The Chronicle's Exclusive Interview with Coach K

Not to overload Chronicle material, but starting today, The Chronicle's Sports Blog presents the first of five excerpts from our hour-long interview with Mike Krzyzewski before his annual press conference June 17.

The clips will go up at midnight the rest of the week, and there will be comments about Wojo as the big-man coach, how Krzyzewski deals with criticism, his succession plan and more. Be sure to check every day for the latest updates at www.dukechroniclesports.com!

You're doing a great job, Ben.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks Ben, preciate it very much.

Part 2 of The Chronicle's exclusive interview with Coach K is up, and this one's about Wojo's role as the big-man coach.

Read more over at www.dukechroniclesports.com...

I find it odd that Coach K is speaking freely, well ahead of time I hope, about us needing to hire someone in the family as the next head coach, but never heard a peep about him supporting Mike Cragg for AD. Do I think Cragg would have been the best person for the job? Have no idea. Better than Kevin White? Again, no idea. Not my point. I simply find the lack of public support for Cragg odd in light of the recent lines of questions and answers about his successor.

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Originally Posted by Inonehand

I find it odd that Coach K is speaking freely, well ahead of time I hope, about us needing to hire someone in the family as the next head coach, but never heard a peep about him supporting Mike Cragg for AD. Do I think Cragg would have been the best person for the job? Have no idea. Better than Kevin White? Again, no idea. Not my point. I simply find the lack of public support for Cragg odd in light of the recent lines of questions and answers about his successor.

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I don't find it odd in the least that someone in K's position might feel qualified to express an opinion about who might be the best candidate to fill his own position as head basketball coach when he retires, but would consider it inappropriate and unwise to attempt to use his influence to intercede in the process of selecting the person who will be his superior in the administrative heirarchy. If he were to publicly advocate the hiring of someone for athletic director he personally favors, that could create an awkward situation for the Search Committee and for other candidates, all of whom may justifiably feel that if K's favored candidate is not selected, it could adversely affect the new A.D.'s (and the Committee members') relationship with K on a going-forward basis.

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Originally Posted by Inonehand

I find it odd that Coach K is speaking freely, well ahead of time I hope, about us needing to hire someone in the family as the next head coach, but never heard a peep about him supporting Mike Cragg for AD. Do I think Cragg would have been the best person for the job? Have no idea. Better than Kevin White? Again, no idea. Not my point. I simply find the lack of public support for Cragg odd in light of the recent lines of questions and answers about his successor.

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I don't know whether or not he did support Mike Cragg over Kevin White for Athletic Director, but I'm sure he would not have said it publicly if he were. He certainly doesn't want to appear to be interfering with the process or suggest that there might be a rift between him and the athletic department. I'm sure the athletic department did talk to Coach K privately throughout the process, and I'd be very surprised if the pick was made without K's blessing. It's relevant to note that just because K thinks an alum should be future head coach does not mean he necessarily feels the same way about AD. As for the comment that a former player should be the next head coach, I took that to mean that K has a particular person, or a few specific people in mind. It's not like there are hundreds of Duke basketball alumni who would qualify to be the next head coach. Realistically, there's a pretty small group of ex-players who are both qualified and interested in the job.

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Originally Posted by CameronCrazy'11

I don't know whether or not he did support Mike Cragg over Kevin White for Athletic Director, but I'm sure he would not have said it publicly if he were. He certainly doesn't want to appear to be interfering with the process or suggest that there might be a rift between him and the athletic department. I'm sure the athletic department did talk to Coach K privately throughout the process, and I'd be very surprised if the pick was made without K's blessing. It's relevant to note that just because K thinks an alum should be future head coach does not mean he necessarily feels the same way about AD. As for the comment that a former player should be the next head coach, I took that to mean that K has a particular person, or a few specific people in mind. It's not like there are hundreds of Duke basketball alumni who would qualify to be the next head coach. Realistically, there's a pretty small group of ex-players who are both qualified and interested in the job.

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Per my post about the AD position, this post and the one above it make a lot of sense. I am sure Coach put in a good word for Cragg and you're both right in saying that it shouldn't have been a public endorsement. However, where it comes to a Duke tie being the end all for the next head coach, I hope that isn't the case. If you had to pick someone with successful head coaching experience right now, who's out there? Brey and maybe Capel.

i'll go to war with wojo.

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Originally Posted by Inonehand

Per my post about the AD position, this post and the one above it make a lot of sense. I am sure Coach put in a good word for Cragg and you're both right in saying that it shouldn't have been a public endorsement. However, where it comes to a Duke tie being the end all for the next head coach, I hope that isn't the case. If you had to pick someone with successful head coaching experience right now, who's out there? Brey and maybe Capel.

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And of course Dawkins will have (hopefully successful) head coaching experience by the time K retires.

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Originally Posted by CameronCrazy'11

And of course Dawkins will have (hopefully successful) head coaching experience by the time K retires.

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I am certainly pulling for him!

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Originally Posted by SilkyJ

i'll go to war with wojo.

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Okay, I know this is T-beard topic 1-J...Who will succeed K?, but I'll bite. If Wojo is a good candidate for the head coaching job (and I think he is, too), what sort of professional development would be best for him? Specifically, should he take a head coaching job somewhere soon?

Part 3 is now up. This one's about how Coach K deals with criticism, and why he's more concerned about comments about his players than he is about defending himself.

Be sure to check out Parts 1 and 2 and watch out for the last two parts Thursday and Friday at www.dukechroniclesports.com.

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Originally Posted by CameronCrazy'11

And of course Dawkins will have (hopefully successful) head coaching experience by the time K retires.

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I, too, am happy for Coach Dawkins and am very hopeful that he is successful at Stanford. As another poster said (in another thread), the pressure to succeed Coach K will be just unbearable for anyone. In fact, I didn't post this earlier, but I actually hope that Coach Dawkins can be so successful at Stanford, and he can establish himself at Stanford just as Coach K has established himself at Duke, and Coach Dawkins stays at Stanford for the rest of his coaching career. Of course, we all want him back at Duke, but this may be Coach Dawkins' opportunity to create his own legacy. But even in this scenario, the comparisons to Coach K will inevitably continue... but under very different circumstances... which may actually be good:)

It's great to hear how K deals with criticism. And, true to form, he cares more about how his young players feel and think than whether he, himself, is targeted.
DeCourcy is a gas bag just looking for something to yammer about. Imagine the attacks if K had refused to coach the national team! Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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Originally Posted by gep

I, too, am happy for Coach Dawkins and am very hopeful that he is successful at Stanford. As another poster said (in another thread), the pressure to succeed Coach K will be just unbearable for anyone. In fact, I didn't post this earlier, but I actually hope that Coach Dawkins can be so successful at Stanford, and he can establish himself at Stanford just as Coach K has established himself at Duke, and Coach Dawkins stays at Stanford for the rest of his coaching career. Of course, we all want him back at Duke, but this may be Coach Dawkins' opportunity to create his own legacy. But even in this scenario, the comparisons to Coach K will inevitably continue... but under very different circumstances... which may actually be good:)

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This is something like Denny Crum, Johnny Wooden's former assistant, who decided to stay Louisville rather than return to UCLA. I know that money was also a factor since Coach Wooden was paid a pittance, amazingly enough, but Crum was able to win three championships on his own. Many people would have thought that whatever success he would have had at UCLA was because of everything that Wooden left him.

Having said that, I think Coach K's successor absolutely needs head coaching experience, such as Johnny Dawkins will get at Stanford. It's almost impossible to follow a legend, but long-time assistants have it even tougher. Think of Hand Raymonds at Marquette after Al McGuire or Bill Guthridge at Carolina.

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Originally Posted by miramar

This is something like Denny Crum, Johnny Wooden's former assistant, who decided to stay Louisville rather than return to UCLA. I know that money was also a factor since Coach Wooden was paid a pittance, amazingly enough, but Crum was able to win three championships on his own.

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Crum only won 2 NCAA titles (and Jay Bilas is still trying to steal one of the trophies).

For those who haven't seen, the last part of The Chronicle's exclusive interview with Coach K is online, and this one's about potential renovations to Cameron and how Krzyzewski considers the restoration of the stadium as his "last big project."

Check it out over at www.dukechroniclesports.com...