After Coach K, The Next Coach at Duke [Archive]

Marcus

04-05-2011, 07:55 AM

Last night after watching the NCAA championship and watching Butler and Uconn Slug it out.... I noticed a few different things.... I noticed how much more talented Uconn was, obviously.... I noticed how composed Brad Stevens was even with his team down 11.... and out of desperation with 10 minutes to go he went to a 2-3 zone to try and force turnovers or for his team to get a lucky rebound... After the horn sounded and Uconn won their 3rd National Championship of the Jim Calhoun Era... The main thing I noticed was how old Jim Calhoun looked... Sure, He's the oldest coach to win a National Championship at 68... but it got me thinking...How much longer does Coach K have left... it's inevitable.. the thought atleast of replacing our hall of fame Coach. I am just wondering what some of you guys would think of a good replacement. Would Duke actually keep it in the family and hire one of Duke's former assistants under Coach K or would they step out of the family and hire "the best available?" Duke is a prized job... It is the Job! Expectations are to NEVER lose and the fan base is incredible. I'd like to see a guy like Brad Stevens Coach Duke one day... Look what he's been able to do with much, much less talented teams.... The guy looks like a nerd but almost always outsmarts his opposing coach ...except for Coach K and Calhoun of course...two hall of fame coaches!

Ima Facultiwyfe

04-05-2011, 08:27 AM

I don't even want to think about it.
Love, Ima

davekay1971

04-05-2011, 08:30 AM

I don't even want to think about it.
Love, Ima

No need to. Coach K shows no signs of slowing down and he's made no indication that he has any thought of retirement. Whenever he decides to retire, be it 5 or 10 (or however many) years from now, we can look at the best candidates and speculate at that time.

I'd submit the mods could lock this thread and unlock it when Coach K announces his plans to retire.

moonpie23

04-05-2011, 08:57 AM

well, i'm kinda old......but folks predicting that my retirement is imminent are in for a shock.....I hope coach K coaches till he doesn't WANT to coach any more...

noyac

04-05-2011, 09:20 AM

I don't even want to think about it.
Love, Ima

I fully agree. The thought is not even a blip on my radar

PADukeMom

04-05-2011, 09:34 AM

Joe Paterno has 20 years on K so replacing him is not even a thought in my head.

miramar

04-05-2011, 10:10 AM

Coach K should retire when he looks as old as Calhoun or when he has 10% as much gray hair as I do (and I'm 10 years younger).

NashvilleDevil

04-05-2011, 10:37 AM

Doesn't this thread pop up about 2 or 3 times a year?

stillcrazie

04-05-2011, 10:43 AM

The other problem with this topic, IMO, is the obsession with Brad Stevens. You could look at the Carolina boards and find the same sentiment. Everyone thinks they are entitled to Stevens when their coach retires. Hopefully, K's retirement is so far off that when it happens, there will be a whole new crop of coaches we'll be talking about.

IBleedBlue

04-05-2011, 10:46 AM

Philsfan

04-05-2011, 10:52 AM

Brad Stevens is halfway home to becoming the NCAA hoops equivalent of Marv Levy. Both are great coaches, obviously.

J4Kop99

04-05-2011, 10:56 AM

will be Brad Stevens and all of you can live happily ever after.

MulletMan

04-05-2011, 10:59 AM

Brad Stevens is halfway home to becoming the NCAA hoops equivalent of Marv Levy. Both are great coaches, obviously.

Yeah... and so was Coach K in 1990.

mkirsh

04-05-2011, 11:09 AM

I'm a huge Stevens fan as well - I'm impressed with Butlers offensive and defensive sets, the level of effort they consistently play with, his recruiting of good players and kids (Hayward, Mack, Nored, etc), and even his composure in media interviews. That said, it's WAY too early to judge how good he is when looking at such a small sample size. You don't need to look much farther than our own Duke coaching tree to see coaches who were highly acclaimed early (Capel, Amaker, Snyder) who ended up falling on tougher times. Sometimes coaches land a great team that propels them to great tourney success and then they have a hard time re-creating that (Donovan and UF, Smith at UK, etc). Maybe Stevens will turn out to be the next Coach K or Tom Izzo and build a lasting program (I'm rooting for him), but maybe he will be the next Tom Crean or Steve Lavin or Matt Dougherty and have difficulty recreating the success of this particular team, it's just way too early to tell.

I also find it interesting how much weight is placed on tournament performance when assessing coaches. Would we feel differently about Stevens if Howard hadn't hit his last second shot against ODU, or if Butler lost to Pitt? Similarly, Shaka Smart is the hottest coach around because his team won 5 consecutive games in March and everyone is willing to overlook the 11 loss regular season?

loldevilz

04-05-2011, 11:09 AM

Every school wants Brad Stevens to be their next coach. Go to IC, PackPride and you will find similar threads. Brad Stevens looks like he is on his way to being Coach K of Butler University.
Don't be surprised if Butler keeps busting the brackets year in and year out until people start hating them as they hate us.

I really don't think that will be possible at Butler. Butler has 2 great players at the two most important positions Center and Point guard: Howard and Mack. Those two don't come around every day, especially if you are a midmajor.

weezie

04-05-2011, 11:38 AM

Doesn't this thread pop up about 2 or 3 times a year?

Yeah, kinda like hay fever.

And Stevens impresses me as a good, level-headed coach but an indiana homer all the way.

revmel53

04-05-2011, 11:58 AM

I said to my children last week that we will be looking for someone of Stevens' caliber in ten years. And don't believe any of our Duke Assistants, former players, etc. have shown the potential Stevens has. Let's watch the next five years closely.

SCMatt33

04-05-2011, 12:00 PM

This seems to pop up every year around now when there is suddenly not a lot to talk about. At 64, I don't think that it's "too soon" to talk about in terms of when it will happen and what type of person will be a good replacement, but today's coaching landscape changes so quickly that even if he were to retire at the soonest reasonable point (which I think would be 2 years from now), the list of candidates would look entirely different than it does today. That being said, it certainly is on my radar because when it happens, I wouldn't want Duke to make a mistake in hiring and end up with a Billy Gilespie instead of a Bill Self. When it comes to things that are this important, speculation is always a fun and interesting topic, but trying to pin specific candidates now is a fruitless conversation.

Two things that I do enjoy discussing is when this decision will need to made and what "type" of coach would be ideal for the job. As far as the first one goes, the questions are "when should he" and "when will he." The answer to the first is pretty easy...whenever he feels like it. That answer makes the second question fun, since it is now a guessing game of what Coach K is thinking (or will think), and who doesn't love guessing games. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that the first reasonable opportunity would be two years from now, at the end of the 2013 season. I would think that his last coaching job will be Duke, so I doubt that he would retire before coaching at least one season after the 2012 Olympics. Further evidence that he won't retire in the immediate future is the 2012-13 freshman class that he is already putting together. I don't think a coach would recruit that far out and not intend to coach them. At the end of 2013, Coach K will be 66 years old. That puts him right in the same age range as several other coaching greats in terms of retirment (John Wooden at 64, Dean Smith at 66, and Bob Knight at 67). At that point, I wouldn't be surprised to see him retire after any season. It becomes about desire at that point to keep going through the grind of coaching full time. He is a big family man, and I'm sure he'd love to spend more time with his grandchildren. He's not big on his own personal records, but I doubt that he could get to win 990 without going for 1000 (it's very possible that his win total is in the 990's after 2014). I also don't see him as the Joe Paterno type, who will just keep coaching til he drops. My guess (which is as bad as everyone else's) is that he goes another 4-6 years.

As for type, the first big question is whether Duke's next hire will be a "Duke guy," someone who has played for/coached for Duke in the past. That's a tough question to answer. My gut says that they would love to hire a Duke Guy, but there has to be one who is young enough to stay for a long time and have already had some head coaching success. We'll see if anybody fits that bill when the time comes. If not, I think Duke will look elsewhere.

snowdenscold

04-05-2011, 12:00 PM

Doesn't this thread pop up about 2 or 3 times a year?

I think it's ongoing in two or three others at the moment, actually.

Atlanta Duke

04-05-2011, 12:16 PM

well, i'm kinda old......but folks predicting that my retirement is imminent are in for a shock.....I hope coach K coaches till he doesn't WANT to coach any more...

As posted above, I know some Penn State football fans who will tell you be careful what you wish for with regard to a coaching legend staying on the job as long as he wants to do so :)

The man who handled his exit the best was Coach Wooden - knowing when it is time to step down is a tough but necessary part of being a legendary coach

PADukeMom

04-05-2011, 12:38 PM

As posted above, I know some Penn State football fans who will tell you be careful what you wish for with regard to a coaching legend staying on the job as long as he wants to do so :)

The man who handled his exit the best was Coach Wooden - knowing when it is time to step down is a tough but necessary part of being a legendary coach

I'm a life-long Penn State fan but even I am of the opinion that Penn State needs to make JoePa "coach for life" & then hire a real coach to coach the team.

As for K(swear he found the fountain of youth) I am just fine with him coaching as long as he wants to. I'm not one to jump on the Stevens Bandwagon. Let's sit back & see how he & his team handle success, the pressure to stay on top & the vitrol that goes along with success. IIRC wasn't Gonzaga the media darlings a few years ago? I would hope that Duke would, when the time comes, keep the job in the family. Who wouldn't mind Coach Battier, Hill or Hurley?

CrazyNotCrazie

04-05-2011, 12:58 PM

I don't think this is a topic that bears discussion during the season, but now that it is the off-season, I think it is very relevant. I have the utmost respect for Coach K and eternal gratitude for everything he has done for Duke, and he should be entitled to coach as long as he wants to. However, Coach K is often compared to a CEO, and most large, successful companies have a succession plan for their CEO. Similarly, Duke will need some type of plan for life post-Coach K. He will be pushing 70 when kids currently in HS are graduating from college. I am sure that other schools are using that to recruit against us - "if you want to play for Coach K, there is a good chance he will be gone by the time you're done at Duke." He and Duke are under no obligation to share a plan with us, the loyal masses, but hopefully if a prospect asks, he has a good answer.

I don't know how JoePa handles this situation, but in football, there is less of a direct relationship between the head coach and the player since there are multiple layers of assistants between them and there are much more players on the team.

superdave

04-05-2011, 02:27 PM

uh_no

04-05-2011, 02:44 PM

Coach K has suggested Dawkins (http://www.aolnews.com/2008/04/28/coach-k-told-stanford-that-johnny-dawkins-is-likely-his-successo/)as his successor. Johnny not Andre. Until he says anything different, that's what wise men such as myself will continue to believe. As for how long it will be, check out Barry Jacobs' recent interview (http://www.accsports.com/contributors/barry-jacobs.php) and you will get a sense of what's on Coach K's mind.

While I tend to go with what coach K says, think in the end johnny will be too old to be a legitimate successor. Coach K will probably coach 5-6 more years, by which time JOhnny will be 53. That gives him about 15 years to coach the team. I'm sure coach K would want in some part to protect his legacy as duke's best coach....idk, I'm torn. I guess it's not too old, I guess I'm just a huge fan of continuity so would rather see a guy in his late 30's (ala brad stevens) who could coach for closer to 30 years.

Obviously theres 0 guarantee of success, but from hearing K speak, I would have to say that his successor will most definitely be in the duke family, and johnny is the most likely candidate.

J4Kop99

04-05-2011, 02:49 PM

SoCalDukeFan

04-05-2011, 05:23 PM

Whomever follows Coach K will not be Coach K. The Duke faithful will need to maintain high expectations and standards, but realize that the coach is not Coach K.

I would hope and expect that the next coach avoids NCAA issues and embarrassments. I hope all of his recruits value going to Duke and benefit by their stay. Naturally I hope we win every game, but I would rather lose a few than recruit say a Nate Miles type.

SoCal

fgb

04-05-2011, 05:55 PM

Indoor66

04-05-2011, 06:01 PM

i'm curious about what sort of role k will have in duke basketball, one he has retired from coaching. i have a really hard time seeing him as someone who can just walk away; i think what will ultimately bring the coaching phase of his career to a close is the physical toll of game coaching, especially for a guy with two artificial hips. i think once that happens, though, there will be a lot of years in which he'll stay involved; i could see duke creating a position, sort of the college equivalent of a professional gm or team president, working just under the ad and running the basketball program.

Personally, I hope that when he retires he only returns to Cameron to watch games or if he is specifically invited. I hope that the next coach is not constantly looking over his shoulder. I seriously doubt that K would do that, but being second guessed by a legend is a hard life. Take a cue from Wooden and be completely out of the loop.

Bojangles4Eva

04-05-2011, 06:23 PM

I'm a life-long Penn State fan but even I am of the opinion that Penn State needs to make JoePa "coach for life" & then hire a real coach to coach the team.

As for K(swear he found the fountain of youth) I am just fine with him coaching as long as he wants to. I'm not one to jump on the Stevens Bandwagon. Let's sit back & see how he & his team handle success, the pressure to stay on top & the vitrol that goes along with success. IIRC wasn't Gonzaga the media darlings a few years ago? I would hope that Duke would, when the time comes, keep the job in the family. Who wouldn't mind Coach Battier, Hill or Hurley?

I'm currently a grad student at PSU and have a good friend and former roommate who used to play O-line for them (was in the FLA ST Orange bowl game) and he said that Paterno has been out of it for a while. I have also tutored many players on the PSU team, and while they have not said anything specific about JoPa, I have spent countless hours in the football facility and never seen him, while other coaches are constantly around. General sentiment around here is that he is a face for the program, but behind the scenes others are doing most of the work. I would hate to see something similar with K, but I think he will leave when he doesn't feel he can give it the same passion and attention that he does now. That being said, I hope he is coaching at the level he is now until he's 82, but that’s highly unlikely....

licc85

04-05-2011, 06:26 PM

I doubt Duke will refuse to hire someone from outside the Duke family. After all, Coach K himself had no ties to Duke prior to getting the job. As I mentioned several times in the wojo/collins thread, I'm a huge proponent for Brad Stevens to to be the guy. He's such a perfect fit for Duke, although I'm not 100% sure he would take the job. It is, however, probably the best or 2nd best job in college basketball. It would be very difficult to pass up. The pressure of coaching at Duke will be intense, especially replacing a legend. I, for one believe that Stevens has the demeanor and the confidence to take such a job and handle the pressure with ease. He might end up coaching at UConn, Syracuse, or possibly Indiana before K even retires though.

Duvall

04-05-2011, 06:35 PM

I doubt Duke will refuse to hire someone from outside the Duke family. After all, Coach K himself had no ties to Duke prior to getting the job. As I mentioned several times in the wojo/collins thread, I'm a huge proponent for Brad Stevens to to be the guy. He's such a perfect fit for Duke, although I'm not 100% sure he would take the job. It is, however, probably the best or 2nd best job in college basketball. It would be very difficult to pass up. He might end up coaching at UConn, Syracuse, or possibly Indiana before K even retires though.

UConn isn't that great a job, and Syracuse has its in-house successor in Mike Hopkins. Indiana is a real possibility, though.

Duke basketball is in a very different place from where it was in 1980. I would be very surprised if Duke's next coach isn't someone with extensive ties to the program.

uh_no

04-05-2011, 06:43 PM

UConn isn't that great a job, and Syracuse has its in-house successor in Mike Hopkins. Indiana is a real possibility, though.

Duke basketball is in a very different place from where it was in 1980. I would be very surprised if Duke's next coach isn't someone with extensive ties to the program.

To append: Kevin Ollie will likely be Jim Calhoun's successor.

gep

04-05-2011, 06:44 PM

Duke basketball is in a very different place from where it was in 1980. I would be very surprised if Duke's next coach isn't someone with extensive ties to the program.

I was about to mention this. I didn't follow Duke basketball (or even much college basketball) before 1980. But while Duke was successful prior to then, I don't think there was also such a "lasting legacy" back then, either. With the current Duke basketball legacy and culture, I would think the first successor to Coach K will be from within... if only to keep some kind of initial continuity. Maybe a few years after that, who knows...

And, with all of the names thrown about, I thought, well, in 5-10 years, where will Greg Paulus be?:cool: He'd be young enough (very early 30's) at least, and who knows where he'll go or how he'll grow in that time.

langdonfan

04-06-2011, 09:14 AM

I'd submit the mods could lock this thread and unlock it when Coach K announces his plans to retire.

LMAO, when I read this post I nearly broke my finger scrolling up to see exactly when it was posted! :)

langdonfan

04-06-2011, 09:39 AM

bjornolf

04-06-2011, 09:47 AM

I think part of the problem here is that we have NO idea how long K will stay as coach. A legitimate candidate now might not be in five years, and definitely might not be in a decade. One of the absolute keys to K's success has been longevity and stability, and if they want that, they need someone young and dynamic who can learn on the job, like K did. Many schools pull the trigger too fast, being desperate for success, or the coach takes a different opportunity too soon. We don't want to be that school. If K sticks around long enough, someone like Dawkins might become too old to fill that role. Dawkins may become a great coach, but he's already 47. If K sticks around even a few more years, Dawkins will be nearing the end of his career when he STARTS at Duke, which I think we'd want to avoid. K is only 16 years older than Dawkins. We don't want a guy that we're gonna need to replace again after five years.

formerdukeathlete

04-06-2011, 11:03 AM

I was about to mention this. I didn't follow Duke basketball (or even much college basketball) before 1980. But while Duke was successful prior to then, I don't think there was also such a "lasting legacy" back then, either. With the current Duke basketball legacy and culture, I would think the first successor to Coach K will be from within... if only to keep some kind of initial continuity. Maybe a few years after that, who knows...

And, with all of the names thrown about, I thought, well, in 5-10 years, where will Greg Paulus be?:cool: He'd be young enough (very early 30's) at least, and who knows where he'll go or how he'll grow in that time.

What Paulus did at Syracuse in one year, elected a team captain, turned down opportunities to play in Europe, and the USFL as QB, almost signed by the Saints, and where playing in the other leagues might have lead to another opportunity in the NFL, he really wanted to be a college basketball coach. Who among the names tossed about has K's competitive drive, and who among these names is the same level of quality person? Paulus has to be up there in these regards.

He will have to have a head coaching job first. Shaka Smart was a head coach at 30. K coaches 10 more years and Paulus has done well as a head coach for a couple of years, he'd be a contender for the Duke job.

cptnflash

04-06-2011, 07:15 PM

I'd like to see a guy like Brad Stevens Coach Duke one day...

I wouldn't... I'd like to see Brad Stevens himself coach at Duke, the day after Coach K hangs 'em up (which hopefully is still a long way off)!

sporthenry

04-06-2011, 07:23 PM

I just see no way Stevens comes to Duke. It would take perfect timing. I suspect if he is going to leave, it will be in the next few years if/when he has some struggles and the IU job miraculously opens up.

K will probably be at Duke for at least 4-5 more years, so if Stevens continues his current success, he will have no reason to leave Butler as he will have created his own program or if he falls off a bit, than I suspect Duke would want a better coach.

I think Stevens is a great coach but one thing I started questioning was how he would do with great players. It is obvious that he can ugly up a game and win just like K did with last year's national title game. But the problem is when you ugly up a game, you allow an inferior team to beat you as was probably the case with some losses Butler suffered. K has shown he is willing to win ugly but would prefer to blow the other team out of the gym when given the right team.

rocketeli

04-06-2011, 08:32 PM

Raleighfan

04-06-2011, 09:13 PM

I was about to mention this. I didn't follow Duke basketball (or even much college basketball) before 1980. But while Duke was successful prior to then, I don't think there was also such a "lasting legacy" back then, either. With the current Duke basketball legacy and culture, I would think the first successor to Coach K will be from within... if only to keep some kind of initial continuity. Maybe a few years after that, who knows...

And, with all of the names thrown about, I thought, well, in 5-10 years, where will Greg Paulus be?:cool: He'd be young enough (very early 30's) at least, and who knows where he'll go or how he'll grow in that time.

I think you're spot on when you talk about "Duke culture". As a graduate of a large state university (but now a True Blue Duke fan), I have the perception that the "culture" at Duke is a lot different than is the "culture" at my alma mater especially with regard to BB and further, it's going to take someone who's actually lived/played basketball at Duke to keep that special culture alive and well after K departs. My thought is that an "outsider" just wouldn't get it.

sagegrouse

04-06-2011, 11:33 PM

FYI Wooden did not want to retire-at the time there was mandatory retirement for state employees at age 65.

Don't you think if Wooden had uttered a single word of regret, the legislature would have changed the law in an instant?

Incidentally, the only time I saw John Wooden out in public was, appropriately enough, at St. John's hospital in Santa Monica, at the time of the birth of one of my daughters. St. John's, eh?

sagegrouse

tommy

04-06-2011, 11:40 PM

Personally, I hope that when he retires he only returns to Cameron to watch games or if he is specifically invited. I hope that the next coach is not constantly looking over his shoulder. I seriously doubt that K would do that, but being second guessed by a legend is a hard life. Take a cue from Wooden and be completely out of the loop.

Wooden's successors didn't have to look over their shoulders. The old coach was seated directly across the court from the UCLA coach, in the third row I believe, at every home game up until the year before last, when he physically couldn't do it anymore. While Coach would never have said anything critical or in the nature of second guessing, he was watching, and everyone knew it.

tommy

04-06-2011, 11:43 PM

I think (or at least I hope :confused:) this is going to be contingent upon Dawkins being successful at Stanford.

You said it. All this talk about keeping it in the Duke family: Sure, if the member of the family/prospective new coach has proven that he is worthy, if he has proven that he can run a successful -- no, very successful -- high major program already. To me, Duke family or not, if you haven't demonstrated that, I don't think you should be considered. If you have, great -- your Duke credentials will give you a major leg up on others who have proven themselves but don't have the Duke experience in their backgrounds.

tommy

04-06-2011, 11:45 PM

I just see no way Stevens comes to Duke. It would take perfect timing. I suspect if he is going to leave, it will be in the next few years if/when he has some struggles and the IU job miraculously opens up.

It won't take a miracle for the IU job to open up. The natives are already restless, from what I've read. They want to see some results from Crean next year or that seat is really going to warm up. Maybe Stevens is waiting for that. Who knows?

J.Blink

04-06-2011, 11:55 PM

You said it. All this talk about keeping it in the Duke family: Sure, if the member of the family/prospective new coach has proven that he is worthy, if he has proven that he can run a successful -- no, very successful -- high major program already. To me, Duke family or not, if you haven't demonstrated that, I don't think you should be considered. If you have, great -- your Duke credentials will give you a major leg up on others who have proven themselves but don't have the Duke experience in their backgrounds.

I agree with this, though I do think that putting in requirements that a future coach has to have already run a very successful high major program can be somewhat problematic (does Army count?). Yow's search requirements for NCSU that a coaching candidate must have a string of NCAA appearances for instance. I think there's something to be said for less set in stone rules...

Out of curiosity, in a somewhat analogous situation, did UNC ever look outside the "UNC family" in the post-Dean years?

tommy

04-07-2011, 12:03 AM

I agree with this, though I do think that putting in requirements that a future coach has to have already run a very successful high major program can be somewhat problematic (does Army count?).

Completely different situation than when Duke hired K. The program -- and the sophistication of college basketball and therefore the skillset needed to run a high major program -- are light years beyond what they were 30 years ago. Duke is the premier program in the nation, and should not have to feel that it is taking any kind of chance on its next coach. The next coach needs to have already established beyond any doubt that he can handle it.

Out of curiosity, in a somewhat analogous situation, did UNC ever look outside the "UNC family" in the post-Dean years?

I don't think so, and they endured two unhappy tenures: Guthridge -- successful on the court, but not in recruiting, leading to fan and alumni discontent -- and Doh, a complete disaster.

gep

04-07-2011, 02:21 AM

K will probably be at Duke for at least 4-5 more years, so if Stevens continues his current success, he will have no reason to leave Butler as he will have created his own program or if he falls off a bit, than I suspect Duke would want a better coach.

At the same time, Johnny Dawkins, and maybe even Wojo and Chris will have established themselves in their own programs, and may "have no reason to leave"...

You said it. All this talk about keeping it in the Duke family: Sure, if the member of the family/prospective new coach has proven that he is worthy, if he has proven that he can run a successful -- no, very successful -- high major program already. To me, Duke family or not, if you haven't demonstrated that, I don't think you should be considered. If you have, great -- your Duke credentials will give you a major leg up on others who have proven themselves but don't have the Duke experience in their backgrounds.

To echo the above... if a member of the "family" has proven he is worthy, I would think he'd stay where ever that is, especially a high-major program.

I agree with this, though I do think that putting in requirements that a future coach has to have already run a very successful high major program can be somewhat problematic (does Army count?).

see above...

Duke is the premier program in the nation, and should not have to feel that it is taking any kind of chance on its next coach. The next coach needs to have already established beyond any doubt that he can handle it.

As someone else (or others) have posted, no future coach can be Coach K. He will have to create his own style, legacy, etc. As such, maybe the next coach doesn't have to be established beyond a doubt that he can "handle" it, but be able to show that he CAN create it. Like Greg Paulus???:cool:

sporthenry

04-07-2011, 03:45 AM

It won't take a miracle for the IU job to open up. The natives are already restless, from what I've read. They want to see some results from Crean next year or that seat is really going to warm up. Maybe Stevens is waiting for that. Who knows?

No, I meant that IU will probably do whatever it takes to get him if Crean doesn't get it together. So I meant it a bit sarcastically that they would probably revolve their dealings with when the best chance to get him would be.

sporthenry

04-07-2011, 03:51 AM

At the same time, Johnny Dawkins, and maybe even Wojo and Chris will have established themselves in their own programs, and may "have no reason to leave"...

Well this is about personal preference but I have to think that Duke will have a certain priority over these programs since it would be their alma mater and we haven't even seen if Stevens can turn down IU. There are so many variables but those guys also have some stock in Duke's program as well as their own school.

I would be very surprised to see Duke not get its man if they want Dawkins, Wojo, Chris. Capel and Amaker might be a bit different.

OZZIE4DUKE

04-07-2011, 10:37 AM

I've been saying here on DBR for several years, each time this thread comes up, that I think K will coach into his young 70's (7 to 10 more years, revised from last year's prediction of 8 to 10 more years). This is based on his apparent youthful exuberance for the job and continued good health. If his health changes unexpectedly, that's when the near end of the equation changes, and we all know that good health is not something that is in our total control.

I think the next Duke coach will come from within the Duke family. If we "need" a coach in the near term, I think it would be Dawkins or Amaker, with suitable positions at Duke readily available for their wives (one is a physician and one is a PhD professor). Jeff Capel would also be considered. If the time table is more to the long end, I think Collins or Wojo is the more likely choice, and I would hire either one today if I needed a head coach for my University team.

DevilWearsPrada

04-07-2011, 10:50 AM

Coach K is a very young looking 64 years old. Especially in comparison to Fisher, of San Diego State.

Going to China this summer, and the Olympics next Summer 2012, perhaps thats when Coach K will retire. He will be 65 years young. But he states he loves spending time with his 7 grandchildren, and gardening, and other family activities.

If Coach doesnt retire after next season, then he must have personal goals for himself, of reaching 1000 career wins. 3 more seasons. OR perhaps more! Coach has alot more to accomplish and seems very very passionate and has renewed energy. I am very content with Coach K staying until he wants to retire. Even if that is many years. HE is the best! And has given his staff many responsibilites.

I would like to see Wojo and Collins take a head coaching position somewhere, but that hasnt happened. Johnny Dawkins has spread his wings, and thats good.

I like having Coach James and C Well on the bench, since they are younger and can reach out to Prospects. Their basketball careers, just ended a couple of years ago. And the new kids know Nate James and Chris Carawell, and can relate to their Duke experiences as well as professional basketball careers.

Until Coach K announces his formal retirement, I am proud that he is still the Duke head coach.