Doug Gottlieb

[oldnavy]

I don't think that Coach K is very comfortable in front of the media. This is just my opinion, but he isn't the most polished or charismatic speaker. That coupled with the way the media is just waiting to pounce on him for things he says, doesn't say, does or doesn't do... I don't blame him I would avoid it as well. The problem is that the media will read into that and claim (with no evidence) that he is arrogant or smug... can't win!

[jimsumner]

I'm sure we all remember the physical problems that K had in 1994/5. He felt that he was doing too many things, spreading himself too thin, and that overexposure was a contributing factor to his problems.

So he resolved to cut back. One part of that resolution was cutting back on media access. He does the post games, of course, talks to the media at Operation ACC basketball in the fall, and two or three times during the season, usually before the Carolina games. But he doesn't do a weekly meet-and-greet.

K has made a bit of an effort at becoming more accessible than in the past but it's not like you can just drop by the office and shoot the breeze. It is hard to get an interview with the man. So, yes, there is some resentment from some people. Many of you know that Greg Doyel wrote a book about Duke hoops a few years back and didn't get the kind of access to the program that he thought he deserved. Fill in the blanks. But I do think some of the kvetching on this issue is an off-shoot of the larger issue.

A second variable is that he is trying to help groom his assistants for head-coaching jobs and letting CC do this half-time interviews may be part of the process. Look at much he much time he gives his assistants on his TV show.

Or maybe he just doesn't want to waste thirty seconds on a totally pointless exercise. How likely is it that any coach is going to say anything of substance in this context? "Well, Erin, we need to focus on defense and take better care of the ball."

There are several ways to look at this. One is that K is very active, coaching internationally, involved with Coaches v. Cancer and the Jimmy V Foundation, and the Emily Krzyzewski foundation, and lots of other stuff, so rationing his time is and should be a high priority.

Others would suggest that if he has time for commericals or paid speaking engagements, then maybe he isn't all that pressed for time.

I think K is as comfortable in front of the media as other coaches. But he doesn't suffer fools gladly and I've seen him eviscerate media who asked him stupid questions. His intensity during a game is palpable and I think it's asking a lot of any coach to ratchet that down in a few minutes and meet with the media or anyone else after a hard-fought game. Then again, that is part of the job description.

I understand the frustration felt by some members of the media but my take is that the man has earned a fair amount of latitude in this area. And the specfic issue of the half-time interview seems to me to be awfully petty. But I thought I would put that in some context.

[Mudge]

In addition to very little of substance ever being uttered in these inane halftime interviews (which were never done 25 or even 15 years ago), it might have been instructive for ESPN to pair Jimmie Dykes' analysis of the way Duke handles in-game timeouts (Duke's players all sprint over to their huddle to maximize their time together in the timeout, providing an extra 15-20 seconds per timeout vs. teams with less focused, disciplined players), and then realize that maybe the biggest reason that Coach K doesn't do these interviews is that they are a useless distraction that take precious seconds and minutes away from his limited time to speak to his team during halftime.

Of course he doesn't do them, and he probably wouldn't even have Dawkins, Collins, or Wojo do them either (they are important members of Duke's halftime routine, as well), if he wasn't compelled to do so by some league agreement with the networks, but given he has to provide someone, it's probably pretty smart that the most important member of Duke's coaching staff has the full amount of halftime to actually spend time COACHING his players, rather than filling airtime with platitudes for the networks.

[dukemsu]

i think that it is kind of a chicken and egg thing -- the media is relatively harsh and critical of duke/k and k is relatively inaccessible and distant from the media. i'm not sure which came first but my guess is that it started from nothing and then slowly escalated over the years to this rather unique situation that exists today that isn't exactly warm and fuzzy.

This situation is funny, since when K was on the rise (before the win in 91) he was a favorite of the media. In many ways he has filled the role Dean used to-the guy at the top of the hill to take shots at.

K has certain media members that he gives access to (even though those are relatively limited, both in number and access given). In this way, he is a bit like his mentor, RMK. Of course, where he is not like RMK is that he does not put himself in situations where he might make himself or his university look bad, at least not often.

The national media is fabulously fickle. Their favorite go-to quote right now is Bruce Pearl, because he is a colorful quote who says things that make the press feel they are insiders, while in truth he is keeping them at a safe distance and using them for exposure for both his team and himself (he will listen if Indiana comes a-calling this offseason). He plays them like a piano. Once the media discovers this, they will find new people to fill this role. It is all the same, only the names have changed. Yes, I just quoted Bon Jovi.

Long story short, this is just the natural order of things. K was once an up and comer, he is now the target. It says a lot about both him and the state of his program that he has been the target for this long.


dukemsu