Coach K presser 3/26/14

[bedeviled]

I watched the presser and that's how I took Coach's comment on the AAU discussion

Well, okey-dokey, I stand corrected; it is a subjective disagreement. I didn't leave much room in my head for your perspective, but I'll try to give it more voice

[johnb]

I love how he seemed about 20 years younger than most of this season. Something about that blazer-and-no-tie look really worked, too.

...When Coach K talked about the potential for very good leadership next season, for some reason the guy I kept thinking of was Amile.

I agree with the youthfulness. Between his brother and the team not performing up to its potential, it was probably a stressful year.

I'm not sure about Amile. He seems like a terrific guy and will start unless we also have Turner or Parker (and might start even then), but I think K was emphasizing that it was important to have the leader also be one of the best players (he mentioned the Laettners and Hurleys not the Billy Kings and Chris Carrawells, who were very good but not great--and, yes, I do recall their accolades, but neither he nor Billy had the national overall reputation K is talking about. Though I'd bet he'd like a national defensive POY about now...

I don't think it as a slam at Hood or Parker, though maybe it was a challenge, but I do think it was a message to our incoming freshmen that the team's success will depend on them not just playing their game but forcing their teammates to elevate their own games. Jahlil and Tyus seem to b the more likely team leaders under that scenario, along with Sheed, though I wouldn't count out Justise, who's name and skills make me think he could surprise on the upside. Of course, anyone could bounce up with 6 months of development.

Oh, and K certainly hadn't lost his competitiveness. Last year was a loss, but if you reframe things into 5 year bunches as he says he does, well, we look very good (and if you look in a half dozen five-year bunches, as in 30 years, we're dominant)

http://www.barkingcarnival.com/2014/...d-expectations

I also liked his mention of Ohio recruiting. Was that a new recruit or just a subtle reminder that we just got a top 15 recruit who grew up bleeding Kentucky blue?

[LobstersPinchPinch]

I'm guessing 20% chance for Jabari to return, and a 50% chance we get Myles. I know the prevailing wisdom is for us to have neither on the team next year, but I'm unconvinced. Jabari may go with his gut feeling, his desire to be different, and his desire to live up to his own ideals rather than external expectation (ie, a big time decision), which could mean a sophomore year. And I haven't heard a single reason why it wouldn't be good for Myles to come to Duke; even if we already have a frontline of Jahlil, Jabari, Amile, and Marshall, he'd get 20-30 minutes a game, strong daily practices, and would get to avoid only playing center--which would be the case at most schools. The determining factor would, I'd guess, be his personal fit with us in comparison to, say, SMU or Kansas. But if he wants to come, no way we turn him down.

On Turner, even should Jabari leave this year (I think he'll be back), I think we're probably a distant 4th to KU, Texas, and SMU. We did need a stretch 4, but inexplicably Looney went to UCLA.

[killerleft]

Cook is such a strange case. There are times when he looks like a maestro at PG. But then he goes for games and games where he just looks like he's never run an offense before. Unfortunately, it has seemed like his best PG moments have come in November/December, and when ACC and NCAA play come he becomes less and less of a playmaking PG.

Hopefully the addition of Jones will take the pressure off of Cook. I still think he can be an effective playmaker. But maybe the burden of being the primary playmaker doesn't suit him? I don't know. I'm just hopeful that a Jones/Cook/Sulaimon trio can work magic next year as essentially a 3-man rotation at PG/SG. If Jones is as good as advertised and if Cook and Sulaimon can step up to All-ACC play, we may just be dynamite.

Sorry if this has been covered, but I am actually having to work hard today and can't keep up with threads. Anyway, I could see this happening. Quinn Cook is a special person. If Tyus Jones is as advertised, this would free Quinn up to do the things he does best, drive and shoot. When he's doing what he does best, Quinn Cook is a confidence machine. When Quinn Cook is a confidence machine, good things happen. Please, let Quinn Cook be a confindence machine. It beats trying to catch imaginary butterflies.

[tommy]

First, thanks for your transcript. I sporked you. I watched the presser and that's how I took Coach's comment on the AAU discussion. He might have meant the 2nd person on the conversation to be a parent, but I did get the feeling he was talking about individual play rather than team play and offense over defense. However if he didn't mean that to be the case, I feel like that's the issue with AAU basketball. Another thing is many of the players become good friends with players on opposing teams and that probably lessens the agony of defeat. This could carry over to college play as wellach K didn't mention that. That's my own opinion/2 cents, which will not buy anything these days. GoDuke!

It may not buy anything, but I definitely agree with you. In watching the AAU ball that I've watched, a lot of these guys are friends, many of them close friends. They bond over their common experiences over a period of years. And there's no question that the agony of defeat in these settings isn't just lessened, but it essentially doesn't exist. Not just because it hurts less to lose to a friend, but as has been discussed already on this thread, there's another game in 2 hours, or four, or both. And I also concur with you that it could be carrying over, at least to a degree, to college ball.

[greybeard]

I liked the larger message, but I think its one tied to an era that really no longer exists. In fact, its one where I'd love to hear a take from resident basketball philosopher and experienced youth coach, the one and only GREYBEARD!

In the old days, and we can argue over when this ended, kids played pick-up ball without ANY adults present. They made their way to the playground on bike, or on foot, or got dropped off, and formed up teams on their own. Two kids would be captains, naturally identified by their leadership in some tangible and intangible way, and the games would commence. Those kids on that court needed to figure out how to win to keep playing. No one was looking off the court for guidance from Mommy or Daddy or whichever dude was their AAU coach - they figured out how to win themselves. In that crucible, leaders emerged organically.

Now, because of uber parental supervision - both warranted in many cases and not in most others - this kind of dynamic doesn't happen. When kids meet up to play, adults are present. When adults are present, kids look to adults for guidance. Whichever adult cares enough to be the supervisor of the gym-time experience probably has a kid on the court, and that adult is going to tell that kid what to do. If the adult is coaching the AAU team, then his kid becomes a leader because the empowers the kid through nepotism-driven playing time, etc.

I think that's what K is talking about, leaders that emerge because they have inherent leadership ability that they develop organically - not because an adult blesses them with it.

Wow! Great stuff. Comports with my own experience and what I heard from a friend who Larry Brown had coached was also Brown's.

What for me was most significant was the diversity of play. You showed up at the court for a couple of hours and played on and against any number of "teams"--you lost, two new guys had shown up and had next before you, or guys had left, and they pick up players, which changes the composition of teams down the line. As a consequence, not stuck in a role, certainly none foisted upon you by an authoritative person. You played different styles, found ways to be impactful within a new group, sometimes leading, sometimes fitting in. Someone started playing inside calling for the ball, then invited with eyes for others to cut across or dive or screen away, pick and rolls were create, sets were initiated from the outside, tempos were changed, defenses, you learned by playing and watching, picking up new things/concepts that you went home and practiced with imagination. Tremendous environment for having fun with the game and for learning.