Coach K's ego has finally got the best of him with this OAD stuff...

[Cat Ballou]

Everyone - even Duke fans know that one of K's biggest flaws is his massive ego.

Semi Ojelaye, a former Duke player basically said as much. Duke's incredibly pretentious pitch to Bamba was that they offer three high end "brands", the school, the basketball program, and Coach K. Yes - that bloated, botoxed, sanctimonious, foul-mouthed old fart with hair dye induced brain damage is a brand.

His ego is about to be his downfall however. I've never quite understood why K has gone so all in on the OAD thing - it is completely contrary to everything Duke used to represent. Yet no one has the balls to question him or call him on it. His defenders try to say that's the only way to win nowadays, but that's not true, as Villanova and UNC and Gonzaga and many other schools have shown.

So why is Duke sticking with the OAD thing? Why are they running off guys in the hopes of signing 5 top 10 kids this year? It's all about K's ego. A small part of it is probably driven by rivalry with Cal, and keeping kids away from him as much as anything (which is why they recruited a kid in Bolden they knew would sit behind Jefferson anyway).

For the most part however, I think this has arisen out of K's stint as the Olympics coach. After working with these NBA stars, I think it started to gall him that Duke has historically had so few guys that were successful in the NBA and only a few "stars". I think as much as anything, this is an attempt to put as many Duke guys in the NBA as possible before he retires to further cement his legacy.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Even if he gets these guys.. let's see what he can do with his youngest roster. He struggled this year with just as good of a class and several upperclassmen.

 

[JFCats22]

He won the title 2 years ago with 3 OADs....I think he's doing ok.

I swear, sometimes UK fans are oblivious to facts.

 

[Bkocats]

don't think it's K so much as it's Capel - he lays the groundwork, and tends to (IMO) play dirty. K may not confirm what he says, but he doesn't deny it, either, which makes him just as dirty

 

[LineSkiCat14]

He won the title 2 years ago with 3 OADs....I think he's doing ok.

I swear, sometimes UK fans are oblivious to facts.

The difference between 5on8 officiating and easy regions is the difference between a Final4 and a title.

Admittedly, that was a great class he signed. A strong PG, a so-everything SF, and a great bigman. To go along with Cook, Jefferson, Plumlee, Jones, etc.

But those classes don't always work together, to the point that they can win a title. How did this past year work for Duke?

 

[JFCats22]

The difference between 5on8 officiating and easy regions is the difference between a Final4 and a title.

Admittedly, that was a great class he signed. A strong PG, a so-everything SF, and a great bigman. To go along with Cook, Jefferson, Plumlee, Jones, etc.

But those classes don't always work together, to the point that they can win a title. How did this past year work for Duke?

Agreed and never said they always work. Could clearly say the same thing about Cal though too.

 

[Cat Ballou]

He won the title 2 years ago with 3 OADs....I think he's doing ok.

I swear, sometimes UK fans are oblivious to facts.

Incredibly easy draw (imagine that!) and lucky that Wisconsin wore themselves out playing UK. Still had to have Allen come off the bench and play out of his mind against a Wisconsin team with dead legs. Should have been UK's title as everyone knows, so I'll never acknowledge it.

Duke's path to the Final Four that year was Robert Morris, San Diego State, Utah and Gonzaga. When they got to the F4, they played a 7th seeded Michigan State team that finally played to their mean and got blown out by 20. Closest game was the Utah game they won by 6.

 

[truebluewildcat]

Cal has an ego to, and he probably doesn't even pitch the school or program first.

One of those things where we all love Cal and hate K, but if K hung 5 banners here we'd be circling the wagons for him and burning piles of "Players first" and talking about how big of an ass Cal is.

 

[JFCats22]

Incredibly easy draw (imagine that!) and lucky that Wisconsin wore themselves out playing UK. Still had to have Allen come off the bench and play out of his mind against a Wisconsin team with dead legs. Should have been UK's title as everyone knows, so I'll never acknowledge it.

Duke's path to the Final Four that year was Robert Morris, San Diego State, Utah and Gonzaga. When they got to the F4, they played a 7th seeded Michigan State team that finally played to their mean and got blown out by 20. Closest game was the Utah game they won by 6.

You may want to let the NCAA know that they have it wrong on their website.

http://www.ncaa.com/history/basketball-men/d1

This says Duke was 2015 champion. Clearly it didn't count per your reasoning.

 

[weatherbird]

Agreed and never said they always work. Could clearly say the same thing about Cal though too.

Yea, except Cal has been to the Elite Eight 6 out of the 8 years he has been at UK. How many times has Duke bowed out in the first weekend? Here is the thing people should note, that there are times that the recruiting really works out, 2012 UK, 2015 Duke. However, how good is your team when it doesn't?? The two teams mentioned above were far better than any team they faced in the tournament. It is easy to win in those settings, but what about when you aren't far better than the competition?? Cal has a track record of giving these guys a real shot at the title, with Coach K, it is very hit or miss. We all credit Coach K with the title in 2010 as being part of this new philosophy, but it wasn't. Each coach has won exactly one title with this approach.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

2015 was a complete sham. No way was UK gonna win that title.

 

[Bungalow Bill]

Cal has an ego to, and he probably doesn't even pitch the school or program first.

One of those things where we all love Cal and hate K, but if K hung 5 banners here we'd be circling the wagons for him and burning piles of "Players first" and talking about how big of an ass Cal is.

Speak for yourself, not "we". K seems like a self centered ass. Cal is a fine man and bb coach. He does so much off the court to help others and teaches that to his players who are great reps for our program after leaving. I would never want K here.

 

[the stat man]

K's days are coming to an end. IF they give the job to Chapel in three years they will be an after thought , Chapel is a fat lying little pig !! and was in trouble when he got fired from his previous job !

 

[railroadkat_1]

K's days are coming to an end. IF they give the job to Chapel in three years they will be an after thought , Chapel is a fat lying little pig !! and was in trouble when he got fired from his previous job !

Hey stat man why was Chaple fired at OU?

 

[railroadkat_1]

K is getting on up in years he will be 72 next Feb. I wonder how much longer his tenure will continue. On top of that who will replace him!

 

[qwesley]

He won the title 2 years ago with 3 OADs....I think he's doing ok.

I swear, sometimes UK fans are oblivious to facts.

He did a great job with that team, especially moving Winslow to PF mid-season. But he also got a great draw and path. And his bitching at the half paid big dividends in the second half. UW could not touch them.

 

[the stat man]

You are so correct , UW went from a team who couldn't foul and even the announcers were saying it on TV "they just don't foul" to a team who couldn't avoid fouling when they played Duke. It was nothing like they had played all year !

 

[Cowtown Cat]

All you need to know about 2015 is that there were FOUR power 5 conference champs on UK's side of the bracket and the ACC Tourney Champs. Duke was on the other side. UK had Kansas and Notre Dame in their region. Wisconsin and Arizona in the region below them. Four of the top five teams were all on UK's side. Nuff said.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

All you need to know about 2015 is that there were FOUR power 5 conference champs on UK's side of the bracket and the ACC Tourney Champs. Duke was on the other side. UK had Kansas and Notre Dame in their region. Wisconsin and Arizona in the region below them. Four of the top five teams were all on UK's side. Nuff said.

But that stuff just happens to work out that way. Because....reasons.

 

[uky8unc5]

He won the title 2 years ago with 3 OADs....I think he's doing ok. I swear, sometimes UK fans are oblivious to facts.

I object. K had 5 more McD's on that 2013 roster who were not OAD. So saying he won with "OAD's" is not parallel to winning with OAD's. Otherwise Carolina has done it, Syracuse had done it, etc. Apples and Oranges.

 

[fearthebluecat]

k has no idea what to do with one and dones..........he sure doesnt get them ready for the nba

Ive never seen him at the draft....cal always takes time for his players.

 

[jrm693]

Bamba has sure enough made him clear the shelves though he has raked them clean I think in a allout effort to land him. It is amazing to me.

 

[bucsrule8872]

All you need to know about 2015 is that there were FOUR power 5 conference champs on UK's side of the bracket and the ACC Tourney Champs. Duke was on the other side. UK had Kansas and Notre Dame in their region. Wisconsin and Arizona in the region below them. Four of the top five teams were all on UK's side. Nuff said.

If you know anything about college bball and watched the games all season long, it was clear that the four best teams that year were UK, UW, Duke, and Zona. Those teams should have been the 1 seeds in that order. I think we would have had an all 1 seed Final Four that year. We beat Zona. Duke wins a war against UW. We play Duke for the title and we would have won #9.

 

[TankedCat]

whats funny about Coach K embracing the OAD is him yelling in the face of William Avery saying "you have f***** my program" after Avery announced he was going pro. Some might argue he felt the same way about Kyrie Irving

 

[Cowtown Cat]

whats funny about Coach K embracing the OAD is him yelling in the face of William Avery saying "you have f***** my program" after Avery announced he was going pro. Some might argue he felt the same way about Kyrie Irving

Is this common knowledge about Avery? I've heard this several times.

 

[Bigblueforever]

If coach K is second to none then why did he hire that
cheating Chapel?

 

[Soupbean]

Everyone - even Duke fans know that one of K's biggest flaws is his massive ego.

Semi Ojelaye, a former Duke player basically said as much. Duke's incredibly pretentious pitch to Bamba was that they offer three high end "brands", the school, the basketball program, and Coach K. Yes - that bloated, botoxed, sanctimonious, foul-mouthed old fart with hair dye induced brain damage is a brand.

His ego is about to be his downfall however. I've never quite understood why K has gone so all in on the OAD thing - it is completely contrary to everything Duke used to represent. Yet no one has the balls to question him or call him on it. His defenders try to say that's the only way to win nowadays, but that's not true, as Villanova and UNC and Gonzaga and many other schools have shown.

So why is Duke sticking with the OAD thing? Why are they running off guys in the hopes of signing 5 top 10 kids this year? It's all about K's ego. A small part of it is probably driven by rivalry with Cal, and keeping kids away from him as much as anything (which is why they recruited a kid in Bolden they knew would sit behind Jefferson anyway).

For the most part however, I think this has arisen out of K's stint as the Olympics coach. After working with these NBA stars, I think it started to gall him that Duke had historically had so few guys that were successful in the NBA. I think as much as anything, this is an attempt to put as many Duke guys in the a NBA as possible before he retires to further cement his legacy.

Pretty good take. I said it last year . . . K has opened up a box that he may live to regret because it is just a matter of time before the natives in Durham get restless with the one and done. They will have much shorter tolerance for it than the BBN because of their holier than thou attitude towards it already. So if he continues to pursue it full force the pressure to not only win but win championships will get really thick and IMO will more likely than not lead to some friction between the fanbase and himself sooner than later. Once that starts just watch how sensitive he reacts to it.

 

[TankedCat]

Is this common knowledge about Avery? I've heard this several times.

I'm pretty sure its common - for anyone paying attention back when William Avery was at Duke

 

[Cat Ballou]

Pretty good take. I said it last year . . . K has opened up a box that he may live to regret because it is just a matter of time before the natives in Durham get restless with the one and done. They will have much shorter tolerance for it than the BBN because of their holier than thou attitude towards it already. So if he continues to pursue it full force the pressure to not only win but win championships will get really thick and IMO will more likely than not lead to some friction between the fanbase and himself sooner than later. Once that starts just watch how sensitive he reacts to it.

Like I said, K going with the OAD approach makes no sense. I think most realize it's harder to win with freshmen than it is veterans, even if those veterans are less talented as NBA prospects. This is about K pumping up his NBA resume - only thing that makes sense.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

You are so correct , UW went from a team who couldn't foul and even the announcers were saying it on TV "they just don't foul" to a team who couldn't avoid fouling when they played Duke. It was nothing like they had played all year !

The bigger issue was that Duke was allowed to extend their defense during the last 8 minutes with handchecks, forearm pushes, etc. Bo Ryan was incensed after the game because it completely changed the way Wisconsin was playing.

 

[kev69]

All I need to know about his ego was when it leaked out he was trying to get the losses off his record a few years ago.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

whats funny about Coach K embracing the OAD is him yelling in the face of William Avery saying "you have f***** my program" after Avery announced he was going pro. Some might argue he felt the same way about Kyrie Irving

Best story of all was how Maggette had to hide under his bed because Coach K was going to pressure him to return to Duke.

There's no doubt these bastards have a long history of trying to get guys to return, even when they're lottery picks.

 

[topps coach]

Is this common knowledge about Avery? I've heard this several times.

I know William and his mom and they say no.William says that he was not ready for the NBA but the money was there and he took it. According to him K told him he was not ready

 

[Jigsoe Puzzle]

If coach K is second to none then why did he hire that
cheating Chapel?

Why do people call him Chapel? It's Capel.