Posted on 06/27/2007 6:09:15 AM PDT by Rb ver. 2.0
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski recently completed a three-week family vacation to a secluded stretch of North Carolina coastline, only occasionally crossing paths with fellow beachgoers during his daily one-hour walks.
Krzyzewski took the time to greet those who recognized him, but he didn’t take the chance of posing for a photograph.
“I’d rather not take a picture with somebody on the beach, especially in today’s world,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s like, ‘Here’s Coach K ... with his new family. Where’s Mickie? There’s something wrong. He went to the beach and he has eight kids and this 23-year-old wife. How did that happen?’”
Krzyzewski’s comments drew laughs from the media gathered Friday at the Emily Krzyzewski Family Life Center, but the legendary coach doesn’t think some of what he sees involving his program on the Internet and even in the mainstream media is a laughing matter anymore.
Krzyzewski believes that it’s become socially acceptable for media to openly express dislike for his Blue Devils, but he’s no longer willing to accept it.
“It’s socially acceptable? I don’t know — maybe I’m not going to be as social then anymore,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s like, ‘Why did you say you hate Duke? Is that the only thing you hate?’
“I go up and I say I hate cancer. That’s something to hate. John Edwards has said he hates Duke. ... I don’t think that’s right. I’m going to start talking about those things.”
Krzyzewski, with a helping hand from the Duke athletics department, is aiming to do something about it. He’s been looking at the way he deals with the media to see if he’s fueled the perceptions, and then he’s looking at the way the media portrays his program.
“I always think that the first people you investigate are you,” Krzyzewski said. “How are you handling stuff? Are you being arrogant? What are you doing? Take a look at yourself first. And then it’s like, ‘OK, maybe I’m not doing this enough,’ or ‘Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do.’
“[Don] Imus gets knocked because he said something racial or against women and those are the two biggest areas someone will hold someone accountable because you have groups that are watchdogs for it. They hold people accountable.
“We’re in an area where no one is holding anyone accountable.”
A few weeks after a down season by Duke’s standards ended, Krzyzewski talked about how he felt that sentiments once reserved for opposing fans had seeped into the media. He carried with him two newspaper clippings from the week of Duke’s loss to VCU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament: A paper from his hometown of Chicago featuring a large photo of bloodied Duke freshman Jon Scheyer with the headline ‘Duke can’t cut it’ and a New York paper with a picture of Krzyzewski and the headline ‘Public enemy.’
Krzyzewski said that while the jab at him didn’t upset him, he felt bad for Scheyer and other college athletes portrayed in such a light.
“‘Duke can’t cut it.’ It’s funny, but it’s a kid. For me, it’s a crappy thing,” Krzyzewski said. “How did that happen? How do you get to the point where really — I’m not saying that we haven’t done anything wrong or whatever — but we run a clean program and we’ve helped build a children’s hospital, we’ve built the Emily Krzyzewski center, we’re on the V Foundation.
“What the hell are we doing, except winning?”
I don’t know how that rumor started; he’s married with two daughters. I am a UNC grad (graduate school, not undergrad) and it pains me to say this but Laettner was one of the best college players of the 90’s and maybe of all time. He had a very mediocre pro career, however.
Coach K is too good for Duke.
Yeah, Pretty Boy Laettner hit the game winner that we see during the tourney about a million times. However, if the refs had had any gonads Pretty Boy would have been out of the game after quite deliberately stomping on a UK b’ball players chest (Aminu Timberlake)which Coach K claimed was “not intentional”......snort.
What a whiny little wussy. ESPN and Dickie V have become the Duke Admiration Society, look at all the former Dukies on there: Bilas, Seth Davis et al. Don’t forget Billy pACCker on CBS. If anything Duuuukkkkeeee gets the MOST positive pub of ANY school.
As for “clean program”.......the name Corey Maggette ring any bells?
“I believe every Duke joke I heard somehow ended with Christian Laettner involved in a homosexual experience.”
What’s your point?
LOL! I shoulda made that connection. BRilliant!!!
As I posted on the NC board but worth repeating:
What in the world? Yo, coach K! People have been saying they hate Duke for years. Ditto Carolina, State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, on and on.
News flash: It’s “hate” like when you get a paper cut. “I hate it when that happens.” Not “hate” like Muslims “We hate infidels and they must have their heads cut off!”
There’s a difference, dumb@ss. Get over yourself.
Somebody’s GOT to get this to Ann Coulter. She’ll have a field day.
"I wouldn't be nice to him anyway," Edwards said in an interview. "I don't want my kids anywhere near some guy who when he doesn't like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out. It scares the business out of me."
Edwards views Johnson as a "rabid, rabid Republican" who refuses to clean up his "slummy" property just to spite her family, whose lavish 28,000-square-foot estate is nearby on 102 wooded acres.
Congressman Billybob
I like Duke and I have a lot of respect for them. As for Carolina - all I can say is “Go to H*** Carolina!” LOL
You’re right, but I can’t blame her for not thinking of it at the time. Prissy really set her up. And though she handled it very well, I only hope Ann can pay him back some day.
I completely agree.
I second that!
Hey, maybe Coach K. was talking about this book:
My hatred of Duke is an on/off thing. It's off when they play Carolina, it's on the rest of the time. Like many college basketball fans around the country, I'm sick and tired of hearing about Duke and Carolina.
LOL! Yeah, not being a Carolina fan, I’m not “in on” the Duke/Carolina rivalry. It still feels good when State beats Duke in basketball though (from a purely - “wow, we’re actually decent” perspective)!!! ;)
No one cares about cancelling lacrosse, but basketball is tops at Duke and he is the King. This railroading would never have happened to a Duke basketball player.. IMO, he was a coward and now he's whining like a baby. Yuck.
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