Back off, Coach K, for the good of the game
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is a great coach, a great leader and a great endorser for American Express. But it's time for Coach K to be something greater.
A great man.
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| Here's Coach K, in top form during the Florida State game. (AP) |
Yes, I'm saying it: For four hours each week, Mike Krzyzewski is bad for college basketball.
The background is the ACC's one-game suspension of the officials who helped screw Florida State out of a win Saturday at Duke. Those officials gave a double technical to FSU center Alexander Johnson and Duke's Shelden Williams when only Williams deserved it. The technicals counted as personal fouls -- Johnson's fifth -- and he was disqualified with more than nine minutes left. Duke won 97-96 in overtime.
Did officials intentionally help Duke by intentionally hurting Florida State? No way. That call, that game -- Duke shot 41 free throws to Florida State's 11, even though FSU was attacking the basket -- wasn't evidence of a pro-Duke conspiracy. Anyone who believes otherwise should leave. We've got a bigger issue to address than your favorite fable.
The blown technical wasn't the problem, but a symptom. Other symptoms were late pro-Duke calls involving Williams' physical post defense -- first against Boston College's Tyrese Rice, then FSU's Todd Galloway -- that helped Duke win games last week.
Again, those are symptoms -- but not the sickness. However, in a strange and potentially fortunate twist, the cold and the cure are one and the same: Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski is the problem, but he's also the fix.
This has to be a collaborative effort, solving the officiating issues that taint Duke games. And Duke games have definitely become tainted. Along with J.J. Redick's jumper, the impact of officiating is a major storyline whenever Duke plays. And that, people, is terrible for the game.
And that, people, is Krzyzewski's fault. Watch him from start to finish. Watch him work the officials. Watch him spew and curse and sneer. It's ugly.
Not that ugly is the problem. Most coaches work officials. Gary Williams looks deranged. Jim Boeheim looks ill. Karl Hobbs looks persecuted. But Krzyzewski is different: He's Krzyzewski.
Name the five most powerful people in basketball. Coach K has to be on that list. He's the head coach of the NCAA's top program over the past 25 years; he's the head coach of the next U.S. Olympic team; he could be the head coach of any NBA team he wanted, most recently the Los Angeles Lakers. He's enormous.
