There’s a weird superstition that organically surrounds the game of basketball. Every person who’s ever had a shoot around has found themselves in this position. You know you’re done, it’s time to go, but you tell yourself “one more shot”. You hit off the back rim and it flies 15 feet into the corner. “Okay, can’t end it on that.” You sprint towards the ball and in one swift motion pull off a sick fadeaway from the corner. Miss. What do you do? You keep shooting until the last real shot goes in, can’t end on a miss.
Just because I don’t think people can ever hate me enough, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. At one point in my life* I was an Alabama, Yankee, and Duke fan. Finished your spasm yet? Alabama because I went there, Yankee fan because born in Jersey, and Duke fan because we used to have a German Shepherd named Duke and JJ Reddick was fire. My Dad even somehow got Coach K to write me a letter and a signed team picture for Christmas one year. So I don’t hate Coach K like the rest of you. Love him actually.
Given the circus that occurred in Cameron on Saturday, how do we think Coach K feels? The guy’s 75 and won the country gold medals, have a heart. The man has the most wins in college history. The most tournament wins in college history. Second all time final four appearances with twelve. Second most national championships of all time with five. Now we’re hearing all this “legacy” scuttlebutt. Can all of that be erased by one season? By one game? It’s sure feeling that way, right?
After forty seven years of coaching, who is there to compare Coach K too? Who has the amount of time out for a worthy case study comparison? There’s only one that I could find and it’s a college football counterpart.
Joe Paterno coached at Penn State for 46 years, from 1966-2011. One less year than Coach K at Duke. His last year coaching was one of his best posting an 8-1 record. No bowl appearance though. Could one final Rose Bowl appearance turned the tide? Did he retire too soon? Leaving prematurely must really make a coach’s head spin. Do you think Joe Pa has regrets? How did his ride off into the sunset go? I’ll tell you, he died two months later. Is that what you really want for Coach K?
Only way Coach K can redeem the season is if he wins the tournament. But honestly, what’re the chances that happens? Let’s look at the flip side. Let’s say Duke gets bounced in the first round of the tournament. You think that’s how Mike Krzyzewski walks off the basketball court for the last time? Of course not, he’ll sprint to the corner for a fadeaway. Can’t end on a miss. Who says no, Duke?!
*I’d consider myself an Alabama basketball fan now.
No comments:
Post a Comment