Monthly Archives: November 2011

Of the countless images we were bombarded with in the past few weeks, perhaps none were as disturbing as the one of a young Mike Krzyzewski in his West Point basketball uniform, standing next to his coach, Robert Montgomery Knight. In juxtaposition to the sight of these two men embracing after the Michigan State game, it is quite a powerful image. Forty some years and thousands of basketball games later, these two men have become giants of their profession, and their legacies will be forever intertwined. On its own, however, the image leaves me with a completely different kind of feeling: “yucch.”

The height of my childhood basketball fandom was watching the many epic and emotionally transcendent playoff series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. I was particularly fascinated by the coaching match-up. On the one hand, there was Pat Riley – dapper, well-dressed, and to this day the only sports figure my mother can recognize. He was stylish, seemed very intelligent, and exuded a blend of confidence and athleticism unlike any person I had ever met. On the other hand, there was Jeff Van Gundy – short, un-graceful and sporting a particularly unconvincing and uninspired comb over.

Growing up on Long Island, it was an all too familiar appearance (and one that I myself have begun to approach). It seemed strange to me that these men had the same profession, and I wondered what their backgrounds were. Where were they from? What were their majors in college? How does one become a basketball coach anyway? I was able to guess that they must have played basketball at some point in their youth, and had no trouble picturing Riley as a player. He probably could have torn off his Armani suit, picked up a ball and played a few minutes with his team. Van Gundy was a different story.  I couldn’t picture him playing in a middle school church league, let alone as a pro or college basketball player. For some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to conceive of such an image. I took these concerns to school the next day. It was then that I learned one of the most meaningful lessons of my childhood. I don’t quite remember who broke it to me, but it came down to this:

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Hey gang, check out my piece on Austin Rivers, Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and the legacy of Duke guards here. Also contains thoughts on the Michigan and Tennessee wins, and picture documentation of the best zone break-down in history (maybe).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amigos,

You can read my Maui Invitational preview, complete with some history and predictions, here.

In other news from the weekend:

-Duke women’s soccer has advanced to the Elite 8 with a 2-1 win over Ohio State.

-The UNC women lost 5-4 in a shootout to UCF in the Sweet 16 after tying 1-1 after regulation and two overtimes. Thus ends the worst season in UNC history.

-The UNC men have advanced to the third round with a 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina. They had to come back from down 1-0 at half.

-The Duke men lost a late one to New Mexico, 2-1 in overtime, ending their season.

-In the field hockey national championship, UNC took a 2-0 lead into the final four minutes of play, but gave up the lead and eventually lost 3-2 to Maryland in overtime.

Duke-Tennessee at 5:30.