Olympic Team

Do you think Coach K's involvement with the Olympic basketball team helps or hurts Duke basketball.

As first I thought it would hurt. It seemed to me that coaching Duke and coaching the Olympic team were two jobs that should have been filled by two different people and for one person to do both would stretch him very thin.

I altered my view a little when I heard that K was picking up some things from his assistants on the Olympic team.

Now I understand that K and the entire Duke staff is going to the Olympics. While that should be a great experience for them, what does it do for Duke? My guess is that Roy Williams and his staff will evaluating and perhaps meeting future recruits, preparing the next year, etc etc etc and K and staff will be in China.

Your thoughts.

SoCal

In the long run it could be as simple as gold=good, anything less is bad. In other words, gold equals a lot of cache to leverage while losing adds to the perception that K has lost his touch in addition to the distractions you cited.

a golf medal would be great - but think about this as recruiting amo:

Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard et al saying how great it was to play for coach K. We saw some of that last summer, a good showing and the NBA superstars could be heaping some heavy praise on K. Walk into a kids home and say "your game reminds me a lot of Kobe's, and he flourished playing for me when we won gold at the Olympics."

Has Kobe ever attended a game in Cameron? Of course, the seasons overlap but I was just curious if he might have stopped by. I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about non-Duke pros coming to a game.

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Originally Posted by steven52682

a golf medal would be great - but think about this as recruiting amo:

Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard et al saying how great it was to play for coach K. We saw some of that last summer, a good showing and the NBA superstars could be heaping some heavy praise on K. Walk into a kids home and say "your game reminds me a lot of Kobe's, and he flourished playing for me when we won gold at the Olympics."

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I had thought the time away would hurt with recruiting, but you're right. Talk about great exposure and a great recruiting tool! Olympic basketball could end up as a great recruiting tool for Duke! It could also backfire, but let's be optimistic.

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Originally Posted by SoCalDukeFan

Now I understand that K and the entire Duke staff is going to the Olympics. While that should be a great experience for them, what does it do for Duke? My guess is that Roy Williams and his staff will evaluating and perhaps meeting future recruits, preparing the next year, etc etc etc and K and staff will be in China.

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This is possible, and likely, but bear in mind this is really a short-term consequence. While Ol' Roy is probably cornering the market on big men for the next few years, Coach K and his staff are doing what they can to make Duke more recognizable internationally. In my opinion this could have some terrific long-term implications. Consider it a legacy-building opportunity.

So, to sum up: Olympics may be a minus for Duke recruiting in 2009 and 2010, but a major plus for Duke recruiting from 2011 on, or at least until President Battier signs some sort of executive order.

...because it keeps K interested in coaching. I am afraid the guy is going to want to shuck it all and become some kind of corporate CEO, TV personality, politician or evangelist. Anything that keeps him on the sideline is ok with me.

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Originally Posted by Billy Dat

...because it keeps K interested in coaching. I am afraid the guy is going to want to shuck it all and become some kind of corporate CEO, TV personality, politician or evangelist. Anything that keeps him on the sideline is ok with me.

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The experience makes him want to coach the pros in the NBA.

SoCal

I do not think that this year would have been successful as it was if K hadn't brought his Olympic experience back to Durham. It is good to see an old dog can still learn new tricks. He still falls back on his old ways, which I think hurt us in the end this year, but it was refreshing to see a new approach. I think as a team, including the coaching staff, they had more fun than they have had in a long while.