Tag Archives: Coach K

Silver Linings in a Downpour

It’s been what–three days?  Three hours?  Three weeks?  I can’t honestly say–the 2011-12 Duke season seems like a part of the distant past, even though those last two minutes versus Lehigh are still painfully vivid in my memory.

In a word, that game was brutal–it was the doomsday scenario that most Duke fans had thought about but never seriously entertained.  A dreadful performance for the ages that was both shocking and unsurprising.  A result that was both unfair to a team that had overachieved this year and one that was exactly what the squad deserved.

Now, writing on Monday afternoon, I’m still barely coherent–there’s so much to write about this game, but almost all of the clues had been there in our previous four games. Still, I have to swallow my anger and bitterness for a little bit, and try to make the case that this loss might be what Duke needs going forward.  Without further ado, here are the five best things about Duke’s loss against Lehigh:

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Why #903 is Truly Historic

Let me start by offering congratulations to Mike Krzyzewski for win #903. Duke has been one of the top basketball programs in the country for three decades and Blue Devil fans everywhere have one man to thank for that. I may not agree with the people who think he’s a great man of integrity and class, but he can flat out coach college basketball. There is no denying that. While he’s had a plethora of talent in his 36 years at the helm, his teams win consistently because they are disciplined and play intelligent basketball. He’s figured out a formula for success in college basketball and executed and evolved it almost flawlessly for his entire career.

Are some records truly untouchable? These records certainly seem that way:

  • Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak
  • Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive game streak
  • Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 career points
  • Pete Maravich’s 44.2pts/game college scoring average
  • Wilt Chamberlin’s 50.4pts/game in the 1951/52 NBA season

What are some others that you think will never be broken?

As a Carolina fan, I was of course saddened when Bobby Knight passed Coach Smith for first place all time in division 1 wins. What dissapointed me the most, however, was knowing that Coach K was also inevitably going to jump ahead of Coach Smith, and would eventually surge to number one on the list. That’s just the nature of sports, I suppose. Yet, seeing Krzyzewski get win #903 got me wondering. Is it possible that no one will be able to top him? After putting together such a long career of sustained success, will anyone be able to match that in today’s game? Is this one of those records that will go down as “unbreakable”?

I decided to do a comparison of the big name coaches around the country to see how likely it is that anyone will be able to pass Coach K in the coming years.  Continue reading

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On the Brink

"Get your licks in now. In thirty years I'll be the champ."

To begin, Sports Illustrated has a wonderful gallery of Mike Krzyzewski pictures located here. Anyone who has paid attention to the sports world this year has noticed an increased amount of attention placed on Coach K this year.  Why? Coach K is about to be the winningest coach in college basketball history.  His next victory, #903, will put him above his old coach Bob Knight.  This record may never be defeated because 903 is a huge number and Coach K has numerous years of coaching ahead of him.  He will continue to win 25-35 games a year and the number will only grow larger as time passes.  His career has been nothing short of remarkable.  Early struggles almost sent him into coaching obscurity, but Duke stuck with Coach K and has been wonderfully rewarded.

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Coach K or Roy Williams

Coach Williams and Coach K

Two of the best coaches in the NCAA

You’re seventeen years old.  You’re the best basketball player in the nation and you can go to any school you want.  Both Duke and North Carolina have come calling and Coach K and Roy Williams are throwing their best recruiting techniques at you.  You decide to go through a list of pros and cons comparing the two coaches to make your decision.

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Appreciating The True Coach K

(Introducing: new writer Andy Moore, with a take on the Real Coach K.)

This year, Coach K will become the all-time winningest coach in college  basketball history. He will win his 903rd game, possibly with flair against Michigan State in Madison Square Garden, and this will put him above his mentor Bob Knight. It will be a monumental achievement, and the unceasing media coverage around the thing is going to be a chance for reporters to exercise their favorite hobby—legacy defining.

And here’s what they’ll say: 903 is huge. It not only means he’s the winningest coach in history, it may mean he’s the greatest coach ever, especially when taking into account the relatively primitive college  landscape that helped enable John Wooden’s success. After all, when Krzyzewski retires, he may have over 1,000 wins and four or more  national championships. He will completely have changed a previously moribund basketball franchise, he will be a large part of why the ACC is still the most important conference in college basketball, and he will have expertly guided a clean program in a time when everyone seemed a little dirty.

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LIVE BLOG: The first (televised) (exhibition) game of the season!

Okay, I am here. The game is on tv. I’m trying to infuse myself with some November excitement. No, screw that- MARCH excitement.

Don’t miss my Duke in China primer on Grantland, or the bonus content on this very site. Here’s a semi-appropriate blurry picture:

I’ll be time stamping by time remaining in each quarter. If you’re watching between 8 and 10 eastern, refresh for new content.

First quarter

8:04: Miles Plumlee with the first basket on a tip-in! There’s a lot of music playing during the game, and I guess every quarter is ten minutes long.

7:30: Seth Curry with a bomb! This is fun! Basketball!

7:15: Announcers are already saying China gets all the calls. A player they call “an excellent distance shooter” misses two free throws. White Raven with a vicious board, and Rivers gets a hoop plus harm. I think we’re all going to like that partnership.

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The Champs!

New readers –

This is launch week on Tobacco Road Blues, the new site dedicated to Duke and UNC sports. All week, we’re going to be running two of the ‘greatest hits’ from Seth Curry Saves Duke!, our previous blog, every day. The new content begins on Monday the 15th.

Today’s afternoon post was written on April 6, 2010, the morning after Duke beat Butler for the national championship. As you will see, I had a bee in my bonnet about the perception of Duke and all the hate, so I felt the need to write this diatribe. This was me at my most partisan, and I hesitated to include it here just because it won’t necessarily be the tone of this site. But it did have an impact, and anyway, tomorrow we’re going to feature some Carolina writers. So this will be a final hurrah, a nostalgic tip of the cap to extremism. Enjoy.

-Shane

The Champs

Here’s the problem with all the Duke haters: they don’t allow for any gray area.

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The Photoshops

New readers –

This is launch week on Tobacco Road Blues, the new site dedicated to Duke and UNC sports. All week, we’re going to be running two of the ‘greatest hits’ from Seth Curry Saves Duke!, our previous blog, every day. The new content begins on Monday the 15th.

Today’s morning post is actually a compilation of all the “graphic illustrations” produced in the last year. I put that term in quotes because using it without them would probably insult anyone who did actual graphic illustrations. A great professor named Bart Wojdynski taught me how to use Adobe Illustrator at some point in February, probably thinking I would use the knowledge for something educational or morally uplifting. Didn’t happen. Everything that follows is crude, and the bias level is high in a way that will be less typical of TRB. Enjoy.

-Shane

 

My first effort, the “Choose Your ACC Team” flowchart, done in early January

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The 2009 Duke Season Preview!

New readers –

This is launch week on Tobacco Road Blues, the new site dedicated to Duke and UNC sports. All week, we’re going to be running two of the ‘greatest hits’ from Seth Curry Saves Duke!, our previous blog, every day. The new content begins on Monday the 15th.

Today’s afternoon post was written on November 13th, 2009, as Duke prepared to play its first game against UNC-Greensboro. It was the season preview for the basketball team that went on to win the national title. I’m including this one because while going through my old posts, I couldn’t help but notice the first sentence under the “prognosis” section:

There’s no way this team contends for a title.

Even back then, my predicting instincts were keen. Enjoy.

-Shane

The Duke Basketball Preview

Let’s get (deep, restorative breath)….pumped.

First, hot off the presses, one of our starters is out with a broken wrist. His name is Mason Plumlee (younger brother of current Dukie Miles), and he looks like this: Continue reading

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