Know any good Coach K stories, 1st hand or reliably 2nd hand? Put them here!

Coach K is a very interesting person, and a forceful leader who has interacted with thousands of people over the course of his life.

Give the current live sports doldrums, I hope that sharing our and others’ experiences interacting with Coach K may be an entertaining and informative diversion.

Our collection of stories does not need to be hagiography – a life of a saint. While I and so many others have the highest respect and admiration for Coach K, we of course affirm his humanity.

I will get the ball rolling by recounting three stories I heard firsthand from a former Duke PG. Let’s call him PGF – Point Guard Friend. We were attending a leadership conference at Duke. When I entered the conference room early to find my place, I saw the name of the former Duke PG next to mine. Hopes rising, I looked at the workshop instructor – she smiled and nodded. She knew I loved Duke basketball and was kind enough to seat me next to PGF.

PGF is a great person, and I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with him. The only sour note in this relationship is that PGF is a “slightly better” athlete than me. We played golf and…life is just not fair.

As we were playing, I asked PGF, is Coach K the real deal? He said, Oh yeah! Okay, stories please!

1st Story: PGF was, of course, a phenom in HS, and was slotted to start at PG. He was not lacking in confidence. In the team’s first full-on scrimmage, PGF could not score a point and could barely complete a pass. He was frustrated and embarrassed. Self-doubts crept in. He tried to slink off the court. A senior player came over to PGF, put his arm around his shoulder and told him, “Coach told us to shut you down, so that you learn right away – you are nothing on your own. Your job is to make us all better.”

Some years later, I had the opportunity to confirm this story with the senior player. He remembered the story immediately and laughed. He said that he and the team had to repeat the message a couple more times.

2nd Story: PGF was bringing up the ball to half-court. Coach K shouted to him to stop where he was – even though he had not crossed half-court. [If memory serves, this may have been an exhibition game.] PGF stopped in place but kept dribbling. Evidently, some of the Crazies were yelling an obscene, disrespectful chant directed at an opponent. While Coach was chewing out the Crazies, PGF looked desperately at the referee, who smiled and just kept counting, way beyond ten. The chanting stopped, and the ref signaled to PGF to proceed.

3rd Story: With PGF at point, the team won a couple of their first games. Things were going well, or so PGF thought. Then they lost a game. In the post-game “meeting,” Coach K blistered the team with helpful hints such as you guys should be ashamed of yourselves, you shouldn’t be wearing Duke jerseys, you were an embarrassment, and so on. PGF was stunned and at first angry. But as he reflected on his own performance and that of his teammates, he had to acknowledge that Coach was right – they played poorly, and certainly not as well as they could and should have played. PGF vowed to himself to play much better.

The team won another game. Then they lost a game. PGF dreaded going back to that cramped room to be blistered again by K. PGF said he put on his emotional asbestos armor to prepare.

K entered the room, subdued. “Guys, do you remember what I told you after our first loss?” PGF vaguely remembered. :-) K went on, “What I said to you, you should say to me tonight. You played really well – you played hard, smart and together. You were outcoached. I’m the Head Coach. Please forgive me. I vow that I will never let that happen again.” K left the room.

I asked PGF what impact Coach’s statement had on him, and he said, “That was when Coach became my leader.”

I also asked PGF, suppose K had given you and your teammates the same blistering critique as he had after the first loss. PGF said that he would have been angry and confused, because he felt that he and his mates had responded to the first critique and had played in this game about as hard and well as they could.

What was clear is that Coach K’s post-game responses weren’t psychological ploys – they were accurate, honest and heartfelt feedback.

I’m eager to hear your stories!