Duke’s ‘Coach K’ to take on the world again, but can he beat North Carolina?
There never is an offseason when it comes to the Duke-North Carolina blood rivalry. First came news in June that the Charlotte Bobcats, part-owned and managed by the greatest North Carolina Tar Heels player in history, Michael Jordan, had selected none other than hated Duke guard Gerald Henderson in the NBA draft.
That pick didn’t sit well with some North Carolina fans, who haven’t forgotten the bloody nose Henderson gave Tyler Hansbrough a few years ago.
But now there’s apparently good news ahead for the Tar Heels. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski appears ready to accept another three-year stint of double-duty as coach of the U.S. Olympic team.
Krzyzewski led Team USA to a gold medal in the Beijing Games in 2008. At the same time, he failed to lead Duke to a Final Four or an NCAA championship. Whether that was coincidence or a sign his Olympic duties affected his recruiting at Duke is an open question.
Recent reports of Krzyzewski’s decision to stay with USA basketball through 2012 will certainly elicit mixed reactions from the Duke fanbase.
On one hand, there will be the pride of having their coach represent the nation on another gold medal Olympic run. On the other hand, there is the nagging feeling that Coach K’s previous Olympic commitment played a significant part in Duke’s recent struggles.
With the decision apparently made, one question is at the forefront of Duke fans’ minds—will Coach K’s next stint with Olympic basketball lead to more lackluster years for the Blue Devils?
North Carolina already has reclaimed its spot atop college basketball, having reached the Final Four three of the past five years with two national championships including a title last spring. And the Tar Heels own Duke these days. North Carolina has won the past four games on Duke’s hallowed Cameron Indoor Stadium court.
If that streak continues, no amount of success in London in 2012 is going to soothe angry Duke fans. Because beating the world is one thing.
Beating North Carolina is everything.
via The State of Duke Basketball: Coach K’s Olympic Commitment | Bleacher Report.
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Coach K’s association with Team USA is probably less damaging to his recruiting than the perception that he can’t create superstars is.
Unfortunately, the Olympics can’t be blamed for the post-2001, pre-Olympic training(2005?) championship wasteland years.
Prediction: K will be out of Duke before the opening tap of the next Olympic basketball tournament.
Simply, there is no where to go but down for him at Duke, where he has not be able to attract top talent since Roy Williams took up shop eight miles down the road. Look, there are just so many sons of NBA basketball players and coaches to go around. K has not landed a big man prospect since Elton Brand, who left early, and Carlos Boozer, whose draft value was destroyed in K’s guard-oriented system. He was not able to hold on to Eliot Williams this offseason and his interest in all-but-certain one-and-done John Wall tells you a lot about how his recruiting is going.
I wrote about this two years ago in ESPN Magazine as K headed into his first Olympics. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3373328. Not much has changed.
K’s recent failures at recruiting and their resultant early exits in the NCAA tournament are hurting his “brand,” something he has worked tirelessly to polish and promote. Losing in the first weekend of the NCAAs can only tarnish the image. Winning gold medals gets your endorsements.
You figure it out.
oh, and yes, there are a lot of people at Duke who think K should be concentrating on Duke, not the Olympic team. A lot.
I would add Shelden Williams to the list of top big men at Duke this decade, although he hasn’t been a stud in the NBA. But yes, Krzyzewski hasn’t landed a premier post player in years.