Yet more speculation about who Krzyzewski's successor will be

[KYtotheCore]

If Coach K were to retire in the near future, for whom would Duke fans vote to replace him? I'm not really sure where you'd start trying to fill someone like Coach K's shoes. Would it have to be a former player? Just curious.

[uh_no]

If Coach K were to retire in the near future, for whom would Duke fans vote to replace him? I'm not really sure where you'd start trying to fill someone like Coach K's shoes. Would it have to be a former player? Just curious.

It would probably be a former player. I believe JD is the preferito, but haven't heard anything to that effect for quite some time. WE also don't know what JD's situation will be when K decides to call it a career. Almost assuredly K will insist it be a former player, due to the whole family thing.

Its almost like a Willy Wonka like thing: he'll want his successer to maintain certain things like the way duke basketball has such high ethical standards and places values on family and education and such.

[MCFinARL]

It would probably be a former player. I believe JD is the preferito, but haven't heard anything to that effect for quite some time. WE also don't know what JD's situation will be when K decides to call it a career. Almost assuredly K will insist it be a former player, due to the whole family thing.

Its almost like a Willy Wonka like thing: he'll want his successer to maintain certain things like the way duke basketball has such high ethical standards and places values on family and education and such.

You are probably right--but you might be able to find those attributes going outside the program as well. A lot could depend on who is actually available when the time comes. I have to think everybody on the Coach K "tree" (Dawkins, Amaker, Capel, Collins, Wojo, etc.) would be at least potentially considered, but some outsiders like Brad Stevens might get looked at as well if they are interested.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

If Coach K were to retire in the near future, for whom would Duke fans vote to replace him? I'm not really sure where you'd start trying to fill someone like Coach K's shoes. Would it have to be a former player? Just curious.
I refer you to the HPR, 1)j)
http://www.duke.edu/~bct1/images/DBRHPR7.1asPDF.pdf

If K's health continues to be good, and that of Mickie continues to be good, please God, I would expect that the "near future" event you talk of is 7 to 10 years away. So much can happen between now and then that I'm not going to spend time speculating on it.

[hurleyfor3]

This is pretty easy. Brad Stevens.

[bob blue devil]

i don't share the view that it ought to be a former player; coach k wasn't a blue devil and he's done a good job for us (understatement, obviously). we've got an elite program and we'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we did not get the best person for the job, regardless of whether they've been affiliated with duke. it would be nice if a former player met that standard. currently, the resumes of former players don't suggest to me that we couldn't do better, but hopefully that will change between now and when this issue is relevant.

i'm very nervous about the program taking a step back post coach k (despite all of the things that have been built to make it strong into the future - leadership is the most important ingredient). we'll need a great coach, not just a good one.

just my 2 cents.

[licc85]

Brad. Stevens.

[wilko]

Brad. Stevens.
I would hope that Kevin White has him on a modest retainer to TAKE DUKE'S call when that day comes.
Kinda like a "coach in waiting" but he gets to do his own deal till that day comes..

At least on speed dial... gee-whiz.

[sagegrouse]

If Duke had to choose today, it's wi-i-i-ide open!! Maybe Brad Stevens; maybe JD; maybe someone else from the Duke family tree (Collins, e.g.).

If it's in 4-5 years, the crystal ball comes into play. Maybe it becomes the Amaker-Dawkins death match. Five consecutive Ivy League championships and some noise in the polls and the NCAAs at Hahvahd vs. an upper-echelon team in a potentially strong conference for Stanford.

And, of course, Colins, Wojo and Capel could be making some noise elsewhere.

sage

[OZZIE4DUKE]

And, of course, Colins, Wojo and Capel could be making some noise elsewhere.

sage
Capel has the head coaching experience, but Wojo and Collins better spread their wings a bit if they really want a shot at the big chair here when the time comes.

[Devilsfan]

Butters had enough courage and foresight to go outside the family and pick a young untested Mike K.

[uh_no]

Butters had enough courage and foresight to go outside the family and pick a young untested Mike K.

there's also a monumental difference between the state of the program now and then

[tele]

there's also a monumental difference between the state of the program now and then

Yes and no. Duke was top shelf program during the tenure of Bubas and Foster too. If anything, the lull came during Coach K's first years at Duke, something to keep in mind during any transition especially to a young coach.

My response to original poster would be someone unlike Calimari.

[Bob Green]

Yes and no. Duke was top shelf program during the tenure of Bubas and Foster too. If anything, the lull came during Coach K's first years at Duke...

Do the names Bucky Waters and Neil McGeachy sound familiar to you? Do I dare mention the year 1974? 17 seconds?

[OldPhiKap]

Do the names Bucky Waters and Neil McGeachy sound familiar to you? Do I dare mention the year 1974? 17 seconds?

Did basketball exist before ESPN? C'mon.

Next thing you'll tell me, Dicky V didn't call the first important Duke game.

[superdave]

Two words: Matt Doherty.

Just kidding. Johnny Dawkins will get a nice long look first. Anyone else will be the second look, but anything is possible.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

What about Coach K's son-in-law, Chris Spatola?

[1999ballboy]

Personally, I want Tommy. He has absolutely proven himself as a head coach. More so than Dawkins, Stevens, Capel, or anyone else I have heard mentioned for the job. Nothing against those guys, and none of them would be BAD choices, but I believe Amaker is the best option out there.

[uh_no]

Personally I'm pulling for Dikembe Mutombo. Then we can have a proper big man to coach our big men....then we won't have to shoot so many threes and get tired legs before the tournament.

That guy was like a bunch of cinder blocks tall.

[-bdbd]

So, it's that time of year again?? Seems like we get this discussion at least once a year... I'm with Ozzie, praying it is moot for another 7+ years!

That said, I'm just amazed that there's one MAJOR candidate from the K coaching tree who seems to be getting NO LOVE on this board...

Hint, this is a K protege who hasn't had a losing season in 15 years, has over 340 career victories, he's coached long-term at a major BCS university with significant name recognition, won National Coach of the Year votes this past season (as well as in his conference), and his school has many similarities to Duke.... Need another hint? Well, it is the school that our current AD just came from, where I think he actually hired this Head Coach to replace (and eventually completely overshadow) a well known heel... :rolleyes:

I'm sure that many of you know by now I'm talking about Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. And while he might not necessarily be Duke's number one choice (or might he???!), given the aforementioned credentials, how can anybody NOT include him in that very serious conversation???



But if I were handicapping right now I'd predict a Duke selection pecking order along the lines of Dawkins, then Amaker, then Brey, then Capel, then Wojo/Collins. (Capel and Brey could easily be flipped, and I don't really know how well positioned Tommy is in Durham these days...) In any event, let's all pray that Duke does a better job of selecting the successor to a legend better than Chapel Hill did when they ultimately wound up settling for that juggernaut from Notre Dame, Matt "D'oh" Doherty! Frankly, given how planned and thoughtful K usually is, I'd expect a real transition plan to be in place before he ever resigns.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Brad Stevens has already made a visit to get acquainted with how things are done. Sounds like he's trying to fashion his program after K's example. Right now I'd vote for Tommy.
Love, Ima

[msdukie]

Once again, I must dutifully remind the board that Nike created the K Lab at Duke to ensure that we will always have an infinite number of K clones. This topic is moot.

[Duvall]

Whoever the poor bastard is, I can assure you that he won't be good enough to satisfy our fans.

[uh_no]

Whoever the poor bastard is, I can assure you that he won't be good enough for this forum.

until he gets his 5th title (or whatever one more than k's total happens to be....) then he'll be good enough for this board

[Billy Dat]

Brad Stevens....I don't know, guys. He's off to a great start at Butler, but he's also the flavor of the week. I need to see a little more sustained success before I even consider him capable. K came into one of the best leagues in the country and built a powerhouse within 5 years. Stevens has done that in an extremely mediocre league. Granted, they did incredible things the past two years, but that was with the same core group of players, and he had 2 NBA players on the first team and close to 2 on the second. Now, his program is in a down year, let's see how quick it gets back to the NCAAs. Let's see how many NBA players he continues to produce, because that's extremely important in recruiting.

Besides, it may just be me, but I love K's fire. Are we really ready to trade that for the local librarian?

I get it, Stevens is an ethical guy, his team's play great defense, etc. etc. That's important. But so is recruiting at the highest level. The Duke brand would help him move into that world, but I want to see how he continues to build his program before he gets the #1 job in all of college ball.

[Indoor66]

Brad Stevens....I don't know, guys. He's off to a great start at Butler, but he's also the flavor of the week. I need to see a little more sustained success before I even consider him capable. K came into one of the best leagues in the country and built a powerhouse within 5 years. Stevens has done that in an extremely mediocre league. Granted, they did incredible things the past two years, but that was with the same core group of players, and he had 2 NBA players on the first team and close to 2 on the second. Now, his program is in a down year, let's see how quick it gets back to the NCAAs. Let's see how many NBA players he continues to produce, because that's extremely important in recruiting.

Besides, it may just be me, but I love K's fire. Are we really ready to trade that for the local librarian?

I get it, Stevens is an ethical guy, his team's play great defense, etc. etc. That's important. But so is recruiting at the highest level. The Duke brand would help him move into that world, but I want to see how he continues to build his program before he gets the #1 job in all of college ball.

It is very hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice. I hope we can be lucky with whomever the powers that be select after K retires - in about 2020.

[Lord Ash]

Some names that spring to mind are Mike Brey, Johnny D, Tom Izzo, Brad Stevens... There are a few others, I'm sure, who would do a nice job.

[Bob Green]

Whoever the poor bastard is, I can assure you that he won't be good enough to satisfy our fans.

He will be the unluckiest person since Gene Bartow.

[OldPhiKap]

I think the next coach will be a laptop guided by the collective wisdom of DBR posters. We can't lose.

[NSDukeFan]

I think the next coach will be a laptop guided by the collective wisdom of DBR posters. We can't lose.

I expect freshmen will get a lot more playing time.

[JMarley50]

I think the next coach will be a laptop guided by the collective wisdom of DBR posters. We can't lose.

If that were the case this year, Dre would have the record for most substitutions in one game as we argued back and forth.

[cameroncrazy3104]

You are probably right--but you might be able to find those attributes going outside the program as well. A lot could depend on who is actually available when the time comes. I have to think everybody on the Coach K "tree" (Dawkins, Amaker, Capel, Collins, Wojo, etc.) would be at least potentially considered, but some outsiders like Brad Stevens might get looked at as well if they are interested.

Out of what you said, I would only see Amaker or if we are lucky Stevens. Just running off some names, Sean Miller, Anthony Grant , Mark Few, Buzz Williams, Scott Drew. I would like to see one of the younger talents in the coaching game come in like Stevens or Drew.

[hurleyfor3]

I think the next coach will be a laptop guided by the collective wisdom of DBR posters. We can't lose.

Except when we play all those true road games we start scheduling.

[wgpatrick]

Putting Josh Pastner out there. He's a young coaching star and wicked smart.

Resume:
- Publishing a recruiting book when he was 13
- First head coaching job at 16: Houston Hoops AAU, a squad that included Emeka Okafar, Daniel Gibson, and TJ Ford.
- Walk-on guard at Arizona. Finished bachelor's in 2.5 years. Received Master's in next 1.5. Then started his coaching career after graduation on the Arizona staff while working on his doctorate.
- Incredible recruiter, player's coach. Doing very well at Memphis in only 2 years.

Agreed that he's fairly green as a head coach and that he may want to eventually become to the Arizona head coach. But a talent nonetheless to keep an eye on.

[loldevilz]

Calipari can recruit at Kentucky...Imagine how well he could recruit at Duke. Titles every year.

[Lord Ash]

Calipari can recruit at Kentucky...Imagine how well he could recruit at Duke. Titles every year.

Actually he would do pretty badly, as the Duke administration wouldn't throw the academic requirements out the window for him, along with the legal requirements.

[Starter]

Granted, he's only three years younger than Krzyzewski, and he just took a job with the Red Sox, and he coaches a different sport and lives in Connecticut, but I vote for Bobby Valentine for no reason other than this picture (http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/47036/bobby-valentine_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg).

If that can't be done? Any available Van Gundy, Shane Battier, or if it's far enough in the future, Battier's kid.

[alteran]

Do the names Bucky Waters and Neil McGeachy sound familiar to you? Do I dare mention the year 1974? 17 seconds?

Mentioning the 17 second game ought to be a banning offense. :)

I still have nightmares.