Seth Greenberg - "Coaches want K to admit USA Basketball has helped Duke"

[ipatent]

Seth Greenberg actually did a good job keeping Virginia Tech competitive in the ACC.

[royalblue]

I can't remember which coach the following quote was meant to compliment..."He is so good he can beat you with his players and then turn around and beat you again with your players."

Bear Bryant

[OldPhiKap]

I can't remember which coach the following quote was meant to compliment..."He is so good he can beat you with his players and then turn around and beat you again with your players."

I don't know. But I do know that Ademola Okulaja beats himself.

[Indoor66]

I don't know. But I do know that Ademola Okulaja beats himself.

Let's not get dirty.

[MChambers]

I can't remember which coach the following quote was meant to compliment..."He is so good he can beat you with his players and then turn around and beat you again with your players."

Think it was said about Bear Bryant.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Seth Greenberg actually did a good job keeping Virginia Tech competitive in the ACC.

Seth - please don't refer to yourself in the third person.

[richardjackson199]

Apparently.

Capel's acumen has been cited frequently. Here, for example, or here. Winslow, Okafor ... a lot of the big names -- they all have pointed to Capel specifically.

There's plenty more out there.

UNC fans are quick to remind you that Capel was fired from Oklahoma in the midst of NCAA impermissable benefits. (They don't fire or even punish their coaches for such things, they give raises and contract extensions). The Keeley article you linked clarifies that had nothing to do with Capel. But it was his program (which was also losing at the time), and as such he took appropriate responsibility and was let go.

But for me, Capel's resume is more than adequate to be Duke's next head coach when the time comes (hopefully no time soon). What was Krzyzewski's resume when he started at Duke? He'd learned from Bob Knight who recommended him highly. Capel (among many others) has learned from K. So if K feels he's the right man for the job, that's good enough for me.

I love Capel. But more importantly, other than UNC fans and rival recruiters, everybody seems to love Capel. Laura Keeley talked about how even all the media loved him due to his charisma, and warm, available helpfulness. He's clearly a world class recruiter. Things didn't end well at Oklahoma, but to me he's shown he can coach and succeed as a head coach. And like the great article linked on today's front page shows, he is always learning how to be better and sustain a program. He's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it people like him.

Capel would be my vote, but I'd be equally happy with many others like Wojo, Mike Brey (never heard his name mentioned, but he can coach), Collins, Amaker, Hurley, Dawkins, etc. Or I'd be fine with some big name established coach like Brad Stevens, but I don't see that one happening. I'm sure it would be tough choosing between former assistants (it's like being asked to name your favorite child). But I trust K and I'm sure he will make the right choice.

[sagegrouse]

I can't remember which coach the following quote was meant to compliment..."He is so good he can beat you with his players and then turn around and beat you again with your players."

Think it was said about Bear Bryant.

The unforgettable Bum Phillips of the old Houston Oilers (referring to Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula) -- "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n." He also said the same line about Bear Bryant.

Kindly,
Sage
'I thought it originated with old Clemson coach Frank Howard, who was exceedingly country, but actually Phi Beta Kappa at Alabama'

[richardjackson199]

Besides learning from K, Capel comes from a family of coaches. His father, Jeff, was a good coach at Old Dominion and also spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach in the NBA.

His brother Jason's coaching career didn't go so well at Appalachian State when he was let go after a 9-21 season. But Jason did lead my all time favorite Tarheel team who finished even worse at 8-20.

It's true our Jeff started for Duke's troubled 13-18 group from 95. Even though that team barely lost to the #2 ranked Heels in OT, I'll remember him that season for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZvnJ_sngI

[johnb]

It's perhaps relevant that UCLA chose Gene Bartow to follow Wooden. An Alabaman, Bartow had been 8-18 at Illinois the previous year. Seems like a recipe for failure, but he racked up a 52-9 record over 3 seasons, including a Final Four. Of course, that was with Wooden's players. His replacement, Gary Cunningham, was 50-8 the following 3 years. They got Larry Brown in 1979, which is about when we got K. Since 1975 (the year Wooden left and K got the HC job at Army), UCLA has won 902 games. Those 902 are within striking distance of K's 1000+, but those wins come under NINE different coaches. While they've won a lot of games, UCLA is considered second tier since Wooden left. I'm certainly glad Duke got K and UCLA got Bartow, who was also a good coach with a similarly bad record at his prior school.

I'd say that K's task is to find a replacement who is willing to stay and then be successful for a couple of decades. Less emotionally secure coaches (leaders, CEO's) would be content to be remembered as the savior who was simply better than the next guy, but K is so steeped in leadership that I have a lot of confidence that he and the AD will find someone who can keep the train on its tracks into the indefinite future. As for whether we get one of the top 2 recruiting classes every year, that's another story.

Wandered into K replacement discussion... sorry about that, especially since I'd view it as 5 years premature..