An Early Christmas Present
This is the kind of hard-hitting journalism we need to see more of, preferably on the same topic:
After an immortal 19-year run of 10 Final Fours and three national championships, Duke is teetering on the edge of mortality.
[...]
[Coach Mike "Coach K"] Krzyzewski is no dummy. This team can't handle the kind of national schedule Duke has played in the past. Watch next year's non-conference schedule, which will look like something straight out of Clemson -- or Syracuse.
Next year, if the stars align in the wrong way, Duke will need every easy win it can get. If you haven't been paying attention, here's some news: The stars have been aligning the wrong way for years. Next year, like an NFL team that has skirted the salary cap for too long, Duke's bill comes due.
Haha! I can't wait. Let's see how good Coach K is without 5 McDonald's All-Americans in the starting line-up. Maryland's Gary Williams has squeezed every last shred of heart out of his players during his tenure, turning recruiting rejects into champions. Coach K, on the other hand, has been a spectacular recruiter, but with Kevin Garnett, Kobe, and LeBron making the successful high school-to-the-pros transition, the rules have changed. Now Coach K has to coach. He's dominated the ACC. He's had success in the NCAA tournament (but success relative to his annual stacked lineup?). But he's done it all with the blue chip recruits. No coach has ever turned as many McDonald's All-Americans into NBA duds as Coach K has.
Time will tell whether Coach K is really a coach or just a recruiter. Perhaps he will conveniently feign a back injury to escape his team's imminent slide into mediocrity like he did last time his team lacked talent (and finished sub-.500 while Coach K cooled his heels in a hospital bed and escaped blame). Whatever the case, I can't wait to see Duke and it's smug, smarty-pants fans take a seat and their lumps.
After an immortal 19-year run of 10 Final Fours and three national championships, Duke is teetering on the edge of mortality.
[...]
[Coach Mike "Coach K"] Krzyzewski is no dummy. This team can't handle the kind of national schedule Duke has played in the past. Watch next year's non-conference schedule, which will look like something straight out of Clemson -- or Syracuse.
Next year, if the stars align in the wrong way, Duke will need every easy win it can get. If you haven't been paying attention, here's some news: The stars have been aligning the wrong way for years. Next year, like an NFL team that has skirted the salary cap for too long, Duke's bill comes due.
Haha! I can't wait. Let's see how good Coach K is without 5 McDonald's All-Americans in the starting line-up. Maryland's Gary Williams has squeezed every last shred of heart out of his players during his tenure, turning recruiting rejects into champions. Coach K, on the other hand, has been a spectacular recruiter, but with Kevin Garnett, Kobe, and LeBron making the successful high school-to-the-pros transition, the rules have changed. Now Coach K has to coach. He's dominated the ACC. He's had success in the NCAA tournament (but success relative to his annual stacked lineup?). But he's done it all with the blue chip recruits. No coach has ever turned as many McDonald's All-Americans into NBA duds as Coach K has.
Time will tell whether Coach K is really a coach or just a recruiter. Perhaps he will conveniently feign a back injury to escape his team's imminent slide into mediocrity like he did last time his team lacked talent (and finished sub-.500 while Coach K cooled his heels in a hospital bed and escaped blame). Whatever the case, I can't wait to see Duke and it's smug, smarty-pants fans take a seat and their lumps.
posted by Mike C | 9:02 PM
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