Coach K Interview

[plimnko]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article199904324.html

[TKG]

The Observer probably thought they were interviewing the coach of Duquesne or the Dukes of James Madison.

[dyedwab]

I thought this was an excellent interview. Particularly interesting to me were Coach K's comments were his comments about Duke after Coach K. These are the most extensive comments about this topic that I have read from him.


Whole interview is worth a read. Kudos to Jonathan Alexander, the reporter, who clearly thought he was asking good questions. (Its ALWAYS clear by his answers when Coach K thinks the reporters' questions aren't worth his time.)

[westwall]

The Observer probably thought they were interviewing the coach of Duquesne or the Dukes of James Madison.

I read the interview, but why do you say this?? I don’t see the reason.

[sagegrouse]

It's a really good interview with insights on the season and on eventual succession in the basketball program.

[TKG]

I read the interview, but why do you say this?? I don’t see the reason.

There is a long history of The Charlotte Observer (aka The Daily Tarheel West) as being less than generous to Duke. Apparently, my attempt at humor failed.

[msdukie]

There is a long history of The Charlotte Observer (aka The Daily Tarheel West) as being less than generous to Duke. Apparently, my attempt at humor failed.

Especially since this is an N&O article from the N&O/Herald-Sun beat writer. All 3 papers are owned by McClatchy and thus the articles run in all 3.

[elvis14]

There is a long history of The Charlotte Observer (aka The Daily Tarheel West) as being less than generous to Duke. Apparently, my attempt at humor failed.

You humor was not lost on all of us. The Charlotte Observer is horrible when it comes to college basketball coverage.....as you said it's a Cheater rag 100%. So yes, it is surprising to see anything Duke related other than a picture of GA tripping someone in that paper. The N&O is uneven as well, just not as ridiculous as the The Cheater Observer.

Anyone else remember seeing the comparison of the front page of the Cheater Observer showing 2009-Cheater Natty vs 2010 Duke legitimate Natty?

[Billy Dat]

"I love Duke and we’re able to get great kids............to try to develop a relationship with Trevon (Duval) where he becomes a total point guard."

K is always pretty specific, this was as pointed as he got in a longer list of players and what he's enjoying.

"Every scholarship, coaching salary, manager, it’s all endowed already. We built a practice facility with that money. We’re going to hopefully build something else. A locker room and training complex here eventually."

First off, I would love to see an in-depth article about how K and the athletic department have worked over the past 15 years or so to ensure the financial future of the program. But, also exciting that there seem to be plans for greater expansion - since the K Center already exists, I wonder what he's talking about...is it a place for the ex-players to have to themselves, or some kind of P3 type place?

"I would hope that when my time comes that it’s someone who has played here and has worked for me."

This is the first time I have seen him express this sentiment about wanting his successor to be from his coaching tree.

"But right now I’m trying to figure out how we can play a helluva lot better defense than what we do. Which isn’t very good right now."

Amen.

[ehdg]

I thought this was a very good article and Coach K was very candid with them. Loved how open he was and the details he gave.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I thought this was a very good article and Coach K was very candid with them. Loved how open he was and the details he gave.

In a way, he has changed how coaches speak over the past 30 years. Back in the 89-90 Final Four, sports host Jim Rome was talking about this....how
K was talking about the great UNLV team they were about to play (and lose to by like 30). Instead of the usual yammer about UNVL's use of thug kids no one wanted, K was very candid about how great Larry Johnson was and so on.

Rome was blown away, not expecting K to be that way.....and over the years, he has been candid and deep dived into the psychology of bringing a team through a season and so forth - and no one has ever done that until he did.

I'd also add to all the ignorant haters out there (who are never going to see this of course) - is that there is no coach in the country who spends as much time congratulating the other team's players in the line after the game as K.....win or lose.....and there is no other coach in the country these players want to talk to this much after the game either.....

[mr. synellinden]

"I love Duke and we’re able to get great kids.......to try to develop a relationship with Trevon (Duval) where he becomes a total point guard."

K is always pretty specific, this was as pointed as he got in a longer list of players and what he's enjoying.

"Every scholarship, coaching salary, manager, it’s all endowed already. We built a practice facility with that money. We’re going to hopefully build something else. A locker room and training complex here eventually."

First off, I would love to see an in-depth article about how K and the athletic department have worked over the past 15 years or so to ensure the financial future of the program. But, also exciting that there seem to be plans for greater expansion - since the K Center already exists, I wonder what he's talking about...is it a place for the ex-players to have to themselves, or some kind of P3 type place?

"I would hope that when my time comes that it’s someone who has played here and has worked for me."

This is the first time I have seen him express this sentiment about wanting his successor to be from his coaching tree.

"But right now I’m trying to figure out how we can play a helluva lot better defense than what we do. Which isn’t very good right now."

Amen.


I thought the “try to develop” part of that quote was the most interesting. It implies that maybe he is having a hard time getting through to him and coaching him on what he expects/thinks he needs to do to get better.

[sagegrouse]

"I would hope that when my time comes that it’s someone who has played here and has worked for me."

This is the first time I have seen him express this sentiment about wanting his successor to be from his coaching tree.


A shot over the bow of Duke AD Kevin White, whose son Mike is doing a great job with the Gators (17-8, 8-4 this season)? Probably not, but we are all people of a conspiratorial mind.

[MarkD83]

The interesting comments to me were comparing the old Coach K to the New Coach K. Especially the part that we have heard in the past that he is delegating more to his assistants.

My guess is that when Coach K retires he will reveal that his assistants have been doing 80 to 90% of the day to day activities required to run the team and he has been enjoying fostering the relationships with the players (which is not a trivial matter).

Along these lines I would really love to see a discussion with the past 2-3 years of recruits (and next year's recruits) as to who on the staff most influenced their decision to come to Duke. Coach K may be the one that closes the recruiting "deal" but is the rest of the coaching staff already doing 80-90% of the marketing.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

My guess is that when Coach K retires he will reveal that his assistants have been doing 80 to 90% of the day to day activities required to run the team and he has been enjoying fostering the relationships with the players (which is not a trivial matter).

Along these lines I would really love to see a discussion with the past 2-3 years of recruits (and next year's recruits) as to who on the staff most influenced their decision to come to Duke. Coach K may be the one that closes the recruiting "deal" but is the rest of the coaching staff already doing 80-90% of the marketing.

He has certainly delegated almost all of the media responsibilities to the assistants for years....even the little half time ten second hits on the way to the locker room are done by Capel or Scheyer it seems.

As for the recruiting, seems to me it was pretty much known that Capel nailed the 3 big recruits in 14 for the 2015 national champs. I might've even read that in an interview with K a few years back, not 100% sure. Of course, this was Capel selling Coach K's program, so K is very important regardless.

I can't speak for the other seasons.

[Billy Dat]

The interesting comments to me were comparing the old Coach K to the New Coach K. Especially the part that we have heard in the past that he is delegating more to his assistants.

My guess is that when Coach K retires he will reveal that his assistants have been doing 80 to 90% of the day to day activities required to run the team and he has been enjoying fostering the relationships with the players (which is not a trivial matter).

Along these lines I would really love to see a discussion with the past 2-3 years of recruits (and next year's recruits) as to who on the staff most influenced their decision to come to Duke. Coach K may be the one that closes the recruiting "deal" but is the rest of the coaching staff already doing 80-90% of the marketing.

I agree that he delegates much more, and that started in earnest when he had to step away in 1995. I think it ramped up once the staff turned over and he had young pups Wojo, Collins and he elevated Johnny D to associate head coach. He then started grooming Wojo and Collins for that role. I think he jettisoned a lot of the traditional Head Coach marketing stuff during that time.

However, this is not a man who winds down. As much as he made a big deal about getting rid of distractions, he ramped up his efforts in a million other areas - the Emily K Center, the Sirius show, Team USA, etc. This is not a guy who lacks for energy.

All that is to say, if I had to guess, I don't think he spends the kind of time developing relationships with his players as you might conceive of it. There are legion stories about Jim Calhoun and John Calipari having their office door open and essentially insisting that guys drop by to shoot the breeze to form personal relationships. I have zero insider knowledge, but I just don't think K is that kind of leader. He's a chain of command dude, and I think a lot of that "bonding" happens with the assistant coaches, particularly the lower level ones like Nolan. I could be wrong, but I imagine that outside of practice, and other official team events, there isn't a ton of one-on-one let's talk about life bonding. I say this because I have never heard a player tell a story about that kind of thing happening while they were players.

I would also bet that he still writes the daily practice plan, is the ultimate authority on what the strategy will be for the next game after getting input from the coaches, and, according to many quotes from the assistants past and present, he still watches a TON of film, like he has an indefatigable zeal for it. When he talks about having the "willingness to properly prepare", it's that kind of stuff that I think he's talking about. As for recruiting, I would guess that 80%-90% of the leg work is done by the assistants but he still goes on the road a lot and he's definitely the closer.

Again, all of this is my opinion with no sources other than what I try to read about the program. I'd love to hear more insider accounts.

[dukebluesincebirth]

So who will it be???? Capel or Scheyer? Will Nate Dogg and Nolan promote? What an amazing gift from Coach K to set the next coach up for ultimate success, including financially. He rewards loyalty. And the rewards are immense.
But my favorite part of the interview was reading that Coach plans on remaining an "ambassador" for the program. Sometimes when great leaders have been with an organization, team, church for such an extended period of time, the break needs to be a clean break for all parties involved. I've wondered (and feared) if this would be the case for K... for instance, when he leaves Duke bball coaching, maybe he just needs to do something completely different in life and doesn't get too involved in future happenings. It sounds like his plan is to stick around (not to tell the new coach how to coach) and help in the best ways possible. I am THRILLED! Thanks Coach, we'll always love you!!

[HereBeforeCoachK]

So who will it be???? Capel or Scheyer? Will Nate Dogg and Nolan promote? What an amazing gift from Coach K to set the next coach up for ultimate success, including financially. He rewards loyalty. And the rewards are immense.
But my favorite part of the interview was reading that Coach plans on remaining an "ambassador" for the program. Sometimes when great leaders have been with an organization, team, church for such an extended period of time, the break needs to be a clean break for all parties involved. I've wondered (and feared) if this would be the case for K... for instance, when he leaves Duke bball coaching, maybe he just needs to do something completely different in life and doesn't get too involved in future happenings. It sounds like his plan is to stick around (not to tell the new coach how to coach) and help in the best ways possible. I am THRILLED! Thanks Coach, we'll always love you!!

As for the coach, if it comes from current staff, it would probably be Capel. He has head coaching experience, and has been K's right hand man clearly. Scheyer will be a head coach somewhere before too long.

As for K and his concern for the bigger university picture, that's great news. Duke is one of those rare Power 5 schools that really doesn't make money on football, outside of ACC annual payments - so Duke has needed BB to be the big money maker. K seems to know that football now drives college sports more than ever, and Duke must have the resources to stay competitive in that regard. He is also very publicly supportive of Cut, which is nice to see as well.