Flip Flopper

by Nestor on Sep 13, 2006 4:11 PM PDT in Recruiting Comment 3 comments

Thought we take a little detour from the ongoing football posts. So this is a not a post about some candidate for President, whose aggressive and dynamic campaign strategy made Terry Donahue's offensive philosophy look down right exciting and visionary. Instead this is about the current head basketball coach at Duke University, who recently led our national team of NBA All Stars to a glorious bronze medal losing to that world basketball powerhouse, Greece. Found this interesting column in CBS Sportsline on Mr. American Express:

Eight high school players skipped college to be selected in the 2004 NBA Draft. Mike Krzyzewski's reaction at the time?

"We're losing our brand."

No high school players skipped college to be selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, thanks to the new age limit. Mike Krzyzewski's reaction this week?

"They should be (allowed to turn pro out of high school), and we should be able to adjust. It's not going to hurt the college game."

So it's official.

Coach K is a flip-flopper.

Cue the Swift Boat ads!

Both quotes come courtesy of the Charlotte Observer, and they couldn't be more opposite. If I were judging, I would award Krzyzewski, at best, a bronze medal in consistency. It could hang in his trophy case, right next to the one from the FIBA World Championship.

So why has Mr. American Express, the picture of integrity in seemingly every promotional clip of DSPN's basketball coverage, changed his mind in just three years? Parrish explains:

Before, the Blue Devils didn't really have to deal with wild recruiting sagas featuring the likes of Sebastian Telfair and Kendrick Perkins. They would instead focus on more stable situations -- fewer posses, fewer AAU ties, fewer problems -- and let others battle for the elite talents who might or might not ever enroll. Consequently, Duke usually got its clean-cut McDonald's All-Americans into school without worries while just about everybody else -- Arkansas, Louisville, Mississippi State, Arizona, etc. -- had to sweat the process.

Sometimes it worked out (Rudy Gay enrolled at Connecticut).

Sometimes it did not (Andrew Bynum bypassed Connecticut).

Either way, it was a necessary gamble. Because without it, there are no Final Four dreams.

But fast-forward to today, and things have changed -- even if Duke has not. The Blue Devils still stay above the fray, mostly recruiting well-rounded prospects with little baggage, meaning they'd never touch O.J. Mayo or Derrick Rose. And though in the past that would be fine considering those types of guys probably weren't going to college anyway, now it's a hindrance because both Mayo and Rose -- and another half-dozen elite players just like them -- should indeed be wearing some school's colors for at least a year, therefore making Duke's quest to pile ACC and NCAA titles much more difficult.

So basically while projecting a BS image of being a clean, honest, principled head coach, when it comes down to it, all along Mr. American Express has been nothing but just another presstitue, who will say whatever to the press, just so it improves his chances to win some conference championships (then again for Coach K, it is all about Steve-16's not NCs).

Anyways Insomniac Lounge had more on the Durham salesman, who recently gave a "talk" to Duke student athletes still smarting from that lacrosse story:

Damn that media. Actually having the nerve to suggest that Duke isn't 100% perfect. That's unprecedented, and yeah, I guess it would be rough. Fortunately, Coach K, Grant Hill, and other members of the Duke athletic community were there to help. The athletic department held a rally in Cameron Indoor Stadium yesterday to help unite the athletes and remind them what Duke University is all about. Coach K was the keynote speaker and later told reporters that, "Tonight was about saying to the rest of the student-athletes, 'Hey, y'all are good. Have a great year. Let's keep pursuing excellence."

Well said, coach. And I think it was a damn fine choice of words over what you probably really wanted to say, which was, "If one of you kids that plays a peripheral sport that noone gives a damn about f*cks up my chance to sign a rich, white kid with a nice jumper, it will be your ass!" Better to just reinforce the mindset that they are perfect because they go to Duke. That will arm them for life.

And you wonder why would Kyle Singler pick a cheap bill board sign coach over Coach Howland:

I am sure that is exactly what Kyle's good friend Kevin Love is telling him these days up in the Ever Green state.

No need to become yet another NBA bust at UCLA of the East.

Kyle, if you are reading this, come to Westwood with Kevin and help us put up banner no. 12

Because you know playing for a flip flopping opportunist is always a losing bet.

GO BRUINS.

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As Much As It Pains Me...

... I have to say the article is unfair to Krzyzewski. The age limit rule is bad for college basketball - it introduces much more turnover in the player base, and forces a lot of kids who don't want to be in school to enroll. Making it standard practice for kids to leave after a year would be bad for Duke, so there's a little bit of self-interest involved, but it's not flip-flopping when a less than ideal policy is replaced with a worse one.

Now if you excuse me, I have to go shower now. Making me defend Duke like that is just wrong. I feel dirty.

by T.H. on Sep 13, 2006 10:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Age Limit

I actually think this is good for college basketball and the NBA too. Who are we to say that even if a scout says a player is a "5*" player (also, how many times has this scout seen this player and all the other players he has compared him to, but that is an entirely different issue) that he will actually be that good in college or the NBA. A lot of the time, these elite players are exposed to needing additional work that high school bball let them slip by with. Besides, if these elite players have to play in a structured and disciplined environment, they might actually get away from the jungle ball they play now.

The real problem I see with young players going to the NBA is that they are guaranteed contracts if they are drafted in the first round. This creates incentive in high school to hog the ball and put up inflated numbers to make millions of dollars. The counter argument to this is that these elite players will just do the same in college instead. Well, if these players flourish even more in college by playing in a team game and performing at a high level then I believe that no harm is done and they can go to the NBA. If they aren't doing well in college and a team oriented system, they probably won't get drafted high and they risk not getting a guaranteed contract. Does this hurt the core of the college program by players leaving early? No. If a college coach and the perception of the program is doing well, then that coach should have no problem recruiting other top players to replace the players leaving early. If a program like Southern Cal had to go from a OJ Mayo where their expectation and probably performance would be high to a Biko Paris, then yes, players leaving early does hurt that college program.

by BruinMac04 on Sep 14, 2006 8:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Such a tough issue

One part of me says that any business (NFL, NBA, MLB) has the right to define its own business practices with respect to minimum age limits. The byproducts of collective bargaining, which I support.

The other side of me says that nobody should be denied the right to employment if their perceived value enables them to play professional sports. Whether they are 15 or 45.

The problem is that Coach K feels the same way I do, and he doesn't have that luxury. I'm a poor schlub who works a regular job, while he is a coach directly impacted. I have the right to be wishy washy...He doesn't.

Take a stand, say so publicly, and recruit players accordingly.

Go Bruins...F@#$% SC... UCLA Fight Fight Fight!

by HomeBruin on Sep 13, 2006 10:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs