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View Full Version : Duke Asst Coaches... Who is the next disciple?



MrBisonDevil
04-05-2010, 01:44 AM
Who would you like to see as the next disciple of Coach K? What specialty would he contribute to Duke or college basketball as a coach?

My choices:
Lance Thomas: After a little Coach K tutelage, he could be a great defensive & big man coach (in the short term).
Greg Paulus: After a little Coach K tutelage, he could be a fiery young mid-major head coach (in the short term).

Note: This thread is not about trashing folks. This thread does not mean the chosen disciple will be a washout in professional basketball (domestic or foreign). Additionally, this thread does not mean our current coaches should be removed.

Background: I was a student & Cameron Crazy when Chris Carrawell & Nate “B.A.” James were Duke players, but it never crossed my mind they would be on the sidelines as coaches. Now, I know they contribute something to Duke that may have been missing for a long time.

Who do you think is the next disciple?

peblnh8
04-05-2010, 01:50 AM
zooooooooooooobek!

Edouble
04-05-2010, 01:52 AM
Jon Scheyer: Head Coach, Duke University

SeattleIrish
04-05-2010, 02:11 AM
Honest-to-god, I read down through each of your's and thought, "Yeah, I agree. It should be him.", only to get to the next one and agree just as much!

I will say, unless it's Brian's undying passion, he can probably make just as much with his degree in finance; or at least close enough to make up for the difference in the stress load.

We are very fortuate to have these guys here...

s.i.

oldnavy
04-05-2010, 07:50 AM
Honest-to-god, I read down through each of your's and thought, "Yeah, I agree. It should be him.", only to get to the next one and agree just as much!

I will say, unless it's Brian's undying passion, he can probably make just as much with his degree in finance; or at least close enough to make up for the difference in the stress load.

We are very fortuate to have these guys here...

s.i.

Brian is going to spend some time in the NBA first... He WILL make an NBA roster, count on it.

Jon would be my guess, although I think Lance would be a great guy to have as well.... can we get them both? Or perhaps Johnny needs an assistant out at Stanford or Tommy up at Harvard...

TheRob8801
04-05-2010, 08:52 AM
Jon Scheyer: Head Coach, Duke University

As much as I love the guy, no.

I can't stand listening to him speak. Bleh...

BUT, if there is anyone on this roster that could be a standout coach it'd be Lance. I don't see Greg coming back and coaching, but he definitely would fit in. Watching the Carrawell and James teams back way back when I never would have thought they'd be court-side in suits contributing to the Coach K success tree, but they are...and in retrospect I can clearly see why. The passion and fire that those guys had on the court is the true essence of leadership, something we'd be hard-pressed to find any stronger than in LT.

grc5
04-05-2010, 09:09 AM
I'd love to see Zooubs as an assistant coach, if only to shut up those who like to harp on the fact that our big-man coach is 5'11" :D

BigZ
04-05-2010, 09:23 AM
Grant Hill!!!

weezie
04-05-2010, 09:34 AM
I'd be happy to volunteer!:D
No charge, just for the seat at the end of the bench and the awesome swag ;)

DukieInBrasil
04-05-2010, 09:47 AM
Brian is going to spend some time in the NBA first... He WILL make an NBA roster, count on it.

Jon would be my guess, although I think Lance would be a great guy to have as well.... can we get them both? Or perhaps Johnny needs an assistant out at Stanford or Tommy up at Harvard...

I agree that Z will make NBA roster(s), but what makes you think that Jon won't? Jon has a lot of skills that could very well find themselves desired by teams in the NBA. He needs to become a more consistent shooter, but he often does drain 5-10 3pt FGs in a game. Plus he has a good handle and gets the ball to the right people.

phaedrus
04-05-2010, 09:52 AM
zooooooooooooobek!

zoubs, point guard coach.

DukeSean
04-05-2010, 10:10 AM
zoubs, point guard coach.

haha, thanks for that start to the day

4decadedukie
04-05-2010, 10:16 AM
Jon, first as the Graduate Assistant. I have rarely -- if ever -- seen an individual with the basketball savvy, work ethic, team focus, brains, articulateness, and discipline that Jon has already demonstrated. As for his eventually becoming our head coach, it is obviously far too early to speculate.

allenmurray
04-05-2010, 10:19 AM
I'd love to see Zooubs as an assistant coach, if only to shut up those who like to harp on the fact that our big-man coach is 5'11" :D


zoubs, point guard coach.

Great job phaedrus. Duke should hire Zoubs to coach point guards. But also keep Wojo coaching the big men. Then we could watch the exploding heads on DBR. :D

CameronBornAndBred
04-05-2010, 11:31 AM
It will be a few years before we'd see any of the current team on the bench again. Here's my list from past players for the next guy in a suit.


DeMarcus Nelson (Not sure what he's up to, but I always loved his attitude)
David McClure (currently playing for Quinn Snyder in the D-league, hard to beat that for guys to continue learning the game from)
Sean Dockery (Like DeMarcus, not sure what he's up to)
Lee Melchionni (currently an NBA agent, going to law school at night, so he'd be a long shot, but I think he'd be good on the bench)

wilko
04-05-2010, 11:49 AM
IF such a chance were to arise.... It wouldn't break my heart to see someone new on the bench that hasn't been drinking the dark blue kool-aid, so to speak.

I dont have any particular candidates to name

Welcome2DaSlopes
04-05-2010, 12:22 PM
Jay Williams?

lotusland
04-05-2010, 01:19 PM
I like Zoobs or Grant Hill of the former players mentioned but I can't believe no one said Shane! Oviousy he's going to be busy for he next few years but afterwards come on home Shane!

Johnny D. should be the next Head Coach, not to push K out the door...

oldnavy
04-05-2010, 01:34 PM
I agree that Z will make NBA roster(s), but what makes you think that Jon won't? Jon has a lot of skills that could very well find themselves desired by teams in the NBA. He needs to become a more consistent shooter, but he often does drain 5-10 3pt FGs in a game. Plus he has a good handle and gets the ball to the right people.

I thought about that on my way to work after I posted it. To be totally honest I know very little about the NBA, don't watch it, don't read about it, and I don't follow the Blue Devils who are in the league, so I can not even guess if Jon will make a roster or not. I really hope he does, but I do know that 7"1" guys that have ANY type of skill make the NBA if for nothing else than practive fodder. Not saying tha Zoubs will be practice fodder, he probably will be a contributer at some point. But there are a lot less 7 footers to go around than there are 6'5" two guards.

I wish them all the VERY best, but I just cannot get into the NBA...

SupaDave
04-05-2010, 01:38 PM
Duhon...

Dunleavy - which makes a huge amount of sense...

greybeard
04-05-2010, 01:41 PM
Jay Williams?

Bingo, and I see him shooting to the top quickly.

Saratoga2
04-05-2010, 01:42 PM
I know it will be a while, but Nolan is an ardent Duke player and would make an excellent coach and representative of Duke. It turns our there are many great choices, but for me, Nolan would be perfect.

Matches
04-05-2010, 01:44 PM
Bingo, and I see him shooting to the top quickly.

I think he'll make more money in broadcasting. Ditto Battier once his playing days are over.

CameronBornAndBred
04-05-2010, 01:47 PM
I think he'll make more money in broadcasting. Ditto Battier once his playing days are over.
Broadcasting is really only a part time job, it lasts the length of the season. I wonder which job Bilas considers as his "side-job"..being a lawyer or broadcaster. I would guess broadcaster. Same for Williams..although I bet he makes more with his services in the financial sector. What I do love about Jay is his love of being around the game, he tried so many times to comeback. Coaching would be a good way for him to stay close.

Matches
04-05-2010, 01:52 PM
Broadcasting is really only a part time job, it lasts the length of the season. I wonder which job Bilas considers as his "side-job"..being a lawyer or broadcaster.

I could be wrong but I don't think Bilas practices law much if at all anymore. Pretty sure Moore & Van Allen shifted him to "of counsel" status a few years back. Even once the college bball season ends, there's the NBA Draft and lead-in to it, which goes to nearly the end of June. By early October preseason is rolling again. So it's part-time kind of the way being a high school teacher is part-time - takes up most of the year with one extended break.

DukieInBrasil
04-05-2010, 02:00 PM
Duhon...

Dunleavy - which makes a huge amount of sense...

Chris is too fond of the party scene for K to seriously take him on. He's a great player and a key part of Duke's legacy, but I don't think K would take him on as a coach unless Chris can settle down.

Dunleavy seems like a good candidate, but hopefully that will be several years down the road....

4decadedukie
04-05-2010, 02:45 PM
Dunleavy seems like a good candidate, but hopefully that will be several years down the road....

Mike left for the NBA a year early (although, I believe he eventually completed his Duke degree). Have any of our other recent assistants (Chris, Wojo, Nate, Tommy, Quinn, Johnny, etc.) done so? Would Coach K find this to be a minor disadvantage?

TheRob8801
04-05-2010, 03:09 PM
Johnny D. should be the next Head Coach, not to push K out the door...

Unless, by some means, Dawkins creates some sort of powerhouse out there in Stanford, I consider him the heir apparent. After him on the depth chart is definitely Wojo.

I just hope we're still debating this for 10-15 more years...

Matches
04-05-2010, 03:12 PM
Mike left for the NBA a year early (although, I believe he eventually completed his Duke degree). Have any of our other recent assistants (Chris, Wojo, Nate, Tommy, Quinn, Johnny, etc.) done so? Would Coach K find this to be a minor disadvantage?

Hasn't really come up yet. All but two of the guys who've left early are still in the NBA. Avery's not a candidate and JWill is broadcasting.

CameronBornAndBred
04-05-2010, 03:19 PM
Hasn't really come up yet. All but two of the guys who've left early are still in the NBA. Avery's not a candidate and JWill is broadcasting.
Also, while Williams left before 4 years, he graduated in three. He was sent off with K's strongest of blessings.

mgtr
04-05-2010, 03:19 PM
But didn't JWill at least leave with a degree? I think that would be a difference.

gotham devil
04-05-2010, 03:21 PM
Chris is too fond of the party scene for K to seriously take him on. He's a great player and a key part of Duke's legacy, but I don't think K would take him on as a coach unless Chris can settle down.....

Come on, Carrawell was a big-time partier too.
K obviously felt that people can mature.
If he's willing to move back to Durham, he would be a great recruiter.

TheRob8801
04-05-2010, 03:25 PM
But didn't JWill at least leave with a degree? I think that would be a difference.

Yes.

His mom wouldn't let him leave Duke without one. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1024318/2/index.htm)

greybeard
04-05-2010, 03:34 PM
I think he'll make more money in broadcasting. Ditto Battier once his playing days are over.

Not if he becomes a head coach of a big time program he won't. And, perhaps more importantly, I am terribly impressed with JWill; I think he was as brilliant on the court because he is brilliant ,period. I think that he communicates about the game in ways that would resonate with players. I also find him terribly authentic. Lastly, and most importantly, I can't imagine that he would prefer functioning as a talking head when he could be running a basketball program., and trying to build himself into the coach of a big time program.

I also think that talking heads for ESPN make a lot less money then you think. That has to be the case. Why else would a guy like Bilas, who obviously has a terrific mind and personality, spend so much time yaking away about basketball. :rolleyes:

GoingFor#5
04-05-2010, 03:39 PM
It's hard to say. There's only so much we can see as fans, but I would say the two attributes we can at least get an idea of is whether the guy is vocal and has a high basketball IQ. Scheyer plays very smart, but I don't think he likes to talk that much and might not want to coach. I could see Jay Williams easily coaching and since he's already decided to take up a career in college hoops, I don't see why not. He would be a great recruiter as well. Even the haters think he was a cool dude.

jwillrockyou
04-05-2010, 03:43 PM
Scheyer plays very smart, but I don't think he likes to talk that much and might not want to coach.

scheyer's actually already said that he wants to be a coach

theAlaskanBear
04-05-2010, 03:49 PM
Obviously, the head coaching discussion is a bit premature, because K hasn't given a timetable. Right now, Dawkins clearly is the frontrunner. But if 5-6 years pass, and Stanford produces only mediocre results, I wouldn't be surprised for Duke to go somewhere else. That said, Stanford is perfect preparation for the Duke program, due to issues with recruiting and academics. And I don't want to see Duke limit itself only to Coach K coaches, for any AD to do his job properly, he needs to also take a look at coaches not in the K-tree.

As far as assistants go, I really don't know. Zoubek strikes me as a very intelligent young man who could have an aptitude for coaching, but its just hard to tell because all the Duke players are so young. Once their playing careers end, it will be much easier to tell.

Unless Zoubek has injury issues, Lance seems like the player with the shortest pro-career ahead of him.

A person I would love to see on the sidelines is Grant Hill!

NSDukeFan
04-05-2010, 03:51 PM
http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20724

This guy might be worth considering. I hear his dad did some coaching and wasn't bad, either.

JD79
04-05-2010, 03:52 PM
JJ.

Every great shooter in the country would want to learn from the best.

Matches
04-05-2010, 03:56 PM
As far as assistants go, I really don't know. Zoubek strikes me as a very intelligent young man who could have an aptitude for coaching, but its just hard to tell because all the Duke players are so young. Once their playing careers end, it will be much easier to tell.



I have no idea whether Zoubek has any coaching acumen or interest in that direction, but wouldn't it be fantastic to have a 7'1" coach? What a presence he'd be on the sidelines!

sagegrouse
04-05-2010, 04:04 PM
Patrick Davidson -- deus ex machina.

We don't know how the magic works, but it is real, believe you me!

sagegrouse

Spam Filter
04-05-2010, 04:07 PM
I think the key to being a good coaching is being a good emotional leader.

That's why it's important for someone to be a vocal leader who can rally the troops.

I'm not sure Jon is really good at that. He's more the quiet leader by example type. That's something he has to work on if he wants to be a coach.

Of the players on this current team the one that fits the bill the most is Lance Thomas, I can definitely see him on the sidelines in the future.

As for K's replacement, I still really think Wojo and Collins will be in the running. Particularly Collins, I think Chris would make a terrific head coach.

greybeard
04-05-2010, 05:23 PM
Lance, I envision Lance having a long career playing basketball along the Mediterranian and Aegean Seas, having wonderful meals at night in the breeze, learning to speak multiple languages, charming the pants off (we'll skp this one), learning many, many new and old dances, learning many, many stories and becoming a great story teller himself.

When he has had his fill of that, Lance might become a sports agent, perhaps a sports executive.

Lance has too much life to live than to spend it watching film and keeping 18-22 year olds out of trouble. What a talented young man!

Capn Poptart
04-05-2010, 07:13 PM
I'd love - love - to see Shane Battier on the Duke bench at some point.

JaMarcus Russell
04-05-2010, 07:36 PM
I can definitely see Greg Paulus, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith being coaches in the future.

As for Dunleavy Jr., it's probably pretty tough to motivate a guy making tens of millions of dollars to come back to the college game, where the hours are long and the pay isn't that great. He is certainly a smart guy though (all three of the early entries from 2002 earned their degrees, and J-Will and Dunleavy were both Academic All-ACC), and I think he improved more than anyone in such a short time span. However, I doubt the big earners in the NBA like Battier, Dunleavy, Laettner, or Hill will come back in that regard.

Welcome2DaSlopes
04-05-2010, 07:54 PM
This maybe far in the future but Ty Thorton would love to coach after his playing days are over.

Spam Filter
04-05-2010, 08:16 PM
Yeah, I can't think of a single example of a big time successful NBA player with lots of money going into college coaching.

Okay, there is Isiah Thomas, but only because he was an abject failure as an NBA coach and executive.

DukeDevilDeb
04-05-2010, 08:49 PM
I like Zoobs or Grant Hill of the former players mentioned but I can't believe no one said Shane! Oviousy he's going to be busy for he next few years but afterwards come on home Shane!

Johnny D. should be the next Head Coach, not to push K out the door...

Shane is going to be POTUS... he cannot be a Duke Head Coach too! :D

Go Devils!