Many thanks to Coach K staying at Duke
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 3:44 PM
Filed Under:
Coaches, ACC
Mike Krzyzewski to the Lakers isn’t happening. Told you it was an easy choice.
Coach K left no room for future speculation – unlike other sports figures who refuse to ever, ever go away – about current employer. He’s staying at Duke. It wasn’t Drew Rosenhaus short, but it was simple, direct and clear.
"I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching," he said Tuesday. "I'm not going to the Lakers. They have one of the great coaches in the game [in Phil Jackson]. I can't do it as well as he can.”
So he made a statement without any wiggle room. And for that, many thanks should go to Coach K.
It’s an obvious thanks from Duke fans. Krzyzewski is the program’s Alpha and Omega. Three NCAA tourney titles, 10 Final Fours and 21 combined ACC regular-season and tourney titles earns you that distinction. (To say nothing of his returning players.)
Duke haters should cheer, too. Some people live for rooting against him. Losing Coach K would deprive them of their hate focal point. It’d be like Raider haters (and some fans) having to cope without Al Davis or liberals living life without Rush Limbaugh. It’s not as interesting.
College hoops, the ACC and the NCAA must be breathing a little easier. He’s arguably the most recognizable name and face in college coaching. Losing that would be a setback to the sport, league and the organization.
And it’s a big thank you from us media types. Coach K jumping to the NBA would open up a flood of stories on other coaches who tried (and mostly failed), his college hoops legacy, who would replace him, what happens to his players, etc. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
Sure, those stories are coming at some point, but it’s not gonna be soon.
“I don’t want my Duke team — not necessarily my basketball team, but my Duke team, the community — to feel like you’re looking at other things. I’m getting ready to start my 30th year at Duke, and I don’t see the finish line yet. I know the finish line will be there sometime, but it’s not in my vision right now.”
In other words, don’t plan on a Coach K-free landscape anytime soon. Who knew that was such a good thing?
