Laettner Looking for Coaching Gig

[_Gary]

One other factor that people tend to forget is that Timberlake undercut Laettner immediately proceeding the incident. One of the commentators stated that undercutting was always a dangerous play. In this context, Laettner's actions seems more like a bad reaction rather than an action designed to do harm.

The characterization of Timberlake as being in a "helpless position" is laughable when you realize he got in that "helpless position" by putting Laettner at risk.

YES, YES, YES to this. I saw Laettner's response exactly the same way. He was reacting (poorly) to an undercut which was dangerous. As a player, one thing you never want is a guy that's going to take your feet out from under you when you are battling for a ball. Again, I'm not justifying the way in which he responded. But it has been overblown for 20 years now. Way overblown, IMHO.

[Jason W]

Have you watched the clip? timberlake had just fallen on the floor after a rebound and not a second later, the foot came...I'm pretty sure he could be characterized as 'helpless' at that moment. I also refuse to wear blue glasses in this case and refer to the action as anything other than a stomp.

It is beyond me why the duke community seems to tolerate this abhorrent action.

Okay, would you rather, if you had to, have someone "stomp" your testicles or do that to them?

Sorry for the graphic visual.

[gwlaw99]

Getting back on topic. Can coach K PLEASE hire Laettner to teach the Plumlees footwork and how to make a move in the post.

[uh_no]

Okay, would you rather, if you had to, have someone "stomp" your testicles or do that to them?

Sorry for the graphic visual.

I think it wouldn't matter, I'd still chastise the guy for doing it...well...I wouldn't be doing much of anything in either case....

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

One other factor that people tend to forget is that Timberlake undercut Laettner immediately proceeding the incident. One of the commentators stated that undercutting was always a dangerous play. In this context, Laettner's actions seems more like a bad reaction rather than an action designed to do harm.

The characterization of Timberlake as being in a "helpless position" is laughable when you realize he got in that "helpless position" by putting Laettner at risk.

Actually, it wasn't Timberlake, it was Farmer who pushes Laettner in the back on a rebound, knocking him to the floor. Laettner gets up and sees Timberlake as the culprit and is clearly ticked off. He was just getting revenge albeit to the wrong guy.

Trust me, I've watched this sequence at least 20-30 times.

[johnb]

Longtime NBA players are widely viewed as not being interested in the gruntwork involved in being an assistant college coach, especially at a non-elite school. By making it clear that he's interested, Laettner sets himself for receiving phone calls. Seems reasonable to me.

Would he be a good coach? He's funny, perceptive, and knows the game of basketball. His experience and success would give him automatic street cred, and I imagine that every parent of a prospect would be thrilled to host Laettner for a home visit. And I'd assume he can teach some of the stuff that he knows, but I'd imagine he'd have to show some actual skills in that area.

The stuff about the foot stomp is such old news. It wasn't even remotely close to stuff that was done to him with some regularity.

By all accounts, he acted like a jerk with some regularity. That's what was 20 years ago. He was a pro for a long time and has helped raise kids. He's now a grown up.

I don't think he'll find a quick spot on the Duke bench, even if Chris and Wojo find head coaching jobs this weekend, but if I were the head coach at, say, Harvard or Stanford, I'd give it some serious thought.

[loldevilz]

Wasn't Laettner partly responsible for the improvement of Zoubek last year? I thought he coached him over the summer a bit.

Anyways, I think if Wojo ends up leaving for the Utah job, I think Laettner would make a great big man coach. He obviously understands what it takes to be an elite big man.

Also, I think his competitive spirit would be nice on the Duke bench.

[killerleft]

One thing is for sure. Christian Laettner has an inate talent for leading teams to championships. I could definitely see Christian as a great teacher and motivator of college basketball players. And there is no doubt that he instinctively knows how to get under someone's skin.

The only question is whether he can channel that knowledge into producing better ballplayers, as opposed to making them see red. He's both passionate and intelligent, and almost 20 years more experienced than he was in college. I think he might be an exceptional coach.

[davekay1971]

Longtime NBA players are widely viewed as not being interested in the gruntwork involved in being an assistant college coach, especially at a non-elite school. By making it clear that he's interested, Laettner sets himself for receiving phone calls. Seems reasonable to me.

Would he be a good coach? He's funny, perceptive, and knows the game of basketball. His experience and success would give him automatic street cred, and I imagine that every parent of a prospect would be thrilled to host Laettner for a home visit. And I'd assume he can teach some of the stuff that he knows, but I'd imagine he'd have to show some actual skills in that area.

By all accounts, he acted like a jerk with some regularity. That's what was 20 years ago. He was a pro for a long time and has helped raise kids. He's now a grown up.
.

First of all, thank you so much for bringing this thread back to the actual subject matter at hand. Secondly, I agree with your last paragraph. I lived on Central Campus directly across the lawn from Laettner and BD. They both acted like jerks fairly frequently, and, while I cheered them on the court, I wasn't a big fan of them as people. But, thinking back, if I were a wildly successful campus celebrity at 19-20, I would have probably been far more insufferable. Time changes us all, and Laettner has been no more frozen in time than I have.

I think Laettner would have great deal to offer as an assistant coach. He had all the tools - toughness, tenacity, good footwork, great finishing moves, a desire to continuously improve, and a competitive streak a mile wide. If he has the skills to teach these qualities, he'll make any program better.

This may all be a moot point, since we already have a big man coach. I don't think K would hire Laettner over Wojo. Wojo may move on, of course, or Collins may move on, leaving the Associate Head Coach spot open for Wojo which would open the big man coach spot for Christian.

There's also the age old question as to whether Wojo being a little big man coach hurts our recruitment of big men. I have a friend who is a Charlotte orthopaedic surgeon who sees a number of kids on the AAU circuit, and he told me that the AAU kids do perceive Wojo's being the big man coach as a negative for big men at Duke. Then again, the same guy knows Dr. Anderson and told me no way Kyrie was coming back this season, so even people "in the know" sometimes aren't as in the know as they think. My guess is that opposing programs try to make Wojo a negative for Duke, and some kids buy it, others don't. Would having Laettner on the bench help us recruit and develop top-talent big men? Probably wouldn't hurt. But I'd love to see him there for a lot of the same reasons I love seeing Nate there - some guys just have fire, and having that fire around your team can only help.

[wilko]

I'm glad that Laettner and Hurley are interested in doing some coaching.
I wish them the best and hope they succeed.

HOWEBAH, we have had nothing but Duke guys on the bench for forever it seems... Nate and Chris seem to be waiting patiently in the wings for Wojo and/or Collins to find an itch to pursue greener pastures. That itch may or may not happen this year or next... but the Duke bench looks pretty full.

As much as I would love to see Laettner (and Hurley beside) K one day.... there are dues to be paid. It shouldn't be at Nate or Chris' expense. They have been working hard and deserve to move up should an opening occur.

I would hope that the NEXT person to join the coaching staff be someone who hasn't been drinking the Duke Kool-aid for forever and can bring some different perspectives to the role. Maybe being away for a while adds to that perspective.

[Cameron]

It is beyond me why the duke community seems to tolerate this abhorrent action.

Abhorrent action? Come on. Who are you, the Earl of Sandwich? Your over the top and almost absurd rebuttals on this subject remind me of a famous satirical letter sent from the Duke of Wellington to the National Office of London in response to petty grievances issued by bureaucrats while The Duke was leading his troops into battle against Napoleon.

Gentlemen,

Whilst marching from Portugal to a position which commands the approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been diligently complying with your requests. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit and spleen of every officer. Each item has been accounted for, with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence.

Unfortunately, the sum of one shilling and ninepence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion's petty cash and there has been a hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one calvary regiment during a sandstorm in western spain.

Christian lightly pressed his sneaker to a guy's chest because, according to Laettner in later interviews, that freshman was being a punk (as explained as an "undercutting" of Laettner by a poster above) and needed informed that his youthful boastfulness wasn't going to be tolerated. Christian was sending a simple -- and certainly not abhorrent -- message. Abhorrent action is Ron Artest hurtling into the stands to go Buster Douglas on an impotent fan. To be brutally honest, however, in light of the events that would unfold later that night, Laettner could have ridden a Tennessee Walking Horse on top of Aminu and I would have been pretty forgiving.

[wsb3]

Stomp Never ceases to amaze me that anyone could watch the play and the subsequent reaction from the Kentucky player and use the word stomp.

[jdj4duke]

I'm not going to lie, I think (though humorous) that is a completely unprofessional and arrogant thing to put on a website for a sports camp. Can you ever imagine K putting up something like that? For me, it solidifies my opinion of him as rather arrogant and unlikable, though a tremendous player here at duke.

Pretty funny in my book. After taking grief and untold numbers of insults, hate-mails, criticisms, and all manner of foul and personal attacks, this little jab is harmless. He should in fact and, in view of the last couple weeks, include Michigan in the list of those eligible for discount. Unless he would choose, as Jalen might predict, not to take anyone from there.

[OZ]

Pretty funny in my book. After taking grief and untold numbers of insults, hate-mails, criticisms, and all manner of foul and personal attacks, this little jab is harmless. He should in fact and, in view of the last couple weeks, include Michigan in the list of those eligible for discount. Unless he would choose, as Jalen might predict, not to take anyone from there.

I agree totally. He could throw in LSU with the personal attacks that awaited him there; attacks that had nothing to do with basketball.

[Son of Mojo]

In regard to Christian being able to coach, I'd think he would be capable. He could be a great asset in teaching bigs (and I'd love for him to show the current ones how to do) the pump fake. He was great at it. His personality rubbed many, including teammates, the wrong way. I would hope with time that some of that has been curbed but you never know until he is in that spot.

And if you want a stomp, here you go--and I bet it "hurt" as much as Christian's did in '92......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oBMXDBtMDg

[DukieinSoCal]

In regard to Christian being able to coach, I'd think he would be capable. He could be a great asset in teaching bigs (and I'd love for him to show the current ones how to do) the pump fake. He was great at it. His personality rubbed many, including teammates, the wrong way. I would hope with time that some of that has been curbed but you never know until he is in that spot.

Although he wasn't a true post player, Christian would probably have a lot to offer as a coach, especially at Duke where we mostly recruit big guys that can shoot and move around well. I bet he could do wonders for Ryan and Mason, teach them how to play/score and maximize their gifts.

My only concern would be the potential negative effect on recruiting. Given Christian's reputation outside of Duke, would it turn some recruits off from Duke?

If we lose Wojo or Collins, it will be interesting to see what coach K does.

[bdeviled11]

[/QUOTE]If we lose Wojo or Collins, it will be interesting to see what coach K does.[/QUOTE]

Kyrie going pro doesn't really concern me. Getting Deandre Daniels, not interested.

Losing your big man coach, can be a great opportunity. Let's say Wojo is a good big man coach, and could possibly be a good head coach. The opportunity to hire a great big man coach could be a definite difference maker for Duke basketball in the future.

I'm not saying Wojo is bad, but is there someone better out there?

[dairedevil]

All this talk about Laettner, his drive and will to win... 1989, his freshman year, Duke plays Arizona in the Meadowlands. One second left, Laettner misses a free throw. He is devastated as Duke loses a game that they coulda/shoulda won. I'll never forget how Coach K grabbed Laettner by the face, looked him in the eyes, and said, " don't worry, son, you'll get another chance" (or something like that). What a coach! Kid became one of the best clutch players in NCAA history.

I loved Laettner because of his talent, his drive, his will to win, and the fact that his uniform had Duke on the front. He had more media coverage that I can remember up to that time, and probably didn't handle it all that well - I mean, has any other college basketball player made People magazine's 50 most beautiful people? Surely nobody before him. I think kids today are taught what to expect and how to deal with the media spotlight. It's everywhere today-maybe the attention is a little less focused on only one person.

Would he make a good college assistant? Should Duke want him? I sure don't know the answer to either question and don't think I'll speculate. I'll just wish him well.

[Atlanta Duke]

Former players who express a sudden interest to get into coaching (or for that matter any other line of work) only after the business ventures they pursued following their playing days have crapped out might not be the best candidates for an assistant coach hire but good luck to him

[uh_no]

To be brutally honest, however, in light of the events that would unfold later that night, Laettner could have ridden a Tennessee Walking Horse on top of Aminu and I would have been pretty forgiving.

That's a great attitude and lesson for the kids:

your actions don't matter as long as you win in the end.

Thats why calipari is coaching at kentucky
that's why lane kiffin is coaching
thats why jim calhoun makes a ton of money


While some people here have said that they do think its reprehensible what he did, despite my making it out to be so much more than it is, others say they really don't care. Frankly, its the latter half of fans that appall me. He degraded the other player on the court by stepping on him. I don't care if it was retaliation, I don't care if he fixed the US budget deficit. He could be a wonderful person, but what he did at that moment was wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, I understand that (especially in the heated moments of a game), but it takes an incredible lack of respect for coach K's program to sit here and say THAT act, whether a step, a stomp, a 'love tap' or whatever it was, is acceptable, especially since the justification for its acceptability is the fact that laettner was a good basketball player.