Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 1:40 pm  |  55 responses

Mike Krzyzewski Finds it ‘Sad’ College Basketball Has No ‘Voice’ With the NBA


Coach K used a sports radio appearance to rail against the current relationship between the NBA and college hoops. From The Sports Animal in Oklahoma City (via SRI): “First of all college basketball doesn’t control college basketball. The NBA controls college basketball. They are the ones along with the players union that sets the rule. College basketball just reacts to what the NBA does to include the early entry date. College basketball put out April 10th. Well that date doesn’t mean anything. April 29th is when guys have a chance to put their names in the NBA draft. I think one of the main things that has to happen is college basketball has to have a relationship with the NBA. There should be someone in charge of college basketball who on a day-to-day basis sets an agenda for our great sport. We don’t have anything like that. As a resolve we don’t have a voice with the NBA or the players union and that’s just kind of sad.’ Do you continue to go after superstar players who could be one-and-done players? Do you go harder after players that may stay 2-3 years as oppose to the superstar? ‘Yeah we can’t go after every one-and-done guy because a lot of the guys and they are great players and great kids, but school isn’t as important. A lot of those guys a number of years ago didn’t have to go to college. Dwight Howard. Kobe Bryant. LeBron James. Kids are…it’s not even going one year. They are going to spend maybe six-seven months. Sometimes…we have a great school, but it’s not as attractive as going someplace else, so we have to be careful with who we get involved with because it could be a monumental waste of time for us.’”

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  • Justin

    Regardless of how he meant it, a lot of people (definitely including one-and-done preferred high school seniors), are not smart enough education-wise to go to Duke. Athletically they can play basketball anywhere, but they can not cut the mustard at a school such as Duke.

  • Coach JT

    Coach K is a great coach, but he is starting to show he can no longer get the “pick of the litter”. This is not an issue of the O&D rule or the NBA, but it is the fast restructuring of the college game. You can say all you want about these O&D players at places like Kentucky, but in my 30+ years of watching college bball, I have NEVER seen 5-6 pro-like stars play so unselfishly at the expense of their own personal stats. I don’t think I have ever seen a Kentucky player take 20 shots in a game…

    The old style of basketball was to go to a program where you can be a star. Average 20+ ppg, 10+ rebounds, with a great cast of role players around you. Aka mini-NBA… This new era of players are now choosing to give up the points and the personal accolades for a shot at an NCAA title, and a 1 or 2 year opportunity to become a millionaire in the NBA. As much as it pains me to say it, Coach Cal is getting players to play like veteran 3-4 year college players who in actuality have know each other less than a year. It’s not an easy feat, and highly commendable…

  • Bawse

    Your ignorant comment Justin is well taken. Duke isnt so amazing. I know people who went there and they arent doing so well in the real world. Unless you look like the majority and or have family connections after school. Coach K is full of it. He wants to continue doing his AMEX commercials while his players sit in their dorm rooms eating RAMEN. If he cares so much about the “game” why doesnt he coach for 40K and donate the rest of his salary. He is full of it. Just wants to make his name great on the backs of others.

  • http://n/a keith

    The NCAA is an absolute hypocritical joke. They really have no incentive to change because there is so much money involved. You can like John Calipari or not but the man was absolutely right on with his recent comments. I cannot remember his comments verbatim but to paraphrase he said, It’s OK for the NCAA officials to take their families to the NCAA Tourney, stay in their fancy hotels, attend the big banquets and dinners and get the best seats in the house, all paid for by the NCAA. However I can do nothing to help the parents of the kids who are playing in the games to make it to the games. Absolute joke.

  • Dan

    What isn’t mentioned in the article and should have been, the new NCAA date of April 10th is a selfish rule that was pushed by K and ACC coaches and the NCAA adopted their rule. That is why he is upset. He pushed for the rule and didn’t realize the students were smart enough to know that it really doesn’t matter what the NCAA says, it matters when the NBA says they have to declare. What K and the ACC coaches did do was succeed in taking away college players’ chance to get evaluated a head of time by the NBA coaches and staff at “pro days” like the football players get to do.

    Shame on him for throwing a baby fit because his selfish rule didn’t work to his benefit!!!!

    Oh yeah, he’s had one and dones the last two years at PG. He also had players who had received money and should have been punished, but he is at Duke. Look at what went on with Corey Magetti… I know I butchered that spelling. But now he is getting it put to him on the recruiting trail so he is now throwing a tantrum. Kind of shows his coaching roots of being under Bobby Knight!

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