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Page 1 of 7 TDR Bloggers gives fans the platform to express their views. Submitted blogs do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Draft Review.
By Jon D., TDR Blogger
Duke basketball is praised as a cream of the crop program, and rightly so (depending on your personal opinion). Since Mike Krzyzewski stepped on the scene in 1980 as head coach, the team has touted a winning reputation and proved to be a force to reckon with in the ACC.
Duke can win basketball games, and Coach K has seemingly become the poster child for collegiate coaching success. He stars in television commercials and has been given the honor of leading our 2008 Olympic national team. But at what cost has this entity called Duke made its claim to fame?
It’s been paid for with the sweat equity of athletes who thrive in Duke’s system as sensational players, but move on to become victims of that very same system when they can’t cut it in the NBA. Blue Devil glory is built on the back of sacrificial lambs – the players.
Krzyzewski employs a selfish coaching philosophy that capitalizes on a player’s best skills while exempting them from the responsibility to learn and grow in other areas of the game. This is career suicide for its players and contrary to the coaching philosophy of respectable basketball programs.
Successful teams like UNC, UCLA, and Georgetown operate with the idea that a player’s skill set is utilized to benefit the team with the expectation that they learn, grow, and acclimate themselves to the system already place, which may mean increasing your foot speed, learning to shoot from outside, or becoming a better defender. This grooms players for successful pro careers.
Duke, on the other hand, builds their program around its star players and requires virtually no expansion in their game. Coach K exploits his players’ best skills in the name of the program and gives nothing in return but the feel good feeling that it brings, courtesy of the media. Go in as a jump shooter and leave a jump shooter. Come in as a slasher and leave a slasher, nothing more.
ESPN’s recent article on Duke says they’re taking care of business, but are they taking care of their players? Although Duke’s premiere players receive a lot of hype, they’re historically ill-equipped to adjust and succeed on the NBA level. Player’s like Christian Laettner, Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick, and Josh McRoberts were McDonald's All Americans. We expected big things from them on the collegiate level and they delivered. But had they known the cost, would they have signed on to Duke’s growth stifling, handicapping system?
Elton Brand and Grant Hill are two obvious exceptions to Mike Krzyzewski’s self-serving philosophy, but the general theme with Duke is clear. The college experience is supposed to prepare a student to succeed in the professional world, so why doesn't Duke basketball? Mike Krzyzewski cares more about the glory of the program (and possibly himself) rather than his players, and forgoes the proper training to equip pro prospects for NBA success.
Shame on you, Mike. Who’s your next sacrificial lamb?
TDR Bloggers gives fans the platform to express their views. Submitted blogs do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Draft Review.
Readers have left 39 comments.  39. Player DevelopmentGuest, UnregisteredCoack K is not good at developing individual player skills point blank... If u pay attetion to rivals.com and the player rankings, he gets the top 20 ranked players in the nation. Some schools like memphis can take a CDR, who was ranked in the lower 70'[s and make into an NCAA- ALL American by his junior year or like UT-KNox can take a walk on, JUwan SMith and make him as good as he came out to be.. Thats player development. Its funny how most of the Mcdonald All-Americans who came out of the 06 class are in the NBA except for the ones who went to DUKE, and UNC!!!! Coack K is excellent at X'[s and O'[s but as far as taking a not so talented player and making them better, I dont think so. 38. Check your factsWell Informed Tarheel, Unregistered Well the academic part is BS. Coach K made a remark about the "Ghettoness" of King Rice and JR Reid circa 1990, involving their SAT scores. This is unprofessional, and pretty poor taste in itself, but the glory part is that Dean E. Smith stuck up for his players and had also seen Danny Ferry's and Christian Laettner's College Boards. Those two prim and proper Dookie's got beat out by "corn-rowed street ballers" who were a lot smarter than them. Duke doesn't have higher academic standards for players. And they dont amount to anything in Pro ball. ONE duke player has ever been on a national championship team, and it was on the coaching staff. Its Cliche for Duke people to think their university is at a higher standard in every way, but Duke takes losses crying, whining about calls, and other things unattractive to an NBA team looking for MEN, not boys to win rings. 37. Sacrificial LambsTy, Unregistered Well for the person that said Ed Cota didn't amount to squat. Well he has made a great life for himself overseas. If the USA didn't provide a contract for him oh well. 36. Duke sacrificial LambsGuest, Unregistered I can see one's point about a lack of players that come out of Duke's basketball program and go on to succeed in the NBA, but what you have to understand as well is that its not necessarily the coach's job to shape players for the next level, but to make the program who employs him, the best that it can be, not for just him but for the school itself. The coach's job is to try to win championships for its students, the administration, the alumni and its fans. And thats what Coach K has done. Who cares if his players don't go on to be NBA superstars..Part of what he does is to develop what talent he has and some of it is limited, because although Duke gets a lot of talented athletes, they often are not the same caliber that say will go to UNC or a UCLA or a Georgetown. Also too, there are many quote un quote "All Americans" that come out of highschool, excell in the college game but don't have what it takes in the big leagues. Don't forget Duke has higher academic standards than most Division one schools and can't always get the corn rowed street ballers that go to the NBA after a year of college. They get alot of the scholar athlete's which often are not the ones that are going to ever be NBA allstars. Coach K concentrates on trying to win games and with players today leaving after only a year or two, who has the time to help them develop for the NBA? If players actually stayed all four years like they used to especially at Duke, then maybe Coach K would actually have the time to help them develop. Until then he has to work with what he's got. Also one final point is that Duke has the burden of having the stigma of being one of the best teams in college every year, even when they're not and often are in fact in a rebuilding year. Even right now, their starting line up consists of only one senior, a junior two sophmores an a freshman? Yet everyone demands and expects them to be one of the top 3 teams in the nation, so Coach K does what he has to do, and plays on the strengths of is players and what talents he can utilize to get the job done, because the sad truth is that a couple of them won't even stick around next year, so why should he waist his time trying to make them stars?
Just a thought.. 35. Commenting temporarily closedMatthew Maurer, Administrator Commenting on this topic is temporarily closed. Thanks to all who responded. Anyone is welcome to submit a fan blog in response to this article, or on any other basketball related issue. Remember, the idea behind TDR Bloggers is to give fans the platform to express their views, negative or positive.
34. Sacrificial LambsGuest, Unregistered What a bunch of crap. It is not Coach Ks problem if they are not good NBA players. He is looking for people to fit to his system. Just look at Coach K's record at Duke.
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