After Coach K

[allenmurray]

I would be shocked if he went elsewhere. Shocked.

Johnny is every bit a family man. His older son is a starter for the JV team at Northern High School here in Durham, and his younger son will start 8th grade next year. Even if JD considers a head coaching job somewhere other than Duke in the future, I'd be really surprised if it happened before his boys graduated from high school.

[Matches]

The future is a long time. Things change.

Indeed. K may coach another 7-8 years - the best candidate might be someone we're not even thinking of right now. Remember 7-8 years AGO we'd all have listed Quin and Amaker as strong candidates.

Dawkins would be my choice NOW - but I don't know that he will even stick around after K is gone.

Too early to tell with Capel. He's had nice results so far but still has much to prove. Not sure he'd want the job either - we DID boo him, after all.

Collins or Wojo are hard to imagine in the top spot - but that could certainly change in 7-8 years.

[camion]

If the change happens in the near future I'd like to see Capel, but I'm still hoping K will stay around long enough for Shane to take over.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Dawkins if he wants it, otherwise Jeff Capel, Jeff Capel, a thousand times Jeff Capel.

Duke has been and continues to be great for a number of reasons, but the most important, at least in my opinion, is the consistency of effort our teams show. Very rarely do you see anyone taking a possession off, much less a game. Scrapping for loose balls, tenacity on defense, and so on, those are Duke hallmarks, and are an attitude thing as much as anything else.

Attitude extends from the coach downward. From what I've seen of Capel's OU teams so far, there is no shortage of effort. Those guys are playing hard, getting every last inch out of their admittedly limited talent. They play like Duke. That's not an accident.

Remember, also, that the VCU team which took us out last year was, essentially, a Jeff Capel team, just a year removed from his stint there as HC.

I must take exception with the idea of Jeff Capel as a possible candidate for coaching at Duke. It's true that his teams have done well, but there is, in my opinion, and important element missing. Coach K is going to leave quite a legacy in terms of how he relates to people outside the basketball program. My experiences with Jeff in other settings was that he was not interested or willing to interact. I'm not talking about a gaggle of groupies following him wanting autographs. I'm talking about his behavior when sent out to schools to represent Duke and interact with students there. He was impatient and rude to elementary children and to adults. Johnny Dawkins has so much more class and that special quality presence that there is no comparison... and so does Wojo or Danny Ferry or Tommy Amaker or ....

[DukieInKansas]

If the change happens in the near future I'd like to see Capel, but I'm still hoping K will stay around long enough for Shane to take over.

Is that before or after Shane runs for President?

[3rd Dukie]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but let's not lose sight of the K coaching tree -- Amaker, Snyder, Bender, Swenson, Henderson and the guy who went to Fairfield (Tim Toole?). All fired, some out of the business altogether. Mike Brey has had moderate success, but his pedigree includes playing for and coaching under Morgan Wooten of DeMatha, arguably the best high school coach ever.

It cannot reasonably be argued that preparing his assistants for head coaching positions is one of K's strengths. Indeed, I think his success is largely attributable to unique personal qualities that aren't necessarily transferrable to his associates.

It's not hard to see potential in each of the three current assistants, but they need to be head coaches before being considered for the Duke job. The next head coach of Duke needs a track record as head coach. When K takes his leave of Duke, every tribute should be extended, except the right to name his successor and "keep it in the family." Dean got that privilege, and while Gut had some success, it's fair to say he took a lot of steam out of the program.

Very well said, EXCEPT that I see no reason not give K a very large role, and maybe sole authority, in choosing the next coach. It would not shock me if he chose someone outside of Duke. Your point regarding his strength in preparing his assistants makes sense to me intuitively. However, my guess is that he recognizes that fact at least as well as any of us.

Otherwise, I agree 100%.

[BigTedder]

When K retires, we should get Bobby Knight...he's gonna live forever, so he'll be available. Hell, I'll probably die before Coach Knight will. haha

[3rd Dukie]

I see Montgomery as a re-treaded also ran. I would hope that Duke would look for a young, experienced head coach of a smaller school who had earned a shot at the big time. Maybe someone from Army or the like. I would rather have "our" coach than someone else's semi-successful guy. Collins might be OK but Jason Capel is out earning a job in the rough and tumble as a head coach.

Of course the whole discussion is about a decision that is about 10+ years away and might be considered premature...

Your comment RE: Montgomery is spot on. I live practically next door to Stanford and have followed them for about 15 years. While Mike, in my opinion, was certainly superior to the current Stanford coach and was a pretty good fit for Stanford, he is in NO way qualified to be considered for the Duke job.
Good call! "Also ran" is a very good assessment.

[thomas]

I decided to weigh in on this discussion.

Most importantly, I wish Coach K the best of health, and hope he is able to be in control of his retirement.

Having attended the 1st K Academy, and getting to know Chris Collins better, i can attest to his excellent communication skills and amazing ability to analyze the game. Not that others are not capable, but I am confident that Collins will be a very successful head coach somewhere, if not at Duke. I was incredibly impressed with him.

I also found Bobby Hurley to be a very genuine, humble, and likeable guy. If I were a parent, and he came in my living room to recruit my son, I'd be asking for the papers to sign.

[Ignatius07]

I always got the impression that Collins was the low-man on the totem pole of the Duke staff. Not to suggest in any way that K does not like or respect him, just that Wojo and - obviously - Dawkins are higher in the pecking order.

[watzone]

Talking about this for the umpteenth time, in the middle of the season, sure is timely.

This is one of those threads that truly tests DBR old timers. And as you said ... the timing ... surely there is more to talk about during a wonderful season. For those who think I am being a jerk, I have been quite involved and opionated in several of these over the years. At least they were in the Summer

[Pernell]

I'm not as regular as years past and so I'm not sure if there
has already been discussion on this topic, but if Jeff/Oklahoma
won the national championship or even became a powerhouse over the next couple of years, would Jeff be given serious consideration to succeed K or is it pretty much Johnny's job?


PSB III

[Lulu]

This must be a great conversation to be having right now when we're trying to recruit at the same time. Can we not wait until K expresses the slightest indication that he could be leaving soon before we start any paranoia? If recruiting suffers just because of his age he might have to leave before he's even ready.

It's gotta be JD though when he goes. Just has to be.

[UncleBill]

My twins boys are two years and four months old, Class of '27, I think, and we are telling them they will be playing for Coach Dawkins. If Daddy says it, it MUST be true.

[dukepsy1963]

I hate threads like this....... I just want K to stay around for another 20 years... So, I am going to stick my head in the sand on this discussion.

I know, I know...it's eventually gotta come; but I am having too much fun right now.......

[MulletMan]

While I concur with Wat that there is much better stuff to talk about now than who will succeed K at some unknown time, the one thing that I won't worry about is what recruits are taking away from this thread. Honestly, do you think that K's longevity and succession plans aren't discussed in depth with recruits and thier families? I'm sure that K, JD, Collins, and Wojo have these discussions with the kids and thier parents ad nauseum.

[Mike Corey]

My twins boys are two years and four months old, Class of '27, I think, and we are telling them they will be playing for Coach Dawkins. If Daddy says it, it MUST be true.

That's outstanding.

[topps coach]

I hope K stays for many years for many more years but coaching is a young personsgame requiring a tremendous amoint of energy. K seems to have found the fountain of youth righy but at age 61this may be a year to year thing. We should savor every game and season that he is here.

With this mind remember weare DUKE and we will continue to be great. We struggled for a while when Vic Bubas retired but recovered with Bill Foster. K did not inherit a great team but look where we are now. K will not leave his successor with an empty cupboard. So when K finally retires hopefullyten plus years from now DUKE will still be DUKE

[Surfsideron]

K will not leave his successor with an empty cupboard. So when K finally retires hopefully ten plus years from now DUKE will still be DUKE

If K stays for 10 more years, than I would bet the Greg Paulus would have a good shot at the coaching position.

I don't believe Greg has an NBA future but he has "coach" written all over him. He is a fierce competitor, knowledgeable, is well spoken and liked by those who really know him.

Once he graduates Duke, look for him to prep somewhere, with K's help and guidance, for a few years, come to Duke as an assistant and then step into the job.

I think he would be a terrific coach.

[JBDuke]

This topic has been covered ad naseum and serves no purpose in the middle of the season. If you wish to re-examine this topic, please do it after the season is concluded.

This thread is CLOSED.