Tag Archives: Coach K

Duke Basketball

Monday Musings – Coach K on Captains, Hoops & Football

During the season BDN Monday Musings brings you the popular Cheerleader of the Week picture. In the off season, we just put up a cool pic. Posing for the BDN camera here is Jason "JWill" Williams, Chris "CWell" Carrawell and Chris "CDu" Duhon. The picture, of course, is from the Coach K Academy. In this week

The staff of BDN prides itself on covering the Duke Athletics Beat in a most vigorous manner.  That means if there is an event going on that is team related, we'll be there.  It also means that we look forward to certain events, one of them being the annual Coach K Academy.  During this event, Duke Coach Mike Kryzewski always addresses the Emily Kryzewski Foundation first, but then talks to the media for just under an hour.  In this video clip, Kryzewski speaks of captain-ship and or leadership.  In a nutshell, Coach said that true leaders are few and far between.  That said, we kick off this edition of Monday Musings with Coach K addressing the 2011-12 captain-ship question.  The keyword, as you will hear, is "culture."

Be sure to check out other recent BDN Video offerings with more from Coach and Jon Scheyer..

It tickles me when some acquaintances say I have might more time on my hands in the off season.  This time of year is beyond busy around here.  BDN staffed last week's Nike EYBL in Los Angeles and then this weeken'ds Pango's All American Camp.  Patrick has broken the last four Duke Football prospects to verbal to Duke and he's got more coming on Cut's crew.  The bottom line is that spring and summer means BDN is hitting ALL the major events.  Let's just say it'll be non-stop coverage from now until the end of next year's basketball season, and that we have a backlog of amazing content, both free and for members.

That busy schedule goes for the coaches as well, and I can assure you that their off-season consists of few weeks at the beach. Now that the Coach K Academy has wrapped up, the basketball staff will focus on their upcoming trip to China and Dubai.  More details on the trip can be found on BDN Premium where we break it down for you.  And they will, of course, be on the phones with the nation's top prospects.  Once the heat of July envelopes us, the dead period will be over and they'll be on the recruiting trail.  In August, they'll find out which players establish themselves going into the October 15th starting date for practice.  And while the duties with Team USA are not as plentiful this summer, they will surely keep an eye on the young kids that will don the Red, White and Blue, many of them Duke prospects.

You may have missed this article "Blue Devils go Camping in Effort to Improve," that speaks to which camps the men's basketball team will attend this summer.  It's worth a read and is very informative.   

A lot of times, good stuff falls off our main page, so go to "Duke Basketball or Football," to read the archives and catch up.  Patrick Cacchio has been all over Duke Football Recruiting of late.  Today, he broke the fourth straight prospect to commit to Duke on the message board and here is the article on DT Carlos Wray to Duke.  He also checks in with other football prospects and the archives will catch you up on the latest efforts by Coach Cut and company.

On the women's hoops front, incoming freshman Elizabeth Williams has been named one of 12 members of the USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship Team.  She'll be the next big start on Coach P's program. The USA finalists downed the Brazil U19 National Team, 49-37, in an exhibition contest. In the game, Williams netted a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, five blocks, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes.  Also in the news, or should I say the Sports Illustrated WNBA preview, is former Duke standout Lindsey Harding, who via trade is expected to lead Atlanta to the promised land.

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Duke Basketball

Pondering a few questions surrounding Duke Hoops

Lance King for BDN

Duke will of course hold their annual basketball awards banquet on April 15th, a mere nine days off.  Wonder if we'll know the intended fate of Kyrie Irving by then?  The Duke Chronicle published this tongue in cheek  plea today, but before you bring up Elton Brand, step back and relax for it was meant in humor.  But fancy me this Batman!  Isn't it a fact that there is no way he'd have a back court sidekick like Austin Rivers in his first "professional" season? 

There is absolutely no rest when it comes to basketball coverage here at BDN.  This coming weekend we kick off our coverage for the 2011 season by covering Nike EYBL Session I, formerly known as the Boo Williams Invitational.  The question here is are the kids today overexposed?  Also, how crazy is it that grown men hang on the comments of 16 year old kids?  Mike Krzyzewski is the first to tell you that when the freshman come in today, they are far more adept at fitting in and producing right away.  Of course, one look around the nation this season proved that major freshman impact is here to stay.

Can Duke take their freshman on their trip to China this summer?  The answer is yes for they will be enrolled in school in July.  Imagine your first Duke experience is balling in China and Dubai.  Think that will help the freshman develop and aloow the coaches to see what they have?

If Kyrie Irving doesn't return, who will Duke go with at the starting point guard spot?  Quinn Cook made a case for himself with his recent play which quieted his doubters, but do you think Tyler Thornton will roll over without a fight?  The answer is no for the two went head to head in the same high school league.  But wait!  What about Seth Curry?  Could he develop at this position as well?  The bottom line is Duke will have some interesting options, but if Kyrie comes back, it is more than just a little settled.

Should Virginia Commonwealth been ranked higher than Duke in the final poll?  Sure, they had a great season ... down the stretch.  They beat Duke out for sixth by a single digit and I for one think most feel Duke at 32-5 had a better overall season.  Is it fair to award teams with high ranking from their final run alone?

Will Duke be a top ten team next season?  You bet they will.  Even if UNC finds a way to keep everybody home, the Blue Devils will still be at the top of the ACC.  They will be picked pre season number two in the league at the very lowest and will have the kind of team that gets better as the season goes along.

This years Butler-Connecticutt television ratings were down 18% compared to last seasons  Duke-Butler game.  What would the ratings have been in a rematch?

The Duke Women will lose three key seniors in Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas and Krystal Thomas.  Will Duke still be top ten?  Yes, they will.  Coach P is welcoming Elizabeth Williams and Amber Henson to the fold of a group of young budding players with a pinch of upperclassmen.  I think the Blue Devils will be just as good.

How tough is Duke's football schedule this season?  Tougher than North Carolina's and N.C. State, that's for sure.  Several ACC teams are playing cupcake schedules this season.  Duke will take on a pre season top five team in Stanford at home and travel to Florida International.  Hey, don't laugh at FIU who played in and won their bowl game last season.  If the game was the opener, Duke would likely be a field goal underdog on the road.  Duke also opens with the always dangerous Richmond Spiders.  Meanwhile, our neighbors get the likes of Liberty and James Madison.  The Heels toughest game outside the league is either Louisville at home or East Carolina on the road.  NCSU gets Cincinnati on the road and a truck load of cup cakes beyond that.