Laettner Looking for Coaching Gig

[Son of Mojo]

The 19 year old dead horse is starting to show too many new bruises.......

[jv001]

that will change my mind that Christian is the greatest Duke player of all time. Now that's just my opinion. Can he be a good coach? I would think so, because he's was a great college player. Right there with DT, Walton, Alicinder(Jabar), Pistol Pete and the likes. He was as good a clutch player in the college ranks as there has been. He played under the best ever college coach so he knows a little about the college game. Another plus for Christian is he played in the NBA. As for the little tap he gave to the Kentucky player, I just wish he could have given another to one of the Uconvicts. Go Duke!

[wilko]

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.

uh-huh...
SO degrading another player on the court is now the measuring stick?
Where is your outrage for those dudes that posterized Paulus by teabagging him while air-born? At least be consistent...

(FWIW - GP is a better man than me. I would have done a soccer style header on someone to end that noise once and for all.)

The fact IS if that game had not been THE game, if one of the teams in that game was not been named Duke it would be another lost moment in sports history. No one would remember and no one would care.

Hate all you want if thats your kick, but don't pretend its justified.

[uh_no]

uh-huh...
SO degrading another player on the court is now the measuring stick?
Where is your outrage for those dudes that posterized Paulus by teabagging him while air-born? At least be consistent...

(FWIW - GP is a better man than me. I would have done a soccer style header on someone to end that noise once and for all.)

The fact IS if that game had not been THE game, if one of the teams in that game was not been named Duke it would be another lost moment in sports history. No one would remember and no one would care.

Hate all you want if thats your kick, but don't pretend its justified.

I would chastise any player who made such an action, whether they played for Duke or north anchorage institute of technology. Yes. degrading another player by an action such as stepping on them or spitting on them is one of the lowest actions you can make in any situation...Taking an action such as that after play has ended as opposed to during the course of play (dunking on paulus...and while dunking on people is a widely accepted play if you are a superior athlete, stepping on a downed competitor is not) is much different from one which occurs during a play stoppage.

I've said a couple of times, I don't hate christian laettner. I said (in my most previous post i believe) that people make mistakes, and while he should be rebuked for taking such an action, it likely does not reflect on his current character.

[wilko]

Yes. degrading another player by an action such as stepping on them or spitting on them is one of the lowest actions you can make in any situation...Taking an action such as that after play has ended as opposed to during the course of play (dunking on paulus...and while dunking on people is a widely accepted play if you are a superior athlete, stepping on a downed competitor is not) .

So what I am hearing is:
Duke players should not degrade others and its OK to degrade Duke players.

If on an inbounds play, player A, pulls the shorts of player B down, forcing B to bend down gather himself and effectively takes player B out of the play. it doesn't matter if the official didn't see who did it, it doesn't matter who is the better athlete. Player B clearly got degraded.

Cant have it both ways. Degrading is not situational.

[wilko]

I just saw on twitter that there is some mutual interest between Wojo and the Dayton job. (some folks will tweet anything so there is a looooooong way to go before that approaches credible) BUT it forces us back on topic. CAN Laettner BE a good coach?

He may get a chance closer to home than I thought. I posted earlier it depends on recruiting... Clearly there are folks not willing to forgive past transgressions. Will that help or hurt when he is in a blue chips living room with his parent(s) selling his employers program package?

Time will tell...

[uh_no]

So what I am hearing is:
Duke players should not degrade others and its OK to degrade Duke players.

Exactly. I hold duke players to as high a standard as there is, and I think Coach K does also. From integrity to Academics, this program is held to the very highest standard. Would you rather we had the standards of integrity of calhoun and his program? I'm a fan of both programs, but would MUCH rather have the bastion of integrity that duke is than have to try to defend calhoun in from of the people here.

Maybe I'm the one wearing blue glasses here, but I always hold duke players to the highest of the high, and duke is my alma mater...I've been lucky enough in my 4 years here to be blessed to not have to see a situation which would compromise duke's integrity.

I bet if you asked laettner today, he'd probably say doing that to aminu was stupid. I was two at the time it happened but If I were my age at the time, I would have been ticked at him. Unfortunately for christian, though, once you've done something like that for a high profile program, you're going to get a lot of flak. AJ Price and Marcus Williams caught a lot more flak that someone would have at Vermont A&M (given stealing laptops is a little more egrigious), but it comes with the deal when you play for a big time program.

When you come to duke, you agree to uphold the highest standards in a lot of areas. Outside cameron, hanging from the lamposts are signs saying 'excellence in...' and have various traits (of which academics and sportsmanship are contained). In that instance, Christian did not uphold those standards, which is most regrettable. Does this mean he is not a good person or worthy of being an assistant? certainly not! But, when you do something like that at Duke, you get disproportionately recognized for it.

[wilko]

Exactly. I hold duke players to as high a standard as there is, and I think Coach K does also. From integrity to Academics, this program is held to the very highest standard.

Maybe I'm the one wearing blue glasses here, but I always hold duke players to the highest of the high, and duke is my alma mater.

When you come to duke, you agree to uphold the highest standards in a lot of areas. Outside cameron, hanging from the lamposts are signs saying 'excellence in...' and have various traits (of which academics and sportsmanship are contained). In that instance, Christian did not uphold those standards, which is most regrettable. Does this mean he is not a good person or worthy of being an assistant? certainly not! But, when you do something like that at Duke, you get disproportionately recognized for it.

I like you. We could have some fun with this over a beer or 3.
Respectfully, we'll have to disagree and let that be that. If by the yardstick you laid out of "degrading another player" then right is right and wrong is wrong. There are no shades of grey. Its a constant.

But its late and I'm getting tired. Have a good eve.

[zoroaster]

I didn't find this posted yet (though I may have missed it) -- Laettner's site: http://laettnerbball.com/

[johnb]

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.

After that game, Laettner was visited in the locker room by Richard Nixon, who was living in New Jersey. I have always assumed Laettner's later success was motivated by his desire not to again need support from Mr. Nixon.

As for whether he need coach only big men: He never struck me as lacking confidence, and I assume he'd give advice to players of all heights.

As for whether he'd leapfrog Carrawell and James in the pecking order. First, I doubt Laettner would be hired by Duke, but, if he were, I assume he'd be inserted wherever K believed he deserved. Seniority makes some difference, but so does meritocracy, and he might already be a better coach than guys currently on the staff. With a nod to Jalen Rose, however, I'd think it
unlikely that K leapfrogs our 2 African-American assistants with a white former player if we lose wojo or Collins. OTOH, if he was effective with Zoubs, he might be a spectacular hire if Wojo gets a head coaching job.

Finally, as for the 'stomping," yaaaawn.

[NSDukeFan]

I would chastise any player who made such an action, whether they played for Duke or north anchorage institute of technology. Yes. degrading another player by an action such as stepping on them or spitting on them is one of the lowest actions you can make in any situation...Taking an action such as that after play has ended as opposed to during the course of play (dunking on paulus...and while dunking on people is a widely accepted play if you are a superior athlete, stepping on a downed competitor is not) is much different from one which occurs during a play stoppage.

I've said a couple of times, I don't hate christian laettner. I said (in my most previous post i believe) that people make mistakes, and while he should be rebuked for taking such an action, it likely does not reflect on his current character.

In my mind, Laettner's step (which I thought was wrong and he was properly punished for it) in no way compares to spitting on someone, in terms of degrading someone. Just my opinion.

[duke4ever19]

Folks,

The Laettner "stomp" incident is now, almost 20 years later, such an intrinsic part of perhaps the greatest game ever played that it is has started that inevitable, slow progression towards being nothing but a factoid about an important sporting event that occurred in the NCAA Tournament in 1992.

I know Duke fans that still get peeved about losing in the final to Lousville in 1986. But I must confess that I suddenly lack the usual emotions when watching this Duke team play because I was too young to remember the game. I only vividly recall the 90's Duke teams as a youngster.

My kids will only have an emotional tie to Duke games that occur in their lifetime, they will watch the same Laettner game and view it then as merely a historic game in the history of Duke basketball. There will be little-to-no emotional connection.

I think enough time has passed for Laettner to look back on the game and smile and reminisce, and even crack a joke or two if he wants. Should he have "stomped" on Timberlake's chest? No, and he knows that. But the farther away we get from the incident, the less it matters. That game (as great as it was) and that specific icident will not even make it into your children's history book. It probably wouldn't even make it into a book on the history of sports. Maybe not even a book on the history of basketball.

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Folks,

The Laettner "stomp" incident is now, almost 20 years later, such an intrinsic part of perhaps the greatest game ever played that it is has started that inevitable, slow progression towards being nothing but a factoid about an important sporting event that occurred in the NCAA Tournament in 1992.

I know Duke fans that still get peeved about losing in the final to Lousville in 1986. But I must confess that I suddenly lack the usual emotions when watching this Duke team play because I was too young to remember the game. I only vividly recall the 90's Duke teams as a youngster.

My kids will only have an emotional tie to Duke games that occur in their lifetime, they will watch the same Laettner game and view it then as merely a historic game in the history of Duke basketball. There will be little-to-no emotional connection.

I think enough time has passed for Laettner to look back on the game and smile and reminisce, and even crack a joke or two if he wants. Should he have "stomped" on Timberlake's chest? No, and he knows that. But the farther away we get from the incident, the less it matters. That game (as great as it was) and that specific incident will not even make it into your children's history book. It probably wouldn't even make it into a book on the history of sports. Maybe not even a book on the history of basketball.

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

Not to Kentucky fans! If you ever want to see one turn red and have steam come out of his (or her) ears, walk up to him and whisper "Christian Laettner" into his ear and step back. Quickly. It never fails to irritate the heck out of one!

[SuperTurkey]

Not to Kentucky fans! If you ever want to see one turn red and have steam come out of his (or her) ears, walk up to him and whisper "Christian Laettner" into his ear and step back. Quickly. It never fails to irritate the heck out of one!

At the Duke/UK game in the Meadowlands in late 2001, I was walking through a group of maybe 10 Kentucky fratboys talking mess because of my Duke sweatshirt. I didn't say anything for a bit, but they were definitely annoying, so I just said one word: "Laettner." I thought 5 of them were going to take a swing at me.

[duke4ever19]

Even Kentucky fans will cool on the whole thing.

By 2070, if your great-great-grandkids go to a game and get harassed by UK fans about a guy back in the last century named Christian Laettner, then I will be shocked... and slightly disturbed.

Can you tell me how much college bball highlights you can remember from the 30's and 40's that rival fans still almost come to blows about? Nope. Neither can I.

[ricks68]

At the FF tonight I saw a young man in his 20's with a Kentucky blue shirt on with the words " I still hate Christian Laettner" on the front in big bold white letters. When I pointed to him (in my Duke 2010 Championship hat and Duke knit shirt) and said that I liked his shirt, he just smiled and said back "thanks". He was probably just a few years old when "the shot" took them out.

I had the biggest smile, however, when the Uconn "victs" took them out tonight. The Kentucky fans appeared to be so sure that they were going to win-------even up to the last 2 seconds when Uconn made the two foul shots that iced it. It was like a giant bag of hot air got released into the stadiium after the second foul shot was good. The Kentucky fans went from a gloating, cock-sure, arrogant mob to just plain deflated.

Now, we need Butler to take out the victs for the perfect ending.

ricks