Duke Blue Devils ruling Czar Coach K. and Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey are friends and colleagues; contemporaries if you will. Still it hasn’t stopped them from engaging in a miniature Holy War of words via a couple newspapers. They have a disagreement over Notre Dame’s decision to be just friends-with-benefits with the ACC; not actually commit to them.
And one coach invoked the Pope and Catholicism into his argument. Can you guess which school’s coach did that?
Anyways, Lenn Robbins of the New York Post published a recent interview with Coach K. When asked what he thinks of Notre Dame joining the ACC, but not all the way, here was what Krzyzewski said:
I think you can’t do something for one that you’re not willing to do for all in these type of situations. I would never have accepted personally them coming in and not being totally in.
Why don’t Duke and North Carolina do something different in basketball? I mean it’s not right. I’m happy that they’re part of it I’m just not happy the way that they’re apart of it.
They add value but, just being old-fashioned, [if] we’re playing cards, we all get five cards. That’s why they were never a member of the Big Ten.
Right, the Big Ten wasn’t going to put up with that half-in, half-out who-hah with Notre Dame like the ACC does. The Fighting Irish are a member for all sports except football and hockey. All the while scheduling five college football games a year against the ACC. Heck, they already have a couple rivalries with ACC opponents already: Boston College and Miami.
Mike Brey responded to the criticism of Coach K. via the South Bend Tribune .
“Isn’t Mike Catholic? We’re in this thing together, so let’s go. Business is business,” Brey is quoted. “Let’s really embrace this. It’s a great league. Give John Swofford credit. I just have to respond on behalf of my Irish, and the Pope.”
Brey also stressed that his relationship with Krzyzewski is “Great. He’s a great friend. But it’s almost like, enough, man. We’re in.”
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