College Basketball

[Rhom]

I could talk about this, but I think the Anti-Duke Manifesto covers it better than I ever could.

Leadership During Crisis: the 1994-95 season

A man’s true colors show during times of crisis. For K, it was the 1994-95 season. That was the year that Duke suffered through a 13-18 season. Knowing when to fold them, K sat out the majority of the season, citing an ailing back and extreme ‘exhaustion.’ (This mind you, from a man who writes the following in his book on leadership: ‘During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions.’) He delegated head coaching duties to assistant coach Pete Gaudet. Any standup guy would have accepted responsibility for the season that unfolded with his players, at his school, following his game plans. Classy Coach K, however, petitioned the NCAA to have the season’s win-loss record stricken from his career totals. It was another curious move for a guy who espouses the following philosophy: ‘A leader has to be positive about all things that happen to his team. Look at nothing in the past as failure.’

Other seldom-publicized details about this incident bring Krzyzewski’s true nature into sharper focus. Coach Gaudet went back many years with Krzyzewski, all the way to K’s previous coaching days at Army. According to Sports Illustrated, Gaudet was the ‘restricted earnings’ coach at Duke when he was asked to assume the reigns during K’s extended vacation. Consequently, he was paid a little over $300.00 a week, which probably correlated to a minimum wage hourly rate. So, in the end, K continued to draw his six figure salary and seven figure endorsements, while sitting at home on his rear. (Funny how he did not feel the need to give Gaudet the head coach’s salary; just the accountability for the win-loss record.) He then returned to dump all over his long-time friend and assistant, while taking formal steps to ensure that the NCAA pinned all losses on his newly converted scapegoat. And exactly how does this jive with the following quoted philosophy, again taken from the great coach’s own website: ‘You have to work hard at staying in contact with your friends so that the relationships will continue and live on… Friendships, along with love, make life worth living.’

Truly, can anyone imagine Dean Smith having done this to his long-time assistant coach Bill Guthridge? Can anyone fathom Roy Williams taking this approach? Or Tubby Smith, Tom Izzo, Jim Calhoun, John Thompson, Bob Knight, Jim Boeheim — or any other college coach?

Sound bad enough? There’s more. Just review the timeline from that revealing season. First, realize that K did not pack it in until after the twelfth game. Apparently the pain and exhaustion were bearable as the team started out with a 9 – 2 record and a top ten national ranking. The early record was accomplished in usual Krzyzewski fashion, by trouncing various cupcakes, (e.g., mighty Brown University by 42, North Carolina A & T by 43, South Carolina State by 46, Northeastern by 23, George Washington by 30, and BU by 17). It was only when he tested the waters of the forthcoming conference schedule, with a home loss to Clemson, that our hero could no longer continue. Strange how the specter of a difficult conference schedule exacerbated that exhaustion and back pain.

But the best part to this story is how Mike passed his time during those medically essential days of rest and recuperation. As he closed his mind – and his record book – to his team’s nightmarish season, Coach K somehow mustered enough strength to entertain high school recruits – in his home no less – for future seasons. For example, he had Vince Carter over for a January visit, nine days after he advised his players of his need to sign off for health reasons. The punch line later came from Carter himself. Shortly after that visit, Carter was quoted in an SI article on Duke, (published well before Carter chose UNC over Duke by the way). ‘He was up and about,’ said Carter, ‘He didn’t seem like a guy who has had all these back problems.’

And if you think this was an isolated incident, think again. The man is a champion buck passer. When I attended the school during the 1989-92 time period, Duke squeaked by in a couple of regular season games, after which there was some question about the team’s leadership and direction. Always looking for a fall guy, Coach K, in a post-game press conference, actually turned on his own student body, who, he barked, had grown complacent in its support. ‘I think we need to understand what the hell is going on here at Duke University,’ was one of the quotes. This he said of the same students who camp out for weeks for the chance to support this team with their boorish displays. It has become a recurring Krzyzewski excuse, one that he resorted to even last year as his students remained as boisterous and obnoxious as ever in their game time antics. No doubt, there is plenty for which to criticize these students, but support of the team is not one. K’s tendency to turn on his fellow vermin is a testament to his amazingly self-centered, one-dimensional mindset. And let us not forget the man’s tendency to fault game officials for unfair calls – the same officials who regularly enable his team to make more free throws in a season than their opponents are allowed to attempt – more on that later.

[RedEyedGhost]

Riddle me this...

How can a young man that had to repeat the 9th grade gain acceptance after his junior year to one of the most academically demanding universities in the nation?

By being good at basketball and committing to a program that is desperate for guards.

When guard Elliot Williams abruptly left Duke last month to transfer to the University of Memphis and closer to home to deal with a family illness, the Blue Devils' staff and the father of Class of 2010 commitment Andre Dawkins started to discuss the possibility of an early arrival for the 6-4 guard, who is ranked as the No. 10 player in his class in the ESPNU 100.

The program, after all, was down to only two guards on its entire roster: Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. They were the only players shorter than 6-7 on the team.

So, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, Andre's father (also named Andre) told the Duke staff to have the university's academic adviser look at Dawkins' transcript to see if an early admission was possible.

According to the source, Dawkins already had the necessary 16 core classes, a qualifying test score and the appropriate corresponding GPA to be admitted to Duke. Dawkins has been in high school for four years, starting out at Deep Creek High (Va.) in ninth grade before transferring to Atlantic Shores Christian High (Va.), where he repeated the same grade. That was done for basketball reasons, not academics, according to the source.

There was one hurdle, though. A player must be a high school graduate in order to be admitted. So this summer, Dawkins is taking the last class he needs to graduate.

link

[H von T]

Riddle me this...

How can a young man that had to repeat the 9th grade gain acceptance after his junior year to one of the most academically demanding universities in the nation?

By being good at basketball and committing to a program that is desperate for guards.

Gosh. You are such a cynic. He's been, like, studying really hard.

[RedEyedGhost]

Gosh. You are such a cynic. He's been, like, studying really hard.

:lol:

[Rhom]

Coach K... where the K stands for Klassy.

Amazing. Another example where Coach K can do it and the media thinks its great... someone like Billy Gillispie does it and he'd be lambasted as ruining the game.

[Rhom]

TMZ has the Jordan Crawford dunk over LeBron James.

Meh. Quite honestly, this pretty much confirms that it was a huge mistake to take this film. It became a much bigger story after it was confiscated.

[Rhom]

Let the "Whatever happened to Tyler Hansbrough?" stories begin...

[RedEyedGhost]

The past month has been extremely boring, so here's a cool dunk.

[H von T]

Well, Billy D looked far and wide for the saviour of Florida basketball and he ends up with a guy named Nimrod. I didn't even know that was a legit name. Now the baseball team needs to sign Douchebag McGee.

[Rhom]

Well, Billy D looked far and wide for the saviour of Florida basketball and he ends up with a guy named Nimrod. I didn't even know that was a legit name. Now the baseball team needs to sign Douchebag McGee.

Awesome. When combined with the fact that Austin Rivers is apparently re-opening his recruitment... none of this is good news for the boy wonder in Gainesville.

[RedEyedGhost]

While reading this article I made this face, several times.

It's a follow up to an article from April that talked about how several of the guy called our strength and conditioning coach right after our S16 loss to MSU.

Here's some of the highlights from the new article:

“I think it’s incredible a men’s basketball player who weighs 184 pounds is able to hang-clean 308 pounds. I think that’s a pretty impressive feat,†said KU hoops strength coach Andrea Hudy.

Reed also completed a whopping 40 pullups on the bar, ahead of junior guard Teahan, a former high school football standout who had over 30.

Freshman forward Thomas Robinson, who was listed at 6-foot-8, 220 pounds upon his early-June arrival from his hometown of Washington, D.C., now weighs 233.

“If you ask Thomas, he’s a horse. He’s a self-proclaimed horse,†Hudy said, laughing. “He is very gifted. His best advantage is his work ethic. His physique is great. He has long arms. He looks great.

Okay, that quote is a little creepy.

Freshman transfer Jeff Withey, who likely will be listed as 7-foot on KU’s 2009-10 roster, is about 228 pounds, up from 212 when he first arrived at KU last January.

The Morris twins — 6-8 Marcus and 6-9 Markieff — have been “two of our most consistent guys,†Hudy said.

Marcus is about 232 pounds, up from a low of 210 last season and Markieff at 242, up from his low of 215.

“I think the twins went through the season and realized how much stronger they could be and needed to be in the Big 12,†Hudy said. “They took it seriously as a goal to put on weight and muscle, to get stronger and become more powerful. There was a point last season we were hitting critical values in a negative area. The season is long. It’s hard. There’s a lot of energy expenditure. They realize eating is a primary goal for them. Since they’ve done that, they’ve seen positive results.â€

Uh, yeah X 3

The Morris twins were way too passive (I think between the two of them they may have had 10 dunks all of last year), and they just didn't exhibit the toughness that I expect from Coach Self's players... I don't think that will be a problem this year.

When you have players that are already extremely talented, working this hard to improve their bodies special things are bound to happen.

Only 73 days until practice starts :D

[RedEyedGhost]

Here's Dickie V's top 40 for the upcoming season:

1. Kansas: Bill Self's team is led by Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, two members of my All-Rolls-Royce first team. The Jayhawks are loaded with the Morris twins, Tyshawn Taylor and newcomer Xavier Henry.

2. Kentucky: John Calipari has made a major difference and his first season in Lexington should be special. The Wildcats were aided with the return of Patrick Patterson. Then check out diaper dandies like John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Fans of Big Blue will be jumping with joy.

3. Michigan State: Tom Izzo's squad made it to the finals last season, creating excitement galore in Detroit. Kalin Lucas is arguably the premier player in the Big Ten. Look for big things from Delvon Roe, while Raymar Morgan needs to return to earlier form.

4. Texas: AJ Abrams is gone, but Rick Barnes still has reason for optimism. Damion James pulled out of the NBA draft to return to Austin. The Longhorn recruiting class, led by Avery Bradley, is outstanding. The Big 12 will have a great battle between Kansas and Texas.

5. Duke: Gerald Henderson is gone, but Coach K has the dynamic duo of Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer back. The Blue Devils will also miss Elliot Williams, who transferred to Memphis.

6. Purdue: If Robbie Hummel can stay healthy, watch out. Matt Painter has a lot of returning talent to challenge the Spartans in the Big Ten.

7. Villanova: Jay Wright had to be thrilled when Scottie Reynolds said no to the NBA and came back to the Big East. Wright has a super class coming in, plus Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes among the returning talent.

8. North Carolina: The Tar Heels will not have to rebuild; they will simply reload. Most schools would fall way down after losing Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. Roy Williams has one of the best recruiting classes coming in, while players like Ed Davis will step up big time.

9. West Virginia: Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler lead a tough Mountaineer squad. Bob Huggins believes he can contend for a Big East title.

10. Illinois: Bruce Weber has a solid nucleus returning, plus a fine recruiting class. Most look at Michigan State and Purdue as the top threats in the Big Ten. Don't sleep on the Illini as a challenger.

Illinois at #10? :stunned: They've got two good recruits coming D.J. Richardson (RSCI #35) and Brandon Paul (#49), but at that point in the rankings you really can't expect them to contribute that much as freshmen. They lost 32% of their scoring from last season - a season in which they failed to score 40 points in two games.

They're a top 25 team, but they're losing way too much relative to what they're bringing in to put them any where near the top 10 imo.

[S John]

#9, sweet. Makes me feel a little better about WVU's absense from most preseason football polls. I think we'll be really good, but I'm a little surprised at the top ten ranking after the bed-shitting in the first round against Dayton. I'm sure those players were terrified to even be in the same state as Huggins for a few weeks after that. Anyway, Huggy's got some talent coming in and Ebanks is going to be a beast. Hope he stays healthy.

[RedEyedGhost]

Your guys are #9 in Katz's rankings as well. Here's the write up:

9. West Virginia: Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks have the potential to be studs for the Mountaineers and in the Big East. Bob Huggins has a serious squad that should prove to be in step with Villanova for the Big East title. Watch this team develop and take on Huggs' personality throughout the season.

And I agree that if Ebanks stays healthy you should have a great year.

[S John]

You know, that little blurb about "taking on Huggins' personality".... its been kind of interesting over the past few seasons to watch the transition between Beilein's and Huggy's systems / style. The Mountaineers are definitely more raw than they were 3 years ago, and I consider that a good thing for the most part. Though at times it can be frustrating to watch a team that was a shooting threat from anywhere on the court struggle at the free-throw line. :lol: Of course, on the other hand, it is nice to see our guys fighting for and actually getting rebounds... something that just didn't happen under Beilein.

Honestly, I've greatly enjoyed both systems. Especially as both have brought a pretty high level of bball success to Morgantown over the past 5 years or so. I think that in the long run, Huggins' system is actually the one that will be better suited for physical Big East play, but Beilein's teams were a lot of fun too.

[Rhom]

Illinois does seem a bit high for a team that plodded through last season. I also think Purdue will have a gaudy record, but I'm not convinced its because they're good... I still think the Big 10 is down significantly.

I shouldn't be surprised that Vitale has Duke rated that high, and I'm sure that other polls will look similar... but I just don't see how a team with only two guards on the entire roster can be a legit threat to be a top 5 team. :unsure:

[RedEyedGhost]

Illinois does seem a bit high for a team that plodded through last season. I also think Purdue will have a gaudy record, but I'm not convinced its because they're good... I still think the Big 10 is down significantly.

The Big 10 was definitely down last year, but I think they'll be back on the upswing this year. MSU will be great, and Minnesota, Michigan, and Purdue could all be pretty good. But of their 11 teams, I think MSU is the only one that wouldn't put me into a coma with in the first five minutes of the game.

I shouldn't be surprised that Vitale has Duke rated that high, and I'm sure that other polls will look similar... but I just don't see how a team with only two guards on the entire roster can be a legit threat to be a top 5 team. :unsure:

But if they get their high school senior to be that had to repeat his freshman year qualified to one of the most prestigious academic universities in the nation they'll have three guards - he's a Diaper Dandy BABY!! With that third guard they might be propelled all the way to #1.

(I'm surprised that he hasn't already been deemed eligible - it's been over three weeks since the story broke that they were attempting it)

[Rhom]

Well this is interesting...

Former Billy Gillispie UK signee Dominque Fergusen has signed to play for Isaih Thomas at FIU.

I would have some commentary on it... but I'm honestly just so stunned, I don't know what to say.

[RedEyedGhost]

Well this is interesting...

Former Billy Gillispie UK signee Dominque Fergusen has signed to play for Isaih Thomas at FIU.

I would have some commentary on it... but I'm honestly just so stunned, I don't know what to say.

:stunned:

Why would anybody want to play for Thomas? He's an awful, awful coach.

[Rhom]

Andy Katz has a fluff piece on Ralph Sampson III and Klay Thompson on ESPN.com today. Its fine as fluff pieces go, but the bit from it that surprised me was this little nugget:

The Jordan boys, Jeff and Marcus, shouldn't be expected to even come close to their father, Michael. That's just not fair. Jeff Jordan was a walk-on at Illinois and after two seasons he decided to give up hoops. Marcus Jordan, the younger brother, is headed to Central Florida.

:stunned:

I hadn't heard this. I remember we debated a little bit about it in last season's thread when he was bumped up from walk-on to scholarship status. Hmph. I'll be damned.