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  1. #1

    Coach K And USA Basketball

    If there is another thread on this subject I didn't see it but in the last three weeks I have read a TON of articles on the USA olympic basketball team. I've read praise and critics about all kinds of little and big things. I just finished reading Mr. Brills article and as always he puts things in perspective. But there were a couple of points he made, or rather that Coach K made and I have to say I honestly don't believe the man. When coach says he doesn't feel pressure I don't see how he could be human and not feel pressure.

    The article headlined by DBR was quick to point out the two previous coaches were UNC guys. I honestly don't think Coach K feels any pressure to win gold to top the school down the road or even as some have suggested put him in the same company as Dean Smith. But I have come to realize something I already knew to an extent, but Coach K is an American and damn proud of it. Bringing in wounded GI's from Iraq, showing the players Ellis Island in NY and other motivational ploys might seem half hearted if other coaches did it. But knowing his tenure at Army as player and coach, knowing his parents strove for the American dream I came to realize just how much he does want this all to work. Not so much for himself, or even as some have suggested as a recruiting tool. But he wants this for American and it's citizens.

    I have to say he has always acted gracious as a winner and loser be it to UNC durring the regular season or UCONN in a national championship game. And I find we tend to be his worst critics at times, but we are also few in number compared to the number of Americans world wide. I honestly think he has to feel some pressure playing on the world stage with an entire country carring about who wins or loses. I tend to pull for whatever NBA team has the most Duke guys on it, I don't have a favorite. And it's kind of the same when the olympic team plays, I want Laettner, Brand, Boozer or whomener to get a gold medal. But in this olympics while I will be pulling for the team as an American I will be rooting for them for Coach K in particular because I know he wants the gold not so much for himself or even his players, but for the country he loves.

    I hate to even say this, but it's the feeling I get from reading articles written by sports writers all over the country. If the US does NOT win the gold, he will be made the scapegoat. If a key player goes down with an injury that won't be as remembered as who was the coach in my opinion. There are quite a few out there actually rooting against the national team due to who the coach is. A clear sign of just how loathed Duke is in the eyes of many. Mr Brill called it a three year experiment and I hope the experiment doesn't blow up in Coach K's face. But if the team doesn't win the gold I'm afraid quite a bit of the blame will be placed on him, and I for one don't think that's totally fair.

  2. #2
    You're right that they're definitely setting him up to be the scapegoat if the U.S. doesn't win it all. Of course, if the U.S. does win the gold, it will be because of the outstanding players, and Coach K will probably be just a footnote.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by CameronCrazy'11 View Post
    You're right that they're definitely setting him up to be the scapegoat if the U.S. doesn't win it all. Of course, if the U.S. does win the gold, it will be because of the outstanding players, and Coach K will probably be just a footnote.
    Hey, that's life in the fast lane! Coach K knows it and is willing to roll the dice. I guarantee the Olympic Team players will not be blaming Coach K if we do not win the Gold. Actually, the whole scenario is an anti-American/anti-Duke conspiracy led by the far left liberal Main Stream Media (okay that last line is a joke ).
    Bob Green

  4. #4
    And, keep in mind, if Coach K had refused the Olympic job, these same sports-"writers," not do-ers...would have been screaming for his head.

    Bunch of windbags just trying to file columns in the dog days of summer.

  5. #5
    I'm always knid of surprised at how blatant and undeserved Duke-hating and uncalled for potshots at Duke seem to be perfectly in the media. If these writers treated UNC like the treated Duke, they'd be fired. Sort of like how if the refs called Hansbrough like they called Zoubek he'd be a bench player .

  6. #6

    Well Yes And No

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    Hey, that's life in the fast lane! Coach K knows it and is willing to roll the dice. I guarantee the Olympic Team players will not be blaming Coach K if we do not win the Gold. Actually, the whole scenario is an anti-American/anti-Duke conspiracy led by the far left liberal Main Stream Media (okay that last line is a joke ).
    Bob I admire him for rolling the dice and taking on the job. And anyone who thinks it hasn't been work is crazy. Sure a lot of people / writers across the nation think it has hurt Duke's recruiting to an extent. But we ALL saw last year how his experience with the team taught him a new wrinkle which he applied to cover a gaping hole in the Duke line up last season.

    If the US team doesn't win the gold I don't think Lebron, Kobe and company will blame Coach K, but by God a significant amount of the media will. And even those people out there pulling for the team, IF the US loses quite a few will take some solace in the fact Coach K is the coach. I'm sure Coach saw it as a winning proposition when he took on the responsibility. But other than the opportunity to bring pride to his country I kind of see it as a possible lose / lose / lose proposition.

    Like CC said, if they win it had nothing to do with his coaching, but if they lose he will be the first to get blamed. Then whether it has hurt recruiting or not, a certain segment of Duke fans will think it has win or lose. And THEN to top it all off I honestly don't think many (if any) of Duke's present or future prospects will be swayed by the idea of playing for a gold medal winning coach. Now I could very well be totally wrong about that last one. But in a me first society where players want to be one and done and don't feel they owe anything to the university, I can't see them being wowed out of someone doing something for pride.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latta6970 View Post
    And THEN to top it all off I honestly don't think many (if any) of Duke's present or future prospects will be swayed by the idea of playing for a gold medal winning coach.
    I'm going to go on record and disagree with you here. When the USA wins Gold in Beijing, the 2010 and 2011 kids being pursued by Duke are going to be impacted by the victory and the kudos handed out to Coach K by NBA megastars such as Kobe, LeBron, and Melo.

    The 2009 kids have pretty much already made up their mind (even if they haven't announced) and anything past 2011 is too far in the future for our fickle society.
    Bob Green

  8. #8
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    My father, who is retired military, remarked at how incongruous it appeared when K brought in these middle-aged white military officers with chests full of medals to talk to the team. From the clips he saw, it didn't appear the team was interested in what they had to say, and he felt that there really wasn't the potential for much of a connection there. I also think that, given a moment's thought by the players, the Ellis Island gambit would fall flat. Since most of their ancestors came over on slave ships, It's not likely that Ellis Island would move them to affection for the "opportunity society."

    K much prefers the motivational stuff to X's and O's, but I hope he's devoting plenty of time to defending the pick-and-roll and such. He's brought them together as a team from everything I can gather, and nobody's better at that, but they need to know he's in command when it comes to the execution on court part.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    My father, who is retired military, remarked at how incongruous it appeared when K brought in these middle-aged white military officers with chests full of medals to talk to the team. From the clips he saw, it didn't appear the team was interested in what they had to say, and he felt that there really wasn't the potential for much of a connection there. I also think that, given a moment's thought by the players, the Ellis Island gambit would fall flat. Since most of their ancestors came over on slave ships, It's not likely that Ellis Island would move them to affection for the "opportunity society."
    Maybe so, but that doesn't seem to square up with Bill Brill's account in the goduke.com piece that is posted here today:

    "Brown brought with him four wounded heroes, one of them now blind, another with a shrapnel hole replacing his left eye. All four are still on duty. The players were overwhelmed as they understood what representing your country was all about. Several of them were overcome by emotion."

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    Maybe so, but that doesn't seem to square up with Bill Brill's account in the goduke.com piece that is posted here today:

    "Brown brought with him four wounded heroes, one of them now blind, another with a shrapnel hole replacing his left eye. All four are still on duty. The players were overwhelmed as they understood what representing your country was all about. Several of them were overcome by emotion."
    Possibly two separate events. What my father says he saw was uniformed officers addressing the team members, who appeared to be indifferent, but at 94 he isn't the most reliable witness. Anyone is going to be moved by the plight of the wounded, but I'm not sure the players are going to be connecting up all the dots K wants them to, or that they should. At this point I'm hoping that he is focusing far less on national pride -- this team seems to have plenty of motivation -- and more on the vision of playing basketball at the highest level, which this group has a chance to do. For motivation purposes, I'd be showing them the Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final four hours in and challenging them to play basketball, and compete, at a similarly high level.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Latta6970 View Post
    But other than the opportunity to bring pride to his country I kind of see it as a possible lose / lose / lose proposition.
    Hi,

    IMO, this is one of the greatest win/win/win propositions any coach has ever had the opportunity to help achieve. We've mucked this up for years and we're at the bottom reaching up to the stars with nowhere but up to go. Everybody involved can be a winner with this opportunity.

    Quote Originally Posted by Latta6970 View Post
    Like CC said, if they win it had nothing to do with his coaching, but if they lose he will be the first to get blamed.
    What's the problem with that? Any great leader recognizes that you assume all accountability & responsibility for defeat AND you share all the glory of victory.

    Why are you'll so concerned for Coach K? This may be the greatest professional opportunity he ever experiences.

    Best regards,
    Jeffrey

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    For motivation purposes, I'd be showing them the Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final four hours in and challenging them to play basketball, and compete, at a similarly high level.
    Hi dkbaseball,

    I'd be more prone to emphasize a team sport.

    IMO, one of the best examples of a coach maximizing the performance of an extremely talented maverick was Coach Wooden's approach to Bill Walton. Some of those techniques may transfer well to this situation.

    Best regards,
    Jeffrey

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    At this point I'm hoping that he is focusing far less on national pride -- this team seems to have plenty of motivation -- and more on the vision of playing basketball at the highest level, which this group has a chance to do.
    I'm sure K is focusing on strategy much more than the motivational aspects. It's just those national pride snipets make a much better news article/TV special so that's what we hear about!

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    I'd be more prone to emphasize a team sport.
    Or at least one that won't put them to sleep.

  15. #15
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    I don't recall any predictions being made here, but I'll venture forth. Coach K and staff have put together a very talented, dynamic team that appears to embrace the team concept and is very motivated.

    The USA Mens Basketball team will go undefeated in Olympic play, with perhaps one close call. Average margin of victory will be 20-25 points.

    GOLD MEDAL

  16. #16
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    I agree

    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    IThe USA Mens Basketball team will go undefeated in Olympic play, with perhaps one close call. Average margin of victory will be 20-25 points.

    GOLD MEDAL
    Works for me!

  17. #17

    Ehhh.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Hi,

    IMO, this is one of the greatest win/win/win propositions any coach has ever had the opportunity to help achieve. We've mucked this up for years and we're at the bottom reaching up to the stars with nowhere but up to go. Everybody involved can be a winner with this opportunity.



    What's the problem with that? Any great leader recognizes that you assume all accountability & responsibility for defeat AND you share all the glory of victory.

    Why are you'll so concerned for Coach K? This may be the greatest professional opportunity he ever experiences.

    Best regards,
    Jeffrey
    Sure this CAN be a win X 1000 opportunity for K and Duke and I hope you and Bob are right. And the Green Machine probably is correct in it affecting 2010 and beyond recruits much more than it will the guys Duke is currently focusing on if it does have some effect.

    Jeff, there is nothing wrong per say when the general gets blamed for losing a battle when the general screwed up and made the wrong decission. But history has taught us even with superior leadership sometimes the troops just don't match up or are out numbered.

    From reading numerous articles already about K and the US team I have gotten a strong impression that the journalists are ready to pounce if the US doesn't win gold. And they won't be pouncing on Wade, Howard or Paul they will be pouncing on Coach K. I am not a fortune teller, I can't see the future win or lose. But by the tone of many writers nationwide the anti-Duke hatred undercurrent oozes from their articles. Coach K already has to answer for everything he does (commercials, endorsements etc.) and things he doesn't do (speak out on LAX for example). It just seems in the eyes of non-Duke fans he can't do the right thing in their eyes. Remember the flap about what Coach K SUPPOSABLY said around NCAA tourney time everyone got all bent out of shape over?? Remember when it was revealed it was a misquote from a transcript and a jouranlism error?? You didn't hear quite as much about that, that got swept inder the rug.


    My concern for Coach K? Well again I hope it's win, win, win all around, for him, the team and the nation. By God with the state of things in the country right now we could all use a good distraction that ends up with a happy ending. But all too often I have seen Duke / Coach K positives be ignored or taken with a grain of salt and the misses magnified. It's one thing when the magnification is state wide, even worse when it's blown up nation wide. This time we're talking about a world stage and I'd rather not see his reputation / image tarnished along with the university's. You can say I'm being paranoid or pessimistic I've just seen Duke and Coach K reemed by the media and opposing fans long enough to see the possible negatives.

    At any rate I will try and use the good karma and think positive thoughts. When the US DOES win the gold, I hope it's a proud moment for our nation. But also a moment a guy who loves his country gets his due.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Latta6970 View Post
    Jeff, there is nothing wrong per say when the general gets blamed for losing a battle when the general screwed up and made the wrong decission. But history has taught us even with superior leadership sometimes the troops just don't match up or are out numbered.

    From reading numerous articles already about K and the US team I have gotten a strong impression that the journalists are ready to pounce if the US doesn't win gold. And they won't be pouncing on Wade, Howard or Paul they will be pouncing on Coach K.
    Hi,

    A great leader will assume total accountability & responsibility for the defeat before anyone even has a chance to place blame. It does not matter who "screwed up" and/or "made the wrong decision". A great leader stands in front of the troops during defeat and behind or, at most, aside the troops when glory is awarded.

    Quote Originally Posted by Latta6970 View Post
    But all too often I have seen Duke / Coach K positives be ignored or taken with a grain of salt and the misses magnified. It's one thing when the magnification is state wide, even worse when it's blown up nation wide. This time we're talking about a world stage and I'd rather not see his reputation / image tarnished along with the university's.
    May I suggest a different yardstick? IMO, the ultimate yardstick of Coach K's success is not how many titles do his players win but what do his players accomplish during their lifetime. Coach K is developing young men, not merely basketball players. What would be the greater accomplishment for the USA team.... the players win a gold OR the players learn that there is something in this world bigger and more important than they are? Kobe will win many titles during his lifetime BUT, if Coach K can teach Kobe that there is something in this world more important than he is, then, IMO, Coach K has achieved the ultimate success and many will benefit.

    Best regards,
    Jeffrey

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
    Hi,

    A great leader will assume total accountability & responsibility for the defeat before anyone even has a chance to place blame. It does not matter who "screwed up" and/or "made the wrong decision". A great leader stands in front of the troops during defeat and behind or, at most, aside the troops when glory is awarded.



    May I suggest a different yardstick? IMO, the ultimate yardstick of Coach K's success is not how many titles do his players win but what do his players accomplish during their lifetime. Coach K is developing young men, not merely basketball players. What would be the greater accomplishment for the USA team.... the players win a gold OR the players learn that there is something in this world bigger and more important than they are? Kobe will win many titles during his lifetime BUT, if Coach K can teach Kobe that there is something in this world more important than he is, then, IMO, Coach K has achieved the ultimate success and many will benefit.

    Best regards,
    Jeffrey
    Well said. Thank you.

  20. #20
    If they don't win gold, yes Coach K will probably get a lot of the blame. So did Larry Brown a few years ago (yes, the guy with the UNC ties). He probably deserved most of the blame he got attributed to him. Coach K may or he may not. As others (dkbaseball notably) have said, let's see what the team looks like. If they have trouble with stopping basic international offense or if they can't run good offensive sets in the half court, then the coaching should take some blame (and as head coach, Coach K would and should take the lion's share). If they lose because of some players mailing it in or an injury or some other team having some unbelievable game, then the coaches should take much less (if any) of the blame. I wouldn't spend too much time right now worrying about what may happen.

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