Mike Krzyzewski taking issue with ESPN? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you! Duke and North Carolina are Bristol’s two favorite college basketball teams by a long shot, and think about how Dick Vitale, the WWL’s college hoops show pony, favors the program of Mike Krzyzewski. Duke Vitale’s Blue Devils cheerleading during a broadcast can reach criminal levels at times. And don’t forget how much television, ESPN in general built up Duke into the polarizing megabrand of college hoops that they are.
Still, Krzyzewski makes a valid point here about the non-stop hype we’ve heard for Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon thus far. It is odd though that Krzyzewski has an issue with the hyping of his own player in Parker.
This is the year that everyone and I mean everyone comes to realize that the one-and-done rule is the basketball version of the BCS. By that I mean it completely defies any logic, it’s beyond stupid, and no one with a functioning brain can defend it. This year, the fab four freshmen will likely be the top four picks in the NBA Draft, proving how beyond stupid it is to force blue chip basketball players to do one year as a faux college student when they’re ready to go pro.
According to ESPNU analyst and former Blue Devils star Jay Williams, there’s a freshman who has a $50 million shoe deal already in place. And it’s not Wiggins. So I’m guessing it’s likely Parker. Williams raised a great point when he revealed this on WGN Radio a couple week ago. What coach, even someone as large in stature as Krzyzewski could keep a kid like that grounded while coaching him?
In spite of all this, all four of these guys are being overhyped by ESPN, according to Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“I think part of it is that the people who show our games, show NBA, too, so they’re constant thought is cross-promoting … Yeah, and I love ESPN. I think they should do whatever they want to do. What I’m saying is we as a college basketball community should not completely buy into that.”
“These kids [the freshmen] are all great, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But there are other great kids. Two kids who played in the summer for me in a five-day mini camp in Vegas with 28 other NBA players were McDermott and Smart. Well, they’re two of the best players in the country. They may be the two best.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan