11/05/24
July 05, 2004
K stays: Duke fans may now exhale.
posted by mbd1 to basketball at 12:07 PM - 7 comments
Part of me says: How could you turn down 5 years and $40 million to face a new challenge after you've done all you can at your current level? And the other part says: Run very fucking fast in the opposite direction when seeing any of Kobe, Buss or Jack freaking Nicholson. I mean, when Nicholson is on the list of people to help recruit for you, what kind of a circus organization is it?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:44 PM on July 05, 2004
Speaking as a d00k hater (go Pack!), I'm glad he turned it down and is staying in Durham. Coach K and his Duke program are good for the ACC, it keeps all the other coaches on their toes and forces them to recruit the best players that they can land just to stay competitive with the Blue Devils. And I guess if you'd like a non-scientific reason why he should stay at Duke, look at Chapel Hell's program since Dean Smith retired. Blech!
posted by NoMich at 12:57 PM on July 05, 2004
Chapel Hell, heh. I think Rudy T will do just fine (provided he gets the offer and takes it, knowing he was the second choice). Rudy is one less superstar in a situation that already has too many. He's a good coach and seems like a good person.
posted by dusted at 02:36 PM on July 05, 2004
Lots of Duke people cheered for Doh to go so that Carolina could return to prominence (though no one minded the streaks ending.) Likewise, I'd hope a lot of Carolina and State people cheered for K to stay- yes, he's damn hard to beat, but he's the coach in college ball right now, and that's never a bad thing to have in your conference. Better to fight hard in the best conference in America than to be in a reduced conference, in my mind. Anyway, we're glad to see K back- but I'm still worried that Memphis (with more young depth, more focused stars, less media pressure, and the greatest GM of all time) might still call K when Hubie retires.
posted by tieguy at 03:25 PM on July 05, 2004
A good article on why this is good not just for the ACC, but all of college basketball.
posted by tieguy at 07:30 PM on July 05, 2004
That sound you heard was Donald Sterling chuckling. Kobe Bryant will be a Clipper. Bank on it. I'm glad Coach K stayed at Duke -- my wife went to Duke, and was going to enforce a "Lakers Fandom" rule in the house had he gone to LA. Yech. -s
posted by sashae at 10:35 AM on July 06, 2004
Crap! That groaning sound you hear is from North Carolina. Conversely, that cheer you hear is coming from New Jersey.