Duke Basketball has had its fair share of trials and tribulations this season. Their team is not operating as it has in the past. A lot of people have lost respect for certain players and Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching style. The media have grabbed onto everything that has to do with Duke Blue Devil basketball.
How have the media and other outside forces limited Coach K’s ability to coach? Also, what will the tournament look like for Duke?
Krzyzweski said it himself:
“Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.”
Clearly he has not seen five acting as one. If you haven’t heard, Krzyzewski recently forbid his players from wearing Duke basketball gear and from going into their locker room. It’s not the first time he has done this.
Duke basketball has been a dynasty of sorts for a long time now. The rivalry between the Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels has historical significance. Their program recruits top-performing players every single year. The Blue Devils are a well-respected team, but this season has done a lot to tamper with their reputation.
A large part of their tattered reputation is none other than Mr. Grayson Allen. Allen is one of the most scrappy shooting guards out there. He also is one of the dirtiest. His multiple tripping incidents and suspension hurt the team in more ways than most people could’ve predicted.
It hurt the team’s ability to work as a well-oiled machine. Duke is just trying to scrape by in the Atlantic Coast Conference instead of leading it like in years past.
is the media to blame?
With all of the discussion about Krzyzewski and Allen, how can one not turn to the media? Duke is just one example of how the media is ruining college basketball. I am not one to condemn the sports networks because I love listening to Dick Vitale hand out his “diaper dandies” and Jay Bilas give insight. However, these players are under an immense amount of pressure to perform. The constant spotlight is limiting the coach’s ability to coach.
Coach Krzyzewski is quoted saying:
“That’s what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that’s great, but I lead and teach.”
I recall something that my mom always told me growing up: “There is always more to the story and you have to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.”
It is very obvious advice, but there is a lot of truth to it. As college basketball fans, we really don’t know the whole story. Analysts like Seth Greenberg find Coach Krzyzewski’s ban on players “comical.” Many other analysts don’t agree with it or see the benefit.
Let me ask you to put yourself in Coach Krzyzewski’s shoes. Your team has players acting up and is losing to teams that they shouldn’t be losing to. He is doing is best to lead and teach. In his eyes, it is more than the losses.
Coach Krzyzewski only has a small frame of time to influence his players and he is trying to correct their actions as human beings and not just basketball players. The media tend to make these issues public and much larger than they need to be. Instead of these guys being basketball players, they become celebrities.
it is also about the young men
I am well aware that college basketball is a business. The ACC alone took in $403.1 million of overall revenue last year. In 2011, the NCAA also signed a four-year television and internet contract with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting for March Madness for $10.8 billion.
Money is the name of the game to the outsider. As a college basketball player and fan, the importance and love of the sport will always prevail. Duke men’s basketball is a team of young guys that suit up to play in large arenas. Coach Krzyzewski is also trying to mold them into men.
For some of the guys, there is very little time. They will leave to go to professional teams and make a career from their talents. I believe that Coach Krzyzewski is still focused on what he proclaimed. He is focused on developing these guys into men that will be able to handle the NBA and life as an adult.
The truth is that a handful of these players will not be wearing the Duke jersey in a couple months. They will be moving on to the NBA. These players have a limited amount of time in the college basketball sphere. Especially those players that are apart of historically respected dynasties like Duke. In this short amount of time, it is the coach’s job to influence them on an off the court.
Looking forward for duke basketball
Despite all of the controversy, the tournament is taking place in March regardless. Luke Kennard has been the glue for the team this year. Typically the freshmen are the star of the show and lack the leadership that a major ball club requires. Kennard is defiling this stereotype and ultimately leading the Blue Devils as the youngest member of the team.
This season has been a rocky road, but the team itself has many great components. Kennard put on a performance in the second half against Virginia over the weekend. He created 75 percent of the Blue Devils’ offense and put up 30 of his 34 points in the second half. He also shot 10 for 10 from the field. Not to mention the three-pointer he made with 6.6 seconds left to win the game.
Kennard isn’t the only positive force for the Blue Devils. Grayson Allen might have moralistic issues, but he still leads the team in assists with 3.9 per game. Amile Jefferson is shooting 61 percent from the field and pulls down 9.3 rebounds on average. Jayson Tatum is contributing 16.1 points per game as well.
Duke might not have a true point guard, but they have the talent to go far. It’s just a question if Coach Krzyzewski can get them to work together and not take the name on the front of their jersey for granted.
Duke is ranked ninth in the ACC and 21st in the country. They also haven’t lost by great margins, besides the Florida State game. Duke was in that game until halfway through the second half when Xavier Rathan-Mayes went off for 18 out of his 21 points in the second half. The Blue Devils lost to NC State by two points, Kansas by two points, and Louisville by nine. Last night they beat Notre Dame to improve their overall resume and they can still make a great tournament run.
Nonetheless, Coach Krzyzewski needs to be left to his team. It isn’t a matter of his correctness in disciplining the team and his players. It is a matter of if his coaching techniques and teaching is actually working. These guys need to be influenced and motivated outside of the media in order to play the game effectively.
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