I Think The Coaches For USA Team Should Rotate Every Year

[Son_Of_Saul]

People need to chill. Capel will get a head coaching gig after this season and K will be 70 years old when Tatum and company bring him his 13th Final Four appearance. When K steps down somewhere between the ages of 72 and 106 years old, Duke will turn to some solid candidates in Capel, Collins, Wojo, Dawkins, or Amaker. All of those guys have a chance at maintaining Duke as a part of the national conversation, but none of them have the staying power of a legend like Coach K.

The party is coming to an end. Duke nation knows it. Might as well let them enjoy the spoils of war while Alexander the Great is still conquering the world for them.

 

[cballover]

So why no disdain for the college coaches that actually coach the youth teams and the players they're recruiting? Why no controversy when Cal coached the Dominican team and denied a spot to Villanueva for Towns; saying that Villanueva was out of shape which turned out to not be true? Just curious.

 

[Mark Gastineau]

Again. We DID send pro coaches until we got humiliated in 2002 and 2004. Then we tried a college coach and have been awesome ever since.

I swear, some of you guys either have really short memories or very bad logic skills. We did this one way and had bad results. Then we started doing it another way and had tremendous results. Yet now we've got posters bitching about why we don't go back to doing it the old way. Umm, shouldn't the reason be obvious?? You go with what works best.

AMEN!

 

[Mark Gastineau]

That's one player compared too numerous for K.

Last I checked, all of Coach K's Team USA players no longer have college eligibility as a result of turning pro. Now, if Coach K were heading the U19, U17, etc. squads, you might have a stronger argument, in my opinion. He does not have unfettered access to those guys, though I won't imply that he has had zero contact with them as well.

 

[Mark Gastineau]

I think the Colangelo-Krzyzewski leadership has been a huge boost to the over-all program.

Bingo! Their effect on Team USA has been incredible, mainly because they have convinced superstars to buy into playing for their country and winning the gold medal. An earlier post in this thread tried to minimize Coach K's success with Team USA by saying he has simply had better players. After the first Dream Team, however, you did not see a player like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant commit to play for Team USA.

Even more impressive, in my opinion, is their progress with younger players on the cusp of being stars during the World Championship cycles. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, and James Harden all took major leaps after playing in those tournaments.

 

[Bluemoon725]

Recruiting is cyclical. When Cal first got to UK we were the hottest team in the country in recruiting and it wasn't even close. Then for a few years Kansas got on a little streak. Now it's Duke's turn.

The fact though that Cal still has us rolling and we've been this consistent since he's been here, makes his job that much more impressive and grateful that he's our coach.

I'd guess K has 4-5 years left in him. Once he leaves, Duke will never be the same again. I firmly believe that.

Kentucky though will always be Kentucky. Our history supports that. 5 coaches have won titles here. That's a pretty remarkable stat.

 

[Mark Gastineau]

I'd guess K has 4-5 years left in him. Once he leaves, Duke will never be the same again. I firmly believe that.

I'll agree to disagree on this point. There's a big reason why our recruiting has been at a much higher level these past few years, and his name is Jeff Capel.

 

[Bluemoon725]

I'll agree to disagree on this point. There's a big reason why our recruiting has been at a much higher level these past few years, and his name is Jeff Capel.

Good for Capel, but recruiting is only one aspect of coaching. And that is in reference what I was talking about the impact of K's departure from Duke. Guy is considered one of the greatest coaches to ever live.

Could Capel or whoever replaces him do a good job? Of course they can. But they won't emulate the run or impact that K has had. And quite frankly, few people will want to follow in his footsteps.

 

[Mark Gastineau]

I'm fine if people want to overlook Jeff Capel. He's affected Duke in a positive way since his return to campus beyond just recruiting.

 

[Federal Cat]

Every coach in the NBA could "coach" the USA national team to a gold medal nowadays (with so many mature superstars and Lebron in his prime). Sure, we got third in 2004, but we have consistently dominated throughout history. Coach K isn't working miracles out there. Switch him out.

Exactly he just rolls the balls out, their superstars, don't have to coach much, hmmm sounds familiar