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ACC: Can Coach K Win With 1 And Dones?

By Andrew Snyder

Jan 18, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski questions a call by an official in their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski questions a call by an official in their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke holds a high place atop the ACC basketball mountain. Since Mike Krzyzewski took over the program in 1980, the Blue Devils have won 12 ACC regular season titles, 13 ACC tournament titles, and four national championships. Coach K has built Duke into one of the most dominant forces in all of college basketball.

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The combination of hate, fear, and respect that Duke commands is comparable only to Kentucky or maybe even the New York Yankees. Duke basketball has become a brand built on winning and the hard work of their head coach.

Duke’s last national championship came in 2010 and the program has hit a bit of a postseason lull since then. The last four seasons have seen Duke fail to reach the Final Four, in fact 2012 and last season saw Duke upset in the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament.

These struggles have coincided with a shift in the college basketball landscape. The NBA implemented an age limit before the 2006 draft, which prevents players younger than 19 from entering the NBA. This leads to the most talented players only playing college basketball for one season before chasing their NBA dreams. Players that in the past would have gone straight from high school to the NBA now spend a potentially unwanted year in college.

Coach K has always recruited at a high level, but his time with USA basketball has made Duke an even more popular destination for top recruits. The young players see him win with the NBA stars of today and choose him to help them reach their goal of playing in the NBA.

However, Coach K’s national championships are usually highlighted by veteran players who develop and learn how to play together over a few years. The ’91 and ’92 teams had Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and Grant Hill. 2001 had Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy , and Jay Williams. 2010 saw a group of vets such as Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Brian Zoubek make a run for the title. None of these teams had a freshman as their best player.

Aug 22, 2014; New York, NY, USA; United States guard Kyrie Irving (10) drives to the basket past Puerto Rico forward Renaldo Balkman (13) during the first quarter of a game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 22, 2014; New York, NY, USA; United States guard Kyrie Irving (10) drives to the basket past Puerto Rico forward Renaldo Balkman (13) during the first quarter of a game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Coach K dipped his foot into the one and done waters the season after the 2010 championship when Kyrie Irving came to Durham. Irving looked fantastic out of the gate and Duke looked poised to grab back to back titles. A December toe injury kept Irving out until the Sweet 16, and when he returned many pundits thought it ruined the team chemistry.

A disjointed effort against Arizona ended their title hopes and sent Irving off to the NBA. The injury makes it difficult to say this was a failure on Krzyzewski’s part, but nevertheless it was just the beginning of the struggle with talented freshmen players.

The next top dog freshmen brought to campus was Doc Rivers‘ son Austin. Austin Rivers was ranked second in most recruiting rankings (behind Anthony Davis) and was expected to become a star at Duke then head off to join his father in the NBA. Though he had some signature moments, like his game-winning shot against rival UNC, the overall team season did not go well.

Rivers never seemed to mesh with his teammates. It was as if the team was playing one system and he was doing something completely different. Random isolations and contested drives to the basket seemed to be the norm with Rivers. That Duke squad was eventually upset by Lehigh in the round of 64, after which Rivers entered the NBA Draft.

The most recent freshmen star at Duke was future No. 2 overall draft pick Jabari Parker. Parker stayed healthy, unlike Irving, and meshed with the team, unlike Rivers. He was a first team All-American and was a candidate for ACC player of the year.

However, Duke still managed to flame out early in the NCAA tournament round of 64. The Blue Devils were upset by Mercer in a game in which Parker struggled mightily. His questionable shot selection and lackluster defense even led to him being removed from the game during critical moments.

Mar 21, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Jabari Parker (1), guard Rasheed Sulaimon (14) and Duke Blue Devils forward Josh Hairston (15) react on the bench against the Mercer Bears in the first half of a men’s college basketball game during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Jabari Parker (1), guard Rasheed Sulaimon (14) and Duke Blue Devils forward Josh Hairston (15) react on the bench against the Mercer Bears in the first half of a men’s college basketball game during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

It was another disappointment in the era of freshmen leading the way, and just like the others before him, after the season Parker decided to go to the NBA. It would be hard to blame Coach K if he veered away from this type of player in favor of players with slightly lesser talent he could develop for four years. Undeterred Coach K will try again this year.

Enter a trio of recruits who currently find themselves in the first round of many NBA mock drafts. Center Jahlil Okafor, point guard Tyus Jones, and wing Justise Winslow look to put these past failures to bed. They absolutely have the talent to do so, but they still must mesh with the veteran players currently on the roster.

I expect this will be the year Duke wins big with freshmen leading the way. Okafor is a beast of an offensive center, Jones is a true point guard with skills and fantastic court vision, while Winslow is a freak athlete that profiles as a lockdown defender and a high motor offensive player.

Combine these three with returning players like Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon, Amile Jefferson, Semi Ojeleye and Matt Jones, the Blue Devils will be deep and talented at every spot on the floor. The pieces fit together like they never have before and that should be the difference. Do not be surprised to see the Blue Devils atop my ACC season predictions before the season starts.

Duke is still a very powerful program and Coach K is still arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all time. When it comes down to it does Coack K really have a problem coaching talented freshman? While he is coaching for the overall betterment of the team these players have one eye on the NBA. It is not so much the coach’s or players fault as it is a flawed system.

If talented young players are good enough for the NBA, they should be allowed to enter the NBA out of high school. This rule harms both players and coaches by making them do something they do not want to do. Coaches want to build programs, and high level players want to go to the NBA. With no age limit you allow them to both get what they want to a certain extent. Sure, there will still be players who burst onto the scene their freshman year and decide to leave school early, but it will almost certainly be less rampant than it is now.

Eventually Coach K will figure it out. The players he recruits are too talented and he is too good of a coach not to have success with a freshman star. Duke fans will hope that it starts this year with Okafor, Jones, and Winslow. If all goes well the Blue Devils will be cutting down the nets in April and those past struggles will be all but forgotten.