college basketball taking off on a major scale. The college game has changed considerably from those salad days and it seems valid to say that Coach K is struggling to keep up; Duke over the last ten years resembles the Atlanta Braves from the '90s and early '00s, superior in the regular season, but when the post-season commences unable to deliver.

S.S. did a masterful job of breaking down Coach K's presser and what was of particularly poor form, from my p.o.v., was the throwing under the bus of his players; they're K's recruits, some of the highest rated preps in their respective classes, and being that they are deemed worthy of playing for Duke, their character obviously is above reproach, so how can there be a leadership vacuum? And if it exists, doesn't the head coach, in this case AN ICON OF THE GAME, harbor some responsibility?

Last comment...Tyus Jones' retweeting the piece about the recruits next year bringing character to the team? He does realize that many of the players getting criticized are going to be his teammates next year, doesn't he? Pretty poor form kid.

 

[Mountaineer Gopher]

Oh trust me, I can come up with a lot more.

1. The perception that he runs a squeaky clean program. Sure he probably doesn't run a dirty program, but so do a lot of others. Yet he is put on some kind of pedestal like he does everything the right way.
2. How Coach K and Duke get special treatment by the NCAA and media. How about Reggie Love? Or as already mentioned, look back at Corey Maggette. Both the media and NCAA pretty much let this slide without hardly a mention. Check out this old article from back in 2004. As expected, there is nothing to update: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/does-ncaa-play-favorites-044600227--ncaab.html
3. The fact that he went out of his way to make sure the last 19 games of the 94-95 season were not counted on his career coaching record. He just happened to need back surgery and have "extreme exhaustion" during a season where the talent on his team was horrible.
4. The free pass he gets for his foul mouth. Yes all coaches cuss. But Coach K takes it to another level. And I've experienced this first hand, never heard a coach swear that much during a game. Don't take your kids to a game with Duke playing if your seats are even close to their bench.

I guess a lot of these have a lot to do with the media and special treatment he gets compared to others, even compared to other great coaches.

+1,000

 

[howeda7]

Rubs me the wrong way, has for quite some time. We all have folks who rub us the wrong way.

I would take a Final Four every 10 years at Minnesota, absolutely. Somehow I think Duke probably is held to a little higher standard than that, especially when its seed most every season falls in the #1, #2, or #3 ballpark. Seeds last 10 seasons:

05: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
06: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
07: #6 (1 & done)
08: #2 (dumped in Round of 32)
09: #2 (dumped in Sweet 16)
10: #1 (NCAA champs)
11: #1 (dumped in Sweet 16)
12: #2 (1 & done)
13: #2 (dumped in Elite 8)
14: #3 (1 & done)

Would be pretty difficult to find a bigger underachiever relative to seeding than Coach K the last 10 seasons. Don't hear that from anyone at ESPN or CBS/TNT, etc., for some reason (I can't hear you, Dukie V). Why is that? Instead we get to hear how wonderful it was that Coach K went into the Mercer locker room and congratulated Mercer. That makes him special? Coaches do that stuff all the time, but evidently it's only noteworthy when King K does it in front of the TV cameras.

These numbers would lead me to believe one of two things. Either (A) Duke has incredible talent every season but by & large massively underachieves in the postseason, or (B) the talent K acquires every recruiting season is consistently overrated by those who evaluate those type of things. It's one or the other, and I'd lean toward (A).

I'm no fan of Coach K. He's an arrogant @ss and then some. But I think this perception that he's past his prime and Duke's been terrible the last 10-15 years is over-blown.

Since the year 2000, there are 4 teams that have won multiple national titles: Florida, UNC, Duke and UConn. They've each won two. Duke, Florida and UConn have made 3 Final Fours, UNC has made 4 but has missed the NCAA's multiple times and had 3 coaches. Duke is the only one of the four to never miss the NCAA's. If you're picking a team of the century to this point, you can argue for any of them, but Duke would have to be in the conversation.

 

[tjgopher]

You have four current coaches that can even been in the conversation with Coach K who coach at major programs.

Coach K (34 years)
Coach Boeheim (38 years)
Coach Izzo (18 years)
Roy Williams between Kansas and UNC.

Anybody not on that list has underachieved compared to Coach K.

I'd include Rick Pitino in there.

7 Finals Fours
2 National Titles

 

[BarnBurner]

I've been a dedicated and vocal Duke hater since the days of Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, so I will acknowledge that my objectivity leaves the room anytime Duke is brought up. There are no saints amongst college basketball coaches-Wooden, Izzo, Boeheim, Dean Smith...you name the coach and there's questions behind the surface as to how things are done, criticisms lobbed willingly from all directions. But for years Coach K has received the sanctimonious treatment and for about 20 years (roughly 1985 to 2004) he had arguably the best run a college basketball coach has ever had, this side of Wooden; he ruled college basketball in the regular season and post-season. While defeating the likes of UNLV and Michigan, the story lines were easy for the sportswriters-scrappy, good kids from good homes (does anyone remember the old line that would be trotted out during every telecast involving Duke, where we were told that when Coach K was recruiting a player, first the players would vote if they wanted the player on the squad?) versus the brash, baggy-shorted, trash talking miscreants. And Duke would win, time and again, and the media lapped it up. Bobby Knight's warts were starting to overshadow his "doing it the right way" approach and Knight's protege surpassed him in results and polish. A saint was born and fed to us.

And while Duke kept winning, what could the critics do? Certainly roll our eyes at the non-stop lapdoggery that was lead by Dukie V and his merry band of sycophants. Blind eyes never allowed the questionable situtations-Maggette & Myron Piggie; Chris Duhon's mother and Carlos Boozer's father getting set up with jobs; William Avery and his academics-to be ignored when other programs would be raked over the coals. Were the transgressions at Duke worse than what was occurring elsewhere? Not necessarily, but the collective national media had no interest in examining the pristine program of Duke.

But over the last ten years, the worm has turned a bit-Duke still has wonderful regular seasons in the ACC, still rakes in highly ranked recruiting classes, and steps into the tournament every year with a high seed; and save for 2010 have consistently underachieved in the NCAA tournament, relative to their reputation. As the internet continues to churn out countless blogs, message boards, sports websites, etc., a more critical eye is turned towards Coach K, but seldom, if ever, from the sports media establishment-evidently you don't bite the hand that feeds you, and the Duke brand currently surpasses any other program in college basketball, due to those 20 years which coincided with college basketball taking off on a major scale. The college game has changed considerably from those salad days and it seems valid to say that Coach K is struggling to keep up; Duke over the last ten years resembles the Atlanta Braves from the '90s and early '00s, superior in the regular season, but when the post-season commences unable to deliver.

S.S. did a masterful job of breaking down Coach K's presser and what was of particularly poor form, from my p.o.v., was the throwing under the bus of his players; they're K's recruits, some of the highest rated preps in their respective classes, and being that they are deemed worthy of playing for Duke, their character obviously is above reproach, so how can there be a leadership vacuum? And if it exists, doesn't the head coach, in this case AN ICON OF THE GAME, harbor some responsibility?

Last comment...Tyus Jones' retweeting the piece about the recruits next year bringing character to the team? He does realize that many of the players getting criticized are going to be his teammates next year, doesn't he? Pretty poor form kid.

Not only the national media - the NCAA has no interest in the great Dookies either, when it comes to transgression.

Well done cool.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Coolhand lays it out there much better than I ever could. Thank you.

For the record, my dislike of K, hence, Duke, started sometime after their 1993 season. I remember at the Rosemont Horizon being one of the few people (other than Cal's fans) rooting for Duke to beat Cal in the 1993 2nd round, when Bobby Hurley played like an absolute warrior as the Dukies' championship reign gamely ended at two seasons.

I'll admit, the distaste for all things K/Duke probably coincides with Dick Vitale's fawning over all things K and Duke since that time. It hasn't stopped, and he's relentless with it.