Before we crown Coach K the greatest of all time

[SBU72]

I've questioned before about just how good is Coach K. He has the top 4 recruits this year. 2 of them are considered the #1 & 2 in the up coming NBA draft with at least 1 if not 2 future (next year) pros and he sometimes has a problem winning? His offense stinks in that it seems to forget Zion. They to often settle for 3 pt shots. And disturb the top 7 rotation and they are lost. He admitted he let his players take over. Seems a good coach would be showing them how. What would people be saying if 1 of those last two shots didn't roll off but in?

Now that my post was moved, I was not questioning that K is one of the best ever (I never list a #1 in anything). I was just questioning his current coaching ability just like man here question JB's. Recruiting, his rep alone does 75%. Communication? Well he doesn't get a lot of transfers. So maybe it's his in game coaching 1 could question, although game prep missing a started could be questioned.

 

[44cuse]

What about his 12 Final Fours and 15 conference championships? How many of those are we discounting?

You know this...the tourney is all that matters.

These justifications of good/bad based on a single elimination tournament is just garbage.

Great sporting event? Certainly. But way overvalued in evaluation of good/bad/great IMO.

44cuse

 

[RF2044]

You know this...the tourney is all that matters.

These justifications of good/bad based on a single elimination tournament is just garbage.

Great sporting event? Certainly. But way overvalued in evaluation of good/bad/great IMO.

44cuse

I think a lot of people are frustrated about yesterday's game outcome. Especially due to the perception that Duke gets a lot of preferential treatment, and some of the calls [or non-calls] late were so egregious.

UCF had it, and let it slip through their grasp -- it's too bad, but them's the breaks.

 

[44cuse]

I think a lot of people are frustrated about yesterday's game outcome. Especially due to the perception that Duke gets a lot of preferential treatment, and some of the calls [or non-calls] late were so egregious.

UCF had it, and let it slip through their grasp -- it's too bad, but them's the breaks.

I didn’t watch the game so I don’t know. But I was more commenting on the point that he was responding to that left out in-season accomplishments. It’s like our fans who gloss over the details of a season because we made a Final Four.

44cuse

 

[SWC75]

He's the best coach ever to have 1,000 official wins. I stop asking when they reach that milestone.

 

[Newhouser]

K is not the same as he once was. The younger version could hold his own strategically with anyone. Once he jumped the shark and entered the cesspool of obtaining top 10 guys , his need and interest in being strategically sound became more of an organizer and motivator.

I would have love to see K's reaction if Duke had lost? Johnny Dawkins or no - that hand shake is a totally different scene if the UCF tip fell iin.

 

[cuseinseattle]

I think Duke's issue this year is not the ranking of the players on their team but the way they don't really compliment each other. The have 3 really good players who are all scorers who need to get in the lane but aren't great perimeter shooters. They really needed a quality guard that could shoot from the outside to space the floor.

 

[RandygoCuse]

You know this...the tourney is all that matters.

These justifications of good/bad based on a single elimination tournament is just garbage.

Great sporting event? Certainly. But way overvalued in evaluation of good/bad/great IMO.

44cuse

I would agree with you if we were just judging over one or a few years. But over the course of a career, I think records of even single-elimination events start to add up.

 

[Oakland]

How about the reffing of the second half in the Wisc/Duke NC game, after K complained about the reffing in his half time interview - one of the most lopsided screw jobs ever, in Duke's favor of course.

Lets say Duke wins their 6th title.

Take a look at three of the titles.

92: Christian L hits a turn around jumper vs UK, if he misses that shot, no final 4
10: Butler shot goes in and out in title game
19: UCF shot goes in and out, no sweet 16

So people say Coach K is great because of titles, it's a game of inches, if Keith Smart misses, we have two titles

 

[stuckinbig11]

Duke is not a great team from the 3, but with a 7'6" guy hanging in the middle, that is what they took. Then Zion took it to Tacko (in LeBron fashion) and fouled him out. Everyone else was scared.

 

[SWC75]

ESPN's basketball encyclopedia came out a decade ago and had a listing of the "top ten worst national champions". We were #9, thanks to Herve Lamizana. They thought losing to a 12-16 Rutgers team should put us on the list. I called into JB's show to tell him about this and he got very grumpy about it until I requested that someday we have every spot on that list. He agreed we should go for it.

 

[bpo57]

With respect to your last point, did the clock stop automatically on made shots at the end of games back then? I've only seen clips of the end but I thought the clock kept running.

SU still hasn't called a TO yet in that 87' game.

 

[bpo57]

You mean the biggest cheat in the game's history.

lol

 

[RF2044]

I didn’t watch the game so I don’t know. But I was more commenting on the point that he was responding to that left out in-season accomplishments. It’s like our fans who gloss over the details of a season because we made a Final Four.

44cuse

Agree 100%.

 

[sufandu]

The question becomes whether we are separating coaching from recruiting. I'm not trying to split hairs, just not sure if the original poster is factoring in recruiting into coaching.

I think they go together. Regardless, anyone that does not think K has been a great coach and has only won because of talent, just started paying attention to basketball in the last 5 years.

 

[AZOrange]

I think they go together. Regardless, anyone that does not think K has been a great coach and has only won because of talent, just started paying attention to basketball in the last 5 years.

n
It’s insanity. Also cannot discount that Wooden played in a field like a third of the size today

 

[007]

Ridiculous thread

 

[samspann1]

All fair points.

Though Laettner should’ve been ejected.

He also walked before he took the shot.

 

[realorange]

Pound for pound I would take Jay Wright over coach K. Give them the same talent and it isn't close.

Are you serious??

 

[Cusefan0307]

Are you serious??

Yes I am. He runs a modern offense and doesn’t rely on top 5 talent every year.

 

[realorange]

n
It’s insanity. Also cannot discount that Wooden played in a field like a third of the size today

He also had many of those players hand delivered.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He also had many of those players hand delivered.

And you don’t think K had this decade? Wow.

 

[AZOrange]

Ridiculous thread

I’m like “before”...?!??!

 

[bpo57]

n
It’s insanity. Also cannot discount that Wooden played in a field like a third of the size today

People tend to think of Wooden winning with Alcindor and Walton but he won five NCs without either of those guys. 10 out of 12 titles (one of those losses was in the national semi's to David Thompson and NC State in double OT), 88 wins in a row (the streak ender was by one point at ND)- that is friggin' awesome.

I think a lot of people who comment on Wooden weren't around to see how thoroughly UCLA dominated the college basketball landscape. It would be kinda like downplaying Secretariat because his competition at the Belmont wasn't up to par.

 

[44cuse]

I would agree with you if we were just judging over one or a few years. But over the course of a career, I think records of even single-elimination events start to add up.

I wasn't suggesting they shouldn't be part of the discussion. FOR SURE they should. But it shouldn't be the sole metric which the OP seemed to imply (by ignoring the rest of accomplishments).

44cuse